This and that

So, we've been home for a week now and I'm just starting to feel recovered from our road trip to Las Vegas. Kyle and I spent quite a bit of "quality" time together in the hotel room since most of the festivities were at night. He was actually just wonderful during the driving portion of our trip; much better than I anticipated!

This week Kyle has been working hard on learning to crawl and pull himself up on various things ranging from us to the furniture. I washed all of his 12 month clothes and can you believe they actually fit him?!? I'm guessing he must be close to 20 lbs now. Also, he got his 7 month pictures taken on Friday, in U of A gear per dad's request! These pictures are very cute and I can't wait to get them back.

I'm pretty sure he grows another inch every night; I go to get him from his crib in the morning and he just looks bigger! We started three new classes this week: two little movers and shakers classes and a swim class. Well, he seems to have enjoyed all of them, but was definitely the youngest baby at swimming.

And lastly, Kyle's new favorite thing to do is walk around while holding on to our fingers. This is particularly tiring for mom and dad, but he never seems to grow bored with it!

I keep thinking I'm going to miss the stages he's going through every month as they pass, but I enjoy each new month and it's developments more than the last! I guess that's about all...enjoy the new pictures below!

Brushing... 

...our teeth...

...in Las Vegas 

Still a little wobbly... 

Something new

Kyle is changing so fast lately...He was doing this food snub thing and only nursing the past couple days, but then we tried squash with him and whoa! he ate the whole jar of baby food; that was a first! I think he's starting to develop food preferences! Also, we took him on his first bike ride in the bike trailer yesterday. He seemed a little shocked at what was happening, but had fallen asleep by the time we drove home about 5 miles later.

Maybe we'll have to try Kyle and Ellie in the bike trailer together...hmmmm...

We're off on our first "Real" road trip tomorrow. Kevin is in a wedding in Las Vegas, but we didn't buy plane tickets quite early enough, so we're driving. Truth be told, I'm not really looking forward to it; ah well.

That's about it! I'll update again when we get home from our trip!

Go Jacks! 

Kyle ...

...is tall enough now to use the highest setting on his exersaucer.

...consistently signs when he's ready for a nap or to go to bed.

...thinks our cat Zoe is the coolest living thing around! I'm pretty sure she's in worse trouble when he starts moving than I am!

...can stand up unassisted for a bit while holding on to furniture.

...is trying to pull himself up on everything!

...started biting while he was nursing today. The advice I'd received is to cut off his air supply by covering his face with my breast when he bites. This makes him immediately release and I guess for most babies they prefer breathing. Well, my son thinks it's a game and starts giggling every time he releases his bite to breathe. Lovely.

We continue to make changes to our living space in order to make it more "baby friendly" for our soon to be moving little guy. He's doing better at night now that we just let him cry for a couple minutes to go back to sleep. I'm pretty sure he only woke up to feed last night, but I'm having trouble remembering because I think I'm starting to sleep a little more.

Today for his morning nap I heard him talking it up after only a half hour. Now, usually, if he wakes up happy, that means he's done sleeping. I make a point not to enter his room until it's been at least an hour, but he's never woken up after only a half hour happy. So I finish getting ready for the day, all the while hearing him awake in his crib. I decide I might as well get him up because we have to run over to campus anyways before Kevin goes to class. As I walk in, he's up on his hands staring straight at our cat Zoe, who's sitting on the corner of our bed closest to his crib, and he's just chatting away to her. Now this could be a problem! I think I might have to bar her from the room he's sleeping in when he goes down for a nap now.

I'll take sleep for $100

So I've put Kyle on a pretty strict schedule and it seems to be working well for him! He wakes up at 7, cereal at 9, nap at 9:30, lunch at 12, nap at 1:30, and dinner at 6. Today he is asking to nurse 3 or 4 minutes before his nap time and then he just nurses himself to sleep. I think he's starting to figure things out! I don't mind; that means neither of us is upset about him fussing to sleep!

So our days may be better, but our nights are just downright painful. This morning I gave up around 5 and just stayed in bed when he fussed. Would you believe he went back to sleep and then woke up around 7 just playing in his crib? Thank God! I may have to try that tonight. The problem we're having is we can see his top gums completely puffy and white from the pressure of his two upper teeth coming in, so we want to give him relief if it's his teeth that are waking him up, but we just don't know how to tell the difference between a sleep cycle wake up and a painful gums wake up.

I did purchase him a strip of leather to teethe on, as suggested by our handyman (he raised his son from the time the boy was an infant as a single dad and has all sorts of advice). Kyle seems to like chomping on the leather, so we'll see how it goes. I had noticed he would chew around on his leather baby shoes if given the chance.

In other news, Kyle has been introduced to fruit this week, but doesn't seem as impressed by it as I thought he would. Also, he is really excited about Zoe whenever she comes around and is intent on standing up whenever we'll spot him. I know we need to do some more baby proofing around the house, but it seems a little overwhelming at the moment.

Alright, I'm gonna try to catch a nap while Kyle is taking his!

Regress

It's been a little rough the past week or so. Kyle would sleep the first part of the night, then wake up every 1 1/2 - 2 hours needing comforting to get back to sleep. Also, he's become clingy, but this time it's just with me. If I'm anywhere near by he wants me right with him (or more likely carrying him) as I do what I need to do. Our sling has gotten more use in the last 3 days than in all the weeks prior combined!

And today, well, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that Kyle has outgrown his swing. He now sits up straight in it and stops the swing by himself, thus rendering it useless as far as napping in it goes. I just attempted to put him down for his first nap ever not in the swing. It took a good 7-10 minutes of patting him on the back as he lay in the crib, but he's asleep; now we'll just see how long it lasts!

Yesterday Kyle had his 6 month well baby check up at the pediatrician's. He is 18 lbs 12 oz and 27 1/2 inches long. At the beginning of the appt. she was asking me how his solid food was coming and I told her (cereal in the morning, veggies at night). She kind of made a big deal about him eating solids more often, but that whatever rate we were comfortable at giving him solids was really fine. I found this comment a little odd, because the majority of babies start solids somewhere around the 4-6 month mark and would still be experimenting with cereal/strained baby food. We talked about a few other things (sleeping patterns, clingy babies, and cycling with a baby). As we were wrapping up she looks down at his file, looks up at me and starts apologizing profusely, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry about the food comment, Kyle is totally where he should be with that. I thought he was 9 months old after looking at his development chart"! Aw geez, he's even faking the doctor out ;).

So Dr. Lloyd suggested infant Motrin at night because she thinks Kyle's top two teeth are starting their descent and getting ready to push out his gums. She thought that was why his sleeping schedule is so screwy right now because he's probably having some pain/discomfort. Well, we tried it last night and would you believe our sleeping baby is back; woke up twice to eat just like before, but that was it!

Also, as soon as Kyle can hold a helmet on his head, or if we can install his infant car seat in a bike trailer, he's good to go on bike rides! I'm too excited! Walking has become so blah lately.

That's about it...we've all just kind of been surviving our days with the lack of sleep, but here's to a happy baby day!

Dear Grandparents,

I know you like to buy me baby related paraphernalia, so here are a few things to consider:

Mom went through all of my clothes the other day and realized I don'’t own a single pair of pajamas for 12 months, the next size I'll be wearing! Remember these will be my summer sleep clothes, so look for light weight/breathable fabrics.

Also, I can always use size 4 diapers, regretfully the ones that work for me are Huggies; often the most expensive! In the near future I will also need some little swimmers diapers since I'll’ (hopefully) be in swim classes starting in March.

You might be interested to know that it looks like my "big boy" room is quickly taking on a Curious George/monkey theme. I already have a comforter for my twin bed and a plush monkey chair. I figured out I like monkeys during library storytime when I had a monkey puppet read me some books. The next week mom let me pick out any puppet I wanted to read to me and I once again chose the monkey! Although, I think I'm starting to like puppets in general too!

Love, Baby Kyle

P.S.-Save Easter weekend for a special event, more details to come!

I thought I didn't have much to report...

I'm exhausted and have no idea why...Kyle and I have just been doing our normal weekly stuff. He is becoming Mr. Personality more everyday! He'll actually try to engage us in what he's doing now, which is really cute.

We ended up in a Steinmart today and good grief it must've been senior discount day! There were so many grandmas in there Kyle couldn't get enough attention. I kept hearing them say "Look at those blue eyes" and "He just makes me want to go see my grandkids"! From what Kevin said, Kyle was also very popular at dinner tonight (He went to Wendy's with Kevin and Neal so I could have a break). He stared at one college girl in line so much she commented that if any other guy looked at her that long she'd be offended! He also came home with a playskool race car, courtesy of the Wendy's employees. This little guy has got some power; and I'm pretty sure he knows it!

I guess there's really not much to say...Kyle is still sleeping pretty well at night. We've had him start sleeping in his playpen in our bedroom because we'll be traveling to a wedding in March and that will be the setup there. He's adjusted to it almost effortlessly. At one point he was waking up around 9:30 and having trouble putting himself back to sleep. I remembered the doula from our mom/baby group suggested that even older babies sometimes like to be swaddled when they sleep (if you have trouble sleeping without at least a sheet over you, then you know what she means). Well, he now sleeps all wrapped up in one of his quilts (thanks Crothers)! I always put a blanket with him when he takes his naps in the swing, but today I learned that he just likes blankets!

We went on a walk and I was putting him back in his stroller after doing some shopping with him in the sling and he was fussy, kept grabbing the sling. I took it off and gave it to him and he was thrilled; just kept holding it in his hands and putting it up near his face. After the sling had gotten stuck under the stroller wheels a couple times (it's quite a long piece of fabric), I exchanged it for a blanket I had in his diaper bag, which he still loved! (Side note: please don't buy him any more blankets. We have so many that there are some with tags still on them)!

Also, he's eating cereal twice a day now; his favorite time to eat is when we're eating! If I snack in front of him in the afternoon, sometimes he wants a teething cookie or just a bite or two of cereal simply because I'm eating! Drinking is yet another thing! He is fascinated when we drink anything in front of him out of a cup; especially if he can see the liquid through the cup. Kevin has started taking an empty Circle K soda cup with him when he walks Kyle down to get a soda so that Kyle won't ask for his cup as he drinks it on the way home. On another eating note, nursing has become quite the chore because Kyle notices everything. He'll be eating and the cat will meow or Kevin will walk buy or the microwave will ding; just about anything is cause to pop off and look around to see what's going on!

That's about it!

And the decision is...

So I broke down, purchased the Consumer Reports highest rated forward facing car seat. Basically it was on major clearance, $30-$50 off depending on what fabric you wanted. We installed it in the car to make sure it would fit (we found out after we bought our new car that Kyle's infant car seat was a little snugger than we would've liked), and it does. For any other new parents that might be interested, the Cosco Summit model 22260 is $69 at Big Lots this week (at least in Tucson).

I figured if Kyle needed a different seat down the road, we'd cross that bridge when we came to it.

In other news, I picked up Kyle's most recent portraits and they are his best yet I'd have to say. He is soo cute with all the motorcycle props! I made another appt. to get his pictures taken again when he's 7 months old; I think that'll be close to Easter. Also, Kyle has been eating a bowl of cereal and half a jar of baby food every night for dinner. He just loves it; practically inhales the stuff. And, ah yes, he was 19 lbs, 27 1/2 inches at his WIC check up on Tuesday.

On Monday I signed him up for "movers and shakers" classes through the Tucson Parks & Rec department. Regretfully, I forgot to sign him up on Saturday for his classes and didn't get him in to swimming, but we are on the waiting list for all of those classes, so cross your fingers that we get in! I am so looking forward to doing something new with him...I'm not sure if he's bored with our weekly outings to the park, mom/baby group, and storytime, but I'm ready for a change!

That's about it; he's still sleeping like a champ!

Sweet sleep

2/9/06
As many of you know, Kyle sleeps with us. We put him to bed in his crib, then transfer him to our bed when we go to bed. Well, last night we decided we'd "play dead" or pretend to sleep when he woke up in the middle of the night. Little guy did great! He would fuss a little and put himself back to sleep in five minutes or less; and he ate less often: Once when we brought him to bed at 11:45, again at 3:45, and this morning at 7:00 when we all woke up.

I'm not going to get my hopes up, but he's also doing better during his naps; being able to put himself back to sleep if he wakes up sneezing and such. It's only been a couple days that we've been implementing new middle of the night sleep waking procedures.

If nothing else during this process, we know we've got a little genius on our hands. Of course, we've always thought he was smart, but last night when Kevin would go in to give Kyle a little pat if he woke up, Kev found him all the way in the corner of his crib closest to the door. He definitely knows we don't disappear when he goes to bed! Also, he's figured out how long we wait between times to come pat him when he wakes up. He hardly fusses until the 5 minute mark is reached, then he lets out a howl. We're going to up it to 7 minutes tonight I think and see how that goes.

2/13/06
UPDATE:
Kyle sleeps in his crib without so much as a peep now until we bring him to bed with us! This happened three nights in a row! However...

Kyle loves to sleep next Kevin when he sleeps in our bed. The problem is that Kevin moves quite a bit and it's been waking Kyle up to the point where he's unable to put himself back to sleep. So tonight we'll try Kyle sleeping in his crib the whole night instead of joining us in bed. I'm a little sad because my favorite part about this whole process has been waking up to Kyle smiling, cooing, and playing with us in the mornings!

In other news, we traveled to Chandler for a bike race this weekend. I had a good time, although failed to make it to the main event. Kevin went on a road bike ride and Kyle got to hang out with a good showing of his grandparents while we were there!

Nothing too new...

Thank goodness for this journal! I picked up a baby book to fill out for Kyle last week, and if it wasn't for this blog, I'm not sure I'd remember things like "The first time mommy and daddy heard my heartbeat was..." or "The first time mommy felt me move was...".

Kyle is doing well; looking more like a little boy everyday. The reason Kevin hasn't posted any pictures lately is because I left our camera in PHX a couple of weekends back. We'll hopefully pick it up this weekend. I'm going to try to do a state championship qualifier race on Sunday. We'll see how that goes. BMX practice was thwarted tonight by a shredding sidewall.

Kyle actually thinks some things are humorous now. He'll just laugh out loud at us or his baby video. I laid him down on a blanket today and dragged him around the house. He thought that was great! As far as eating goes, he kind of snubs the baby cereal now, but loves the liquefied baby veggies we feed him every night.

Also, he's been falling asleep or just playing when we drive in the car now. This is sooo nice compared to the screaming that used to commence. I've been doing some car seat research, as he'll be moving to something new as soon as he outgrows this infant seat. Thankfully, our infant seat is one of the one's that goes to 29", instead of just 26". I guess Ellie is pretty much out of hers now at 9 months and she has one of the 26 " seats.

My favorite seat is the Britax Marathon. However, it's also very pricey. I've been looking for something that'll fit Kyle in height longer than it'll fit him in weight. It seems that he may have some tall genes working overtime in that little body of his and we don't want to have to buy yet another car seat after this one simply because the restraints won't go any taller. The car seat that Consumer Reports rates highest is currently on clearance at BRU, but I've read too many reviews from too many parents who say their tall toddler did not fit in this seat. Ah well.

Here's to sleep!

Are you sure you were pregnant?

So, we still have a few mementos hanging around the house from before Kyle arrived. I noticed the 7 up bottle of soda from when we were in labor still resides in the fridge...

And I haven't quite been able to bring myself to the point where I can throw out those first home pregnancy tests we took when we found out we were pregnant. I know, I know what you're thinking, "Mindy, you peed on those little sticks. That's so gross!". I thought that after Kyle arrived, I would no longer need the the HPTs as evidence that I was/had been pregnant. Ah well. Maybe I'll just take a picture of em...the lines that show you're pregnant are still perfectly clear.

Pictures

I was picking up today and realized we have a lot more framed pictures out and about now that Kyle has arrived. Not only that, but they are professional pictures. Good grief. I never used to care about stuff like that; getting pictures taken every so often to document the months and years. Kyle gets his picture taken every 2 months or so. The pictures he took this week are sooo cute; I can't wait for them to come in. However, that also means I need to go purchase some more frames to put these up, LOL.

I had never done this before, even with Kyle, but I spent a good $80 on pictures of him this time. It was some special engagement that they weren't taking coupons for and now that he's older, well he just gets cuter every time we get new pictures taken of him! So there went my Christmas money; funny what is more important once you have kids. I thought, 20 years from now, when Kyle's in college, will I remember the clothes I bought with this money? Naw, but I will remember those pictures!

Nothing new...

So another leaky diaper this morning...this is getting really old. There is one brand of diapers that Kevin and I both noticed fit him really well when he was younger, so I went and got some of those this morning to try out at night. Of course, they are one of the more expensive brands, but if I don't have to wash his swing pad every morning, it's worth it for me!

I laid on the floor this morning with Kyle, both of us on our backs, and read him a couple books. Boy was he tickled! Then we went to babytime at the library this afternoon. He just loves it now that he's older...which, by the way, the little guy turned 5 months last week.

Babies r us sent me a coupon this week so I went and got a few things I'd been wanting to buy, but really didn't want to pay full price for. Things like baby food bowls with lids, a stroller cup holder, a food grinder, and some sippy lids for the baby juice he'll be getting soon.

I put together his activity table earlier this week also. He really likes his little baby friend's table, but didn't seem as excited about the one we own. It says it's for 6 months plus, so maybe he'll like it more in a couple of weeks!

That's about it!

Moving on up...

After 4 stained outfits and 2 nights of leaky diapers, we have officially started using size 4 diapers...you'd think I'd learn to watch Kyle's signs that he needs the next size up in diapers, instead of relying on the weight chart provided by the diaper company. Ah well.

Long weekend...

Oh man did we work hard this weekend...well, I worked hard and Kyle played hard! We arrived to help Anastasia and Shannon move on Friday evening. I plopped Kyle down on the floor to play and Cameron walks up and says "hello". LOL. It was too cute. They checked each other out and did a little playing together, but then Cameron went to spend the weekend with his grandparents!

I think Kyle may have been a little overwhelmed, as Cameron actually has an entire room devoted to playing. He played so hard he'd just conk out in the car as we headed back to my mom's to sleep each night. On Sunday he started talking and talking and truly hasn't stopped since! All these sounds, mamamama, babababa, dadadada, nanananana...it's great!

We got home Sunday night and Kevin says "I think he grew while you were gone"...well, turns out the little guy is just sleeping and eating today, so Kev may be right; feels like a growth spurt!

For the most part he's been eating about a tablespoon of cereal each morning and two teaspoons of sweet potatoes each night. Not much, but he's getting better at moving food to the back of his mouth each mealtime. His two bottom teeth are really showing through now and I'm anticipating those two top teeth coming in here soon. I hear they're even harder to cut than the bottom ones...

That's it for now...we've got pictures and our regular mom/baby activities this week!

Whew...

What a long week...Kyle got his second tooth, I got sick, Kyle got bloody noses...good grief. I can't believe it's Thursday already. I took Kyle to the doctor yesterday due to those bloody noses and they weighed him; 18 lbs 1 oz.. I knew he was getting heavy!

No worries about the bloody noses; we are now advised to wipe his nose instead of suctioning. Basically, whenever he teethes, his nose runs.

Add another notch to Kyle's belt of accomplishments; the little guy ate half a serving of cereal this morning with no allergic reaction. Now mind you, this is the organic stuff, not the Gerber brand which we tried originally. Of course, the organic stuff isn't covered by WIC, so looks like we'll be buying a lot of our own baby food until he can eat chunkier stuff; then I'll just throw what we're eating in to a food grinder. That blond hair and those blue eyes seem to come with a lot of "sensitivities".

This weekend we'll be in Phoenix helping my cousin and her husband unpack. They just moved in to a new house and she just found out she's pregnant again (yea!). Looks like Kyle is going to have quite a few cousins just a year apart from him. Sorry grandparents, no visits this weekend; we're going to have enough on our plate just traveling to Happy Valley Rd. and back.

Look for a full report on Monday...I'm curious to see how Kyle is going to interact with his 1 1/2 year old cousin, Cameron!

All I want for Christmas...

Our suspicions were confirmed this morning when Kyle woke up with bottom front tooth number two poking out of his gum...

Date night?

We watched an entire movie tonight without a peep from junior...I'm pretty sure that's a first!

"Hey Kyle, what do you say...

...We all want to know what you learned today!" (You'd sing the songs from cartoons too if you stayed home with a little one).

Today Kyle drank his entire afternoon bottle all by himself; held it up one handed, the little show off!

And the consensus is...

...that most children actually don't sleep through the night until well in to their toddler years.

However, there's a part of me that still doesn't mind those nighttime feedings...

I think it'll be all too soon that he'll sleep through the night and I'll miss holding this peaceful little guy in my arms in the dark. Kyle is so funny when he feeds during the day now; Mr. Distraction, that's what he is. If I talk to someone, the TV/radio is on, or if Kevin comes home during a feeding, it's all over! He pops off and swivels his head right around to the rest of the room, makes sure he's not missing anything, looks up at me, grins, and re-attaches himself. Sometimes he decides it's just not worth eating at the moment even if he was seemingly hungry just seconds ago and proceeds to lay on his back on my lap blowing raspberries up in to the air, checking to make sure I'm watching him do his new trick.

He is looking like such a little boy now...I can understand why parents have other children; you truly only remember the good stuff (which is why I look back on this pregnancy blog every so often to remember those months of nausea).

I hung out with a girlfriend who is expecting twins this summer, and truthfully, I'm so relieved it's her and not me. I had enough worries carrying one baby, but it sounds like those worries are compounded when you carry two! It's way too late to expound on that point...

Tomorrow we go to the library for baby storytime. Kyle was the youngest, yet tallest, of the babies last week...who knew we'd produce giants ;).

On a final note, I sang Kyle to sleep for his afternoon nap today. Kevin often sings him to sleep at bedtime, and my mom mentioned that he seemed to sing himself to sleep in her arms this past weekend while we were out shopping, so I tried it. He was super tired and fussy, so I sat in his room while he was in the swing and started singing a lullaby...he stopped fussing within seconds and his eyes started doing these really long blinks! Well, he was out in a couple minutes and I was a proud mom who had just put her baby to sleep by singing for the first time. (In reality, Kevin has the voice in this family and it's not surprising that Kyle prefers to hear him over me).

Two posts in one week...it must be a record!

Baby Kyle's growing up...

I know...it's been forever and a day since I posted, but in my defense, Kyle just began taking regular naps everyday, so I've just started being able to do a few of the things I used to do prior to the little guy's arrival!

First of all, Kyle is 4 1/2 months now and working towards weighing an impressive 18 lbs! His hair is still fairly blond and those blue eyes of his look like they're going to stay that way. He sits up pretty steadily now, rolls over, and just popped his first tooth through (bottom left) last week. He's been sleeping in his crib for most of the night (don't confuse this with sleeping through the night), but still prefers the swing for napping during the daytime. One of the coolest things he figured out last week was how to put his pacifier in his mouth all by himself...the correct way!

Kyle is so observant and just wants to go, go, go! It seems that he learns something new everyday and totally amazes us with what he figures out! His favorite people are other babies and he's started to exhibit some of the "stranger danger" attitudes that babies his age go through (not wanting to go to other people as easily as he used to). However, in Kyle's defense, he has been a jewel of a baby in the nursery at church...we just started trying him out going to the nursery around Christmas time and he's often "the best baby in here" according to the workers!

We tried some rice cereal a week or two ago, but his body decided it wasn't quite time to work on solids by the looks of the projectile spit up he produced!

Ah well, he's up from his nap...I'll work on another update sooon...

P.S.-For all those grandparents who like to cruise through the baby section every time they're at the store, we're looking for size 18 month clothes now (for the summer/fall) and size 3 diapers!

He's napping...

...in his crib!!!! Through no effort of my own, Kyle is peacefully sleeping in his crib. Turns out the swing died right around his cranky/nap time today, so I took him in to his room and rocked him until he fell asleep. I couldn't hold him for the next couple hours (the boy is getting big!), so I swaddled him up and plopped him in the crib just to see what would happen. Well, he's still there sleeping...I'm so happy. No coughing or allergies yet, no spitting up, just sleeping.

This is the first time he's slept in his crib...so cool, but I'm not going to count on this happening on a regular basis...what he likes changes everyday!

*Yawn*

It'll be 4 weeks tomorrow...and we've just now figured out what calms Kyle down enough to sleep for longer periods of time and eat when he's hungry, not just needing to be comforted (thanks to this book/dvd).

Kyle has been a good eater since he was born, gaining 20 oz. in his first week! At WIC yesterday he was 10lbs 12 oz (which means those newborn clothes-up to 11 lbs-aren't going to fit for much longer). He has 2-3 wakeful times everyday that last about an hour and a half, otherwise he's eating and sleeping his days away.

He's a very sweet and cuddly baby; he'd prefer nothing more than to sleep on Kevin's or my chest all day, everyday. At night we have gotten him to sleep in a baby support pillow right by my head, swaddled up nice and tight. Understand, when I say "sleep" for Kyle, that means he's asleep for 1 1/2-2 hours. I have a feeling that sleeping in the crib is a few months away!

I wish I had a comparison picture for you of how big he is for 4 weeks compared to other 4 week old babies! He's very long, although he hasn't really gotten a lot of baby chub yet; still quite skinny.

He started wiggling last week, so we can no longer leave him on the couch or bed without watching him very carefully. Also, his neck is getting stronger everyday! He'll throw his head back and hold it up to look right at you when you're holding him, in addition to turning his head side to side when he's laying down/sleeping. It's truly amazing to see how he changes developmentally!

I'll try to post more often now that he's sleeping longer periods of time! Time for a shower...I've got 30 minutes before he wakes up ready to eat again! Still looking for pictures? Check out Kevin's blog.

The beginning of the story...

Giving birth was the most difficult and most rewarding experience I've had in my entire life.

Labor and delivery went really well. I was in good, consistent labor for 15-16 hours before Kyle was born. Our doula was amazing and I'm not sure I would've coped so well without her! I labored at home for the first half, then when we arrived at the birth center I was already 5-6 centimeters and 100% effaced. I hopped in the whirlpool tub and finished up to 10 centimeters in there, in addition to having my water broken while I was in the tub. After that I got out of the tub because Kyle needed some help from gravity to descend a little bit. I continued to labor using a birth ball, sitting backwards on a toilet propped up with pillows, on a birthing stool, and eventually gave birth in the bed laying on my side.

There were a few harrowing moments, that I was pretty much unaware of until after the birth. I did notice that as I was learning/starting to push that the midwife seemed to be having trouble getting a good reading on Kyle's heartbeat. Then I heard her tell another midwife that there was meconium in the toilet I had been laboring on, even though my waters had been clear when she initially broke them. As I moved to the bed to continue pushing, the midwives were telling me that I had to push him out NOW! Then there was a lot of commotion and all of a sudden there are like 3 midwives and 3 nurses in the room and I have an oxygen mask being put over my face. Now the midwives are pretty much yelling at me that he has to come out NOW! I remember pushing 3 times before Kyle was out. Kevin says it was definitely less than 6 pushes before he was out and that my tone of voice changed immediately after he was born, "There you are baby!".

Kevin watches them un-wrap the cord from Kyle's neck (it was wrapped around twice). Then Kyle was thrown up on my chest and I realize I'm waving an oxygen tube in front of his face. He's crying! The sweetest sound I've ever heard were those cries. He pinks right up from the crying and a few minutes later Kevin cuts the cord.

To be continued... (Time to feed baby :)

The arriving!!

Kyle was born on August 26th, 2005 at 6:40 pm. He weighted 8lb 2oz and was 21.5 inches long. We're both doing well, and I'll post the birth story in a couple of days.

For some pictures check out Kevin's blog.

If only....

we had gone in to labor and had Kyle today...check out Kevin's blog to see what really happened.

Happy 39 weeks!

You'd think that with my lack of posting this week, something must have happened...but alas we are still very much pregnant! I've been staying around the house and working on a few thank you notes here and there. Kirsten stopped by on Monday with Ellie and brought us lunch which was really wonderful! There aren't a lot of people around in the daytime, so to have some company was a real treat!

Wednesday was my birthday, so Kevin took me to breakfast before he headed off to work, then we met for dessert later that afternoon. At Bible study, we had lemon cake and ice cream to celebrate, which was just what I had been craving! Kevin scheduled me a pregnancy massage for the following day, a present I could not have used (or enjoyed) more than now!

Other than that, I can assure you that Kyle is growing! It's becoming harder and harder to find any position to sit/stand/lay down in that's even remotely comfortable. Thankfully, he has dropped which means I haven't had heartburn for a week or so!

That's about it...I'll keep you posted!

FYI

Blood pressure was normal last night and all my screening tests came back normal, so no more worries about high blood pressure or being induced!

Over half of the couples in our class have had their babies, so we just listened to their labor/delivery stories last night. Only four of us are left still waiting to have our babies.

I meet with a pediatrician this afternoon to see if she'll take Kyle on as a patient after he's born.

That's all for now; sitting at the computer is becoming more and more difficult.

I always wondered...

...why I would see these very pregnant woman out shopping when it looked like they were about to give birth right there at the store. Well, it so happens, that you get a little restless those last couple weeks. The days and hours seem to drag by as you wait for any sign at all that you could possibly be in labor, so cruising around the mall or a store (especially in the summer) is a pretty good way to kill time. Of course, we still have baby stuff to set up, but I feel the need to get out of the house about once a day.

Yesterday was nice; my family came to town for an early birthday celebration. I'll be 26 on Wednesday. I kept getting calls asking "what do you want" and it's really hard to think about anything but baby related stuff at this point. Truthfully, all I want is a healthy baby born ASAP! Despite the fact I know it will be more work once he's arrived, somehow it just seems like it will be easier.

Kyle's due date is still about 2 weeks away, but I've stocked the house with food and finished every last bit of laundry "just in case". Also, our house is pretty clean, though still in the throes of unpacking. It's the little knick knack stuff here and there that we can't seem to find places for! One thing I'm still looking for are room dividers because our office and living area share the same space.

My feet are starting to ache, so time to go put them up. Our next appt. is tomorrow evening, pray for low blood pressure and no complications! I'll do my best to remember to update afterwards.

Appt. Notes

So, we had an appt. today to talk about our birth plan and get a strep b culture. Of course they do other things like weigh me, listen to Kyle's heartbeat, measure him, and take my blood pressure....

That's where the red flags went up I guess. Usually at our other appts. my blood pressure will be high right when we arrive and then about 5 minutes later I take it again and it has dropped down to normal. Today however, it stayed up for like 3 trys. So what does this mean?

Well, combined with swelling (yes I do swell), protein in your urine, and a few other symptoms it can mean preeclampsia. They decided some blood work would be a good precaution in case my blood pressure is high again on Monday (our next appt.). Also, the blood work could tell them if it's necessary to induce me prior to going in to labor naturally.

They said we would have heard by tonight if there was anything wrong, and we didn't hear from them; so far so good! I'm just supposed to take it easy for now.

Despite the good news, it was a pretty stressful day for me as I'm not a big fan of needles and to hear that the next step would be induction can be pretty scary to consider.

Prior to the appt. I did make some progress on baby stuff by packing our labor/delivery bag and putting a sticky note on the door with a few things to remember as we head out when the time comes. Tonight we did a short walk and I'm feeling pretty good.

Keep us in your prayers! I'll keep you posted on any developments.

Finally time to prepare...

Kevin put the playard/bassinet up in our bedroom last night; found the perfect spot! We stuck a few diapers and wipes in the side holders. Today I attached the little teddy bear we received at the shower that makes womb sounds to the corner post! We're hoping that Kyle will sleep in the bassinet early on while he's still doing night feedings and that all three of us will be able to sleep in the same room with our different nighttime noises! Almost looks like we have a baby around here...

Additionally, I have finished sorting through Kyle's expansive wardrobe and am currently drying his newborn clothes. The rest are folded up and on a shelf in his closet for now. The only pieces of furniture we have are a 3 shelf bookcase, a rocker/recliner, and a bedside table; so a lot of things that need to be "put away" are getting put in the closet! We do have a dresser for the room, but it's still in Phoenix.

I've discovered that, despite the fact we're planning on breastfeeding, Kyle already needs a shelf of his own in the kitchen for a couple of sippy cups, some baby spoons, and a couple bottles. Who knew he'd invade every room of the house?!?!?

Zoe, our cat, has continued to be very curious about Kyle's room and all of his stuff. She sniffs his clothes and lays down next to them, in addition to playing in the boxes and bags all of his stuff came in. Thankfully, she seems uninterested in the bassinet, so hopefully that means she won't try to join Kyle in there when he's sleeping!

Time for a snack and maybe a nap!

Long weekend...

It's so good to be home! In addition to the shower this weekend, we also had our car worked on and it looks like they finally found the root of our air conditioning problem (cross your fingers). However, this meant we were in Phoenix until late Monday evening.

The shower was such a blessing and I really enjoyed seeing so many people who had heard about the pregnancy, but I hadn't seen since finding out we were pregnant. We received just about everything we need!

Our next appointment is Thursday morning, then we have another pregnancy class/appointment on Monday. I'm interested to hear who in our class has had their babies!

So far, it looks like the weather is going to be good for the next week or so with rain and under 100 temperatures, which will be so wonderful! After July practically cooked me alive, I was sure August would be just as bad, if not worse, but the monsoons are here!

There seem to be a few lists going around as to when Kyle will be born...what do you think? Our due date is August 27th and my mom had both my brother and myself 3 days early.

And lastly, I've been asked what else we still need, so here's the short list:

Crib mattress
Crib mattress pad
Crib sheets
CD player/boombox
Breast pump (Medela brand preferred)
Co-sleeper (to go in our bed, not beside it)
High chair (not a full size one)

An option for all of these items is available online via our registry through www.target.com.

3 more weeks???

...And that's assuming he's on time...

Today was our last day of swim aerobics class...I'm so bummed! We do have a make up class on Wednesday, but I have a feeling I'll forget to go with the schedule being all screwy. Julie, the other pregnant mom in our class, gave me a sweet baby book for Kyle today. I'm going to take it with us and read it to him this weekend!

Kevin and I are traveling to Phoenix tonight. I need to run some errands and do laundry, but I'm just exhausted today! My legs have been really restless at night, until about the time the sun comes up, then it's like all the blood has finally gotten back to my heart or something and they feel normal again so I can sleep. Kevin and I are walking again at night, in addition to massaging my feet and calves, to try and help me sleep.

It's funny how long 3 weeks can seem when you're waiting on a baby.

Yesterday I went shopping for an outfit to wear to the shower this weekend. I have completely out grown all of the maternity clothes in my closet, but going to try on clothes at this point in pregnancy was not a good idea. The clothes are so cute on the hangar, but once my body fills them out they lose all semblance of their former cuteness. I figure this shower is going to be like the main place where pictures of me being pregnant are going to be taken, so I really wanted to look as good as possible; ah well.

Kyle is doing well, as far as I can tell! No new changes except that he's definitely getting bigger! Yea for 37 weeks tomorrow!

Appt. Notes

Our appointment went well this week. Kyle's heartbeat is good and strong, he's measuring at 37 weeks (still a week ahead), and my blood pressure is just fine (I was a little worried it might be high with the swelling I'd been experiencing).

We had a wonderful anniversary and I think I enjoyed it all the more knowing it was our last one without kids!

Tonight I put a framed black/white picture of Kev and me in Kyle's room. I'm so excited for the shower this weekend, but not looking forward to the trip to Phoenix. I did make my first purchase for our little guy: a Harley Davidson clothing set, since his daddy drives a motorcycle. I think we'll take the little hat to the birth center to hopefully bring him home in.

Kyle's "grandpa" (my dad) has picked out a great swing that we need to go pick up! I'm so excited to have Kevin put it together and see it in the house...it almost feels like we have a baby ;o).

That's about it! I'll keep you posted!

Welcome to 36 weeks...

...and counting! This week has been super busy with moving out of our old apartment and in to the new one. We turned in the keys on Friday and it feels so good to be completely out of there! Kevin has been great about not only doing most of the moving/cleaning of the old place, but unpacking and settling our new place too. A couple boxes a day unpacked should have us settled in before Kyle is born.

Speaking of Kyle, he is getting soooo BIG. I can hardly believe how he moves and contorts both of our bodies to get himself comfortable nowadays. I tire a lot quicker than I used to early on in this pregnancy, which can be frustrating. I keep thinking I can accomplish this huge to do list everyday, but I barely cross off the top two items before I'm exhausted!

My favorite place to be is definitely in the water, whether it be swim class or our community pool. This week a lot more people have been saying "Looks like you're gonna have that baby anytime!", which I assume means my belly is getting bigger, in addition to the rest of my body as I continue to swell. Despite the fact that swelling is annoying, perhaps it means I will lose my pregnancy weight faster because a good part of it is water weight!

Our next appt. is on Monday (which is also our anniversary!), so I'll try to get an update to you after that!

What is THAT in the toilet?

And one last note for this week:

I've been losing my mucus plug; little bit each day, but nothing bloody yet. If you don't know what that means, well, I'm not going to explain it because it's kind of gross. You can look it up here if you like. However, it is a good sign that my body is starting to gear up/get ready for Kyle's arrival!

Yea! for 35 weeks tomorrow and 36 days to Kyle's due date!

A few notes

So an appt. update first: Kyle is measuring at 35 weeks (a week ahead of where we are) and he's in the perfect position for labor and delivery! Pray that he stays that way! We found out that one couple in our class gave birth to their little girl about 2 weeks ago, after our last pregnancy class. She was a preemie, but is home now and doing well. It's amazing to think that they have their baby already! She was due around August 9th I think it was.

One of the most amusing things that has happened lately is when older men ask me how far along I am. They'll say "Oh, six months along?" and when I answer "Nope! 8 months!", all of a sudden they are very nice "Put your feet up, take it easy", LOL. This happened once at church and once after my swimming class.

Remember how I said Kyle was doing a morning exercise routine? Well, it hasn't stopped for almost 72 hours! He has been so active lately, it is just wearing me out! The one thing that I have been able to count on is our afternoon nap; Kyle will settle down for that one.

We got to see Kevin's dad (a.k.a. "grandad") last night, since he's in Tucson for work this week. I am so thankful for all of the family support we have and how close everyone lives. It is such a blessing!

The last two days I've been feeling kind of yucky; just lethargic and slightly nauseas. I know my eating habits have been a little off since we've been moving, so I'm hoping with that getting back to normal, the way I feel will get back to normal too.

This weekend we should finish up moving from the old apartment to the new one, which will feel like an accomplishment. I can't believe the month of July is almost over. We'll be celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary in less than 2 weeks! That's all for now!

Settling in

I swear Kyle has his own exercise routine every morning! He roams all around my belly pushing it out here and there while I eat breakfast, then settles down for what I assume is a nap. I think we both had trouble getting comfortable last night! He was more active than usual and neither of us slept much. We do seem to be able to take a good 1-2 hour nap every afternoon though. I've noticed I'm a lot more tired and lose my breath more easily the last couple days than I have earlier in this pregnancy. His due date is less than 6 weeks away, which seems like no time at all!

Kevin and I are still moving a few things and unpacking the new apartment. The most exciting event is that we are now able to do laundry, LOL. I never thought I'd be so pleased to do laundry, but we needed to do it before we moved and then had some hook up problems, so it's been almost 3 weeks since the laundry was done!

I also found out yesterday that Kyle's great Aunt Jewel and Uncle Denny would like to purchase his crib; what a blessing! We have received lots of little clothes, but just a stroller and car seat as far as major items go. Our shower is coming up, but of course I'm anxious about setting up his room knowing that his due date is so close!

We have an appointment tonight and I'm wondering how big he's going to measure today! Some of the ladies in our class are due as soon as Aug. 1st, which is really amazing to me. Some of these babies could be born by the time we have our next pregnancy class!

All in all, I'm feeling good. My swelling isn't near as bad as it was last week, I'm able to stay cool in the new apartment, and just as uncomfortable as any other pregnant woman who's 8 months along! That's about it! My next goal is to get some new pictures posted this week, so I'll let you know when that happens.

So much to do...

I'm sitting in our new apartment, feet up on a pillow, gallon of water by my side, watching a rerun of the Tour de France. A lot has happened in the last almost 2 weeks since I posted. We're in the process of moving to a new apartment, that I am so pleased with (can you say air conditioning?!). My feet are swelling everyday no matter what...I think I've been pushing it just a little too hard for 8 months along. I doubt the record heat here in Tucson is helping much either!

I get asked at least once a day when I'm due by perfect strangers when I'm out and about; Kyle has really popped out lately, but my belly usually doesn't resemble a round circle...more like a triangle or lopsided square. Instead of kicking me, Kyle simply pushes his limbs out and around my belly, which is more comfortable than the kicks. I have a feeling it's just so crowded in there that kicking has become a little difficult to accomplish.

At our last appt., Kyle was measuring a week ahead of where we're at. My weight gain has slowed down considerably, but the midwives aren't worried about it. We are 44 days away from his due date; it's so close yet so far! That's about it; we'll be 34 weeks on Saturday!

32 Weeks!

Yep, we're 32 weeks today! It's flying by and yet time is moving so slowly; hard to explain. Kevin and I officially celebrated living in Tucson for a year this week. So much has happened that we definitely weren't expecting this past year! It's like a dream that Kyle will be here in less than 2 months.

Kyle has been doing some exploring this week; of my uterus that is. I find him practically crawling around to my back via my right side and when he stretches his legs up in to my ribs, his little head pushes down excruciatingly on my cervix. It's quite the experience! If we do a little trip in the car during the day, he'll move around my stomach following the light from the sun shining on my belly. Sometimes I think he moves just to hear my voice; at times it feels almost like someone is tickling me so I'll laugh and he'll keep moving. So funny. I can't wait to know him, his personality; it's very exciting to think about who he is and will be.

We have an appt. on Tuesday, then I'm off to Phoenix for a dentist appt. on Wednesday.

Cravings?

So, just recently, there are times when I will want a certain food or combination of foods. Last week, I was so desperate for a peanut butter sandwich, that I went out to the store in the middle of the day to simply buy a loaf of bread (we had run out that morning). I had no idea if we needed anything else from the grocery store, but I knew I needed bread...NOW! Last night I was desperate for some Sprite, so Kev walked me down to the gas station for a soda. I won't be doing that again any time soon though, because I was up all night running to the bathroom!

Today I wanted one of those little Lipton pasta packets, the tomato basil one; so I went to the grocery store again, but they didn't have any in that flavor *sigh*. Avocados and tomatoes with salt would have done just as well, but there were no avocados in the produce department! I did have the piece of mind to pick up a few other things so we'd have dinners this week, in addition to strawberries which seemed to take care of any cravings I'd been having. I ate the entire pint by myself...they were so good!

Kyle had the hiccups for the longest time tonight! You could feel him hiccup real low on my abdomen with your hand and watch my belly right under my chest kick out every time he had one. Kevin sat by me and felt him have his hiccups for a little while.

We were in Phoenix briefly this weekend and received some more baby stuff! Kyle is really starting to accumulate quite a stash of gear in the corner of our bedroom. I'm excited to have a place to put it here in the near future!

That's about it! 61 days and counting!

All's well...

I'm starting to melt inside the house now, not just when I go run errands. Summer must be officially here!

Our appt. went well last night. I'm gaining weight (as usual), Kyle had a strong heartbeat at 130, and he measured at 31 cm for 30 weeks. Now, at first he measured like 26 cm and the midwife seemed slightly concerned, mumbling something about when we had our diagnostic ultrasound and I thought she might send us for another one thinking he wasn't growing fast enough. But, I did tell her he tends to hang out on the right side, so she found his little butt, measured me from his head to his butt, and he was 31 cm.. Our little boy, making me look all lopsided!

Swim class was heaven sent this morning! I could've stayed in the pool all day and just swam laps. I've considered running errands today, but at this point it's just not worth it to leave the house until desperation kicks in! That's about it! I posted some 30 week belly pictures on Kyle's website. They are a little grainy since I resized them, but you get the idea!

30 weeks and counting!

It has been forever since I've updated...I know. Thankfully, I am feeling better. Kyle got the hiccups for the first time last week! At least the first time I've felt them; he gets the hiccups about twice a day now.

If you see me in the next couple weeks, you'll notice I practically have a shelf where my belly sits! We are at 30 weeks now, which is terribly exciting. When we found out we were pregnant last December, I never thought this summer would arrive!

I'm a little more uncomfortable everyday and Kyle is definitely getting stronger. I think I stressed the little guy out at an action movie we went to with all the loud noises; I received the hardest jabs I've ever felt from him in the theater! He likes to wake up when Kevin's alarm goes off now. Kevin has decided to try to become a "morning person", so that means a 6 a.m. wake up call. So far, I can usually settle Kyle down for another hour or so of sleep, but he is definitely hearing everything that's going on around him!

We are in the process of cleaning out our second bedroom for Kyle and baby proofing the downstairs for a toddler I'm planning on watching during this upcoming school year. We're still looking to buy a house, but not expecting to be in anything by the end of August.

And finally, we have an appt. tonight! I love hearing his heartbeat; it really keeps me going when I'm feeling the worst!

Not again...

"I'm not sick, I'm not sick, I'm not sick..."

*sigh*

Just threw up dinner...I'm gonna die if I get morning sickness again this last trimester...

No sleep for the weary...

Poor Kyle...I think he's as uncomfortable as I am now. He was up ALL NIGHT LONG and well in to today, which means I was also up all night long and have yet to take a nap today. I thought truly sleepless nights happened after he was born...

Another week....

So, I know, it's been awhile. Since Kyle is getting bigger, it now hurts my back to sit at the computer for more than like 10 minutes at a time. Also, I'm progressively more tired during the day, which leads to a nap around 2:15, almost like clockwork!

At our appt. on Monday we found out that Kyle is head down and the midwife even showed us how to feel his little head! It was so cool; you can like move it back and forth. My belly measured at 27cm for 28 weeks (which, you usually measure as many cm as you are weeks). We had a girl join our class who is due Sept. 2nd, so I am no longer the latest due date in class, YEA!

Today at swim aerobics another pregnant woman showed up! I was too excited; found out she is due Aug. 23rd with a girl and will be attending class on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Other than that, things are just moving along. We saw Kirsten and Ellie Wed. night at the park, which was fun! Kirsten seems like an old pro at this baby thing already; I'm just wondering if I'm going to know what to do with Kyle once he arrives! Ellie is already 5 weeks old, which is amazing to me. She reminds me of baby pictures now, like the gerber baby because she's all filled out and has her own expressions/personality. It's really something!

And lastly, we are looking for a place to live, so send us your prayers in that respect. Kyle will be full term in less than 8 weeks (we found out full term is 36 1/2 weeks at our appt on Monday), which means I'd like to be moved by then or settled where we are if possible!

YEA for 29 weeks tomorrow!

Third Trimester

Welcome! to the third trimester! Yep, it's all downhill from here! Technically, I believe he's considered full term in 10 weeks (at 38 weeks gestation). Do you know how fast 10 weeks is going to fly by???? Especially with my swim aerobics three days a week...

Now let me tell you about these classes; they started on Tuesday. I showed up, dressed out in my bikini, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and a pair of Kevin's old board shorts. The entire class is retirees! I peeled off my swimsuit coverup (a little dress) and immediately this older women's mouth dropped right down to the water... I do believe she was appalled, LOL. I said "good morning" as I waddled over to the ladder to climb in and the ladies I ended up standing by were very sweet, asking all about the pregnancy (turns out one used to work with the mom's and baby's at a hospital in town and knows my midwife)! The other asked if I was having twins (guess I'm starting to show ;)).

Day two of class brought less looks and more ribbing about whether or not I'd go in to labor in the water. Just to note, everyday there are some different people in the classes because you sign up for them separately, but a few are doing all three days of classes like me.

And today, day three of class, the woman who asked me if I was having twins proceeded to let me know that if I wanted to quit the classes Tucson Parks & Rec would give me a full refund. I about died laughing inside. I think this lady is worried about me doing something to harm myself or the baby by taking the class. I just said thanks for the information. (I was given permission by my physician to take these classes).

Truthfully, I am so enjoying my water classes. They are vigorous, but I'm sleeping better at night and they really get me up and going since I have to be there by 9:00.

In other news, I'm heading to Phoenix this weekend and then Casa Grande to celebrate my dad's birthday! Tomorrow we are officially 28 weeks and Monday is our next appointment. That's it!

*YAWN*

Sleeping is a new adventure. I just discovered this comfortable way to sleep with one of my legs extended straight down and the other pulled up towards my chest (it kind of rests on my belly). Well, lately, Kyle goes nuts whenever I get in this position on either side. He makes my whole belly move out in all directions, which of course means, I don't fall asleep anymore. Kevin put his hand under where my leg rests on my belly while I tried this position and said it's like Kyle is holding up the weight of my leg when I sleep like that. Good grief! I feel guilty now! So, if you want to feel Kyle kick, I know a sure fire way to make it happen, but of course I'm searching for new positions to sleep in again...ah well. The things you do for your kids ;).

Changing everyday...

Kyle must have had a growth spurt last night! I was so sore on both sides of my belly this morning.

The neatest thing that has been happening, I started to notice it when we were away for the wedding, is that Kyle responds to Kevin's voice. Kevin was at the bachelor party until after midnight, so Kyle and I had done our nighttime prayers and gone to bed. I was surprised because Kyle hadn't moved around the way he normally does when we go to bed. Well, as soon as Kevin came in and started talking Kyle was so active! This week, Kevin has been talking to Kyle through my belly and Kyle will kick back at him. It's the coolest thing! Not a very scientific approach to discovering Kyle knows his daddy's voice, but I'm convinced!

The other night I got to visit with Kirsten and Ellie! I can't believe Ellie is almost a month old...she is a lot bigger and so animated now! It's amazing to think that she'll be four months old when Kyle is born. I told her that she'll have to show him the ropes when he arrives!

And lastly, since we turned the cooler on during this recent heat wave, I have not wanted to turn it off! Even though it's getting cooler *sigh*.

My annoyances*

*Read at your own risk. This post is a little more graphic than my others.

So, I understand that there are some woman who just love being pregnant and embrace it with all it's challenges, but I am not one of them. Kyle and I have this little conversation every morning that, if he'd like to make an appearance closer to my birthday (Aug 17th), rather than on or past his due date (Aug 27th), that would be okay with me. Don't freak out, he's considered full term as of 38 weeks, so I'm not asking him to be a preemie or anything. Plus, the statistical odds of this actually happening are like zero, especially for a first time mom!

On to my annoyances. First, there are two things that happen during pregnancy, but only if you are genetically predisposed to them: stretch marks and varicose veins. Lovely. Oh yes, I am a member of both of these clubs, and have the opportunity to do body inspections everyday after my shower. See, as a pregnant woman, your skin gets really dry and itchy from all the stretching, so you slather it with lotion or oil all over after your shower. This is the perfect time to discover new skin atrocities. Technically speaking, I've been one of the lucky ones so far: my stretch marks are only places my husband will ever see them and I haven't found any varicose veins yet. Next, I have given up shaving, except for special events (say that wedding we just attended). Turns out my belly now presses against my thigh in the shower when I'm shaving in a most uncomfortable way and it's just not worth it. Not to mention the raised "waves" that run the length of our tub and make my feet hurt when I'm balancing to perform this womanly feat. And lastly (at least for today), I'm convinced that a baby's first toys are his mother's internal organs. Kyle has a couple days a week where I swear he is bored to pieces and just won't stop moving. This means every time he punches my bladder, I run to the bathroom and a timely kick to my lower rib cage leaves me breathless. The most interesting phenomenon, that never occurred to me, is what happens now that he is head down in my abdomen. See, the little guy uses his arms and hands a lot, and I believe they must be up in this little cheering position because whenever he gets excited it feels like I'm getting punched in the crotch...didn't see that one coming!

The worst thing that has happened this week though is that our community pool is closed for re surfacing. Tell me, why didn't they resurface the adult pool when they did the tot pool in March? They decided to wait until the hottest week of the year so far and the week that all the kids get out of school to shut the pool down. I swear, I think I cried last night when I found out it'll be closed until Saturday.

And yet, if that is the worst thing that is going on in my life right now...I am doing pretty darn good! Thank you for listening.

A few notes

The wedding was great, went better than I anticipated and I had a wonderful time. My favorite part was staying in the hotel and being out of the heat that was sweltering Phoenix and Tucson this weekend! I swam in the indoor pool everyday, went to a flea market, did some reading, and just relaxed. Kevin was super busy with groomsman duties, so we didn't see each other much, but I did get to hang out with my sister in law, Kristin, and give her current beau a hard time (it was the first time we'd met him).

As far as baby stuff goes, Kyle is definitely getting bigger. We are at 26 weeks now, which I think means third trimester is just around the corner, if you can believe that! His movements get harder everyday, but I do get an occasional slow night where he only wakes me up once, instead of having a party every time I get up to pee. Getting up and down (like off a sofa or in/out of a car) is becoming more laborious; I even had Kevin tie my tennis shoes for the first time this weekend because I just couldn't stand the pressure on my belly from leaning over!

We got more baby clothes! The cutest outfits ever from our good friend Laurel, who lives in Flagstaff. She brought two bags of tops, coveralls, socks, and washcloths that I so enjoyed opening; even a little sweatshirt from our alma mater (NAU)!

I know there is more to share, but I'm exhausted and waking up early to go look at a rental property for us to potentially live in; oh yes, we get to move this summer while I lumber through my 8th and 9th month! Wish me luck!

See you in a couple days!

Just a few notes before we head off to Prescott for the wedding:

This morning I took a couple hours and applied for WIC...turns out we qualify, so that'll help with groceries for now and later on solid foods for Kyle when he's about 6 months or so. Also, we had our waterbirth class tonight; I was expecting something different I guess. The nurse showed a video and then just kind of let us discuss. She did hand out some information that answered a lot of questions, but I guess I was thinking it'd be more structured, like a presentation on waterbirth, pros, cons, and some statistics. Tracy, our doula, attended and it was good to see her again. I got some tips on traveling to Prescott (which is at altitude), so that'll I'll be more comfortable!

And lastly, after we got home from the waterbirth class, Kevin and I were just relaxing and I noticed that half of my stomach was kind of punched up higher than the other side. I felt it and it was all hard; I think that means Kyle was jutting out a body part of some sort! He did it a couple of times, letting my stomach go back to normal than pushing his body up against it again...it was quite entertaining; much more so than the TV show we had on! Finally, he kicked a few times where he had been pushing my stomach up and then resorted to making his regular movements down lower in my abdomen.

P.S.-I have come up with two potential outfits to wear to the wedding this weekend, thanks to Tammy for helping me shop yesterday! I'll let you know how it goes! And one more thing, Kyle has a homepage at http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/k/kharkins/ with my latest belly picture from this week posted there!

So I forget...

...little tid bits of information from our week that I want to tell you about. We now own a baby sling from here. It's blue and I even got Kevin to try it on! I'm thinking maybe we'll practice using it with our cat Zoe; look for future pictures...lol. Kirsten was looking for a light weight sling and knew we were too, so when she had connections with a distributor here in AZ we were all for ordering one!

That's all I can remember for now...look for additional mini updates before we leave town for a wedding this upcoming weekend!

Right on track...

I can't believe how much bigger Kyle and I have to get before he arrives...Everyday he gets heavier! From what I understand about his development, he's basically a miniature newborn and the next couple months will be spent maturing his organs and how they function, in addition to adding on weight!

A few notable experiences have happened this week: First, Kyle was so active on Tuesday he made me nauseas the entire day. I had this horrible thought that he was going to be this active for the rest of the pregnancy, but he's slowed back down to his normal rate of activity again; not to say his kicks aren't getting stronger! The midwife seemed to think he was head down at our Monday appt. and I think I can verify that from the swift kick to my lower left rib cage I received Wed. night after changing positions in my sleep! I've gained about 19 pounds at this point and am on track if I gain a pound a week from here on out (and don't get sick again). Also, the midwife measured my tummy and I'm 24 cm. at 24 weeks, which is just right.

Today we're actually 25 weeks officially and are going to start taking weekly tummy pictures. In other news, I traveled across town to the largest baby stuff store in Tucson and enjoyed looking around there. I was considering potential take home outfits when a grandmother came up to me and asked me which outfit I would take my baby home in if I didn't know the sex. It was so cool that someone wanted my opinion just because I'm pregnant! Also, I realized I wasn't drinking enough during the day so I bought a 1 gallon jug with a handy dandy handle to carry around all summer from the water store. My goal is 1 gallon/day in addition to milk and juice, but so far I'm only at about 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon. I'm feeling better already!

I was browsing through the Harkins family calendar to see whose birthdays and anniversaries we had missed so far this year and noticed on the front page the cutest picture of Kevin, probably about 4 or so and I just thought "Is that what Kyle's going to look like? A miniature Kevin?". I'm so excited to find out!

And on a final note, we got to hang out with Kirsten and Jason Friday afternoon. Kirsten told me about her birth experience, which was really cool (and eye opening in many respects!). Kevin and I both had a chance to hold Ellie; I can't remember the last time I saw Kevin hold a baby, especially one so young. He had her kind of laying in his hands, supporting her head and he says "That can't be very comfortable" and Ellie kind of made some baby noises in reply, so he laid her on his thighs and she dozed with her hands up by her head like she was cheering; too sweet.

A brief overview...

So not a lot has happened lately...I'm definitely getting bigger because just this week clerks and cashiers wherever I go are asking when I'm due and if it's a boy or a girl. I can feel that Kyle's bigger and changing positions off and on due to where he's kicking me! Tonight is a prenatal appointment and we are at 24 weeks along (6 months if you use a 10 month scale). In the last couple days I have started experiencing what I assume is indigestion or heartburn, so the extra large size bottle of Tums is on my nightstand to ward off that "I'm ill and gonna puke again" feeling.

OH! I so forgot about yesterday; yes, I know it was Mother's Day, and I'll tell you about that in a minute. However, I got to tape Ellie's baby dedication and hold her! What a treat! She is so tiny and has changed so much in just one week...I can't believe we're going to have a baby in just a few short months! She was sleeping and making all of these cute baby noises; really precious. Now, in regards to Mother's Day, my poor husband has been so sick the last couple days, but still found the perfect card and took me out to eat, which I just LOVE to do. The card went something like "Us before kids...Us after kids...We're gonna make it!"; about how I feel most days!

I did end up in Phoenix for a couple days this past week and thank goodness for family! My cousin was in town and it was great to hear "You don't even look pregnant from the back" (haha). My face is definitely retaining water (a.k.a. getting fatter). I got a haircut on Thursday and resisted the urge to get a short cut due to my expanding face, despite the fact it's getting hotter. Also, and you may not have known this, but we now have A/C in the car again!!!! I'm hot all the time as it is, but to drive around Arizona without A/C is brutal.

We're in Tucson until May 18, then heading to Prescott for one of those weddings I wrote about a couple posts ago. No, I still don't have a dress, but Tammy is in town, so I need to touch base with her and see what we can do about this formal occasion! That's about it! Check out Kevin's blog for official name voting results!

IT'S A GIRL!

No silly, not for us...

I just got a call from our friends Jason and Kirsten and they had their baby girl, Elizabeth, last night! They were about 4 months ahead of us in this whole pregnancy adventure. Kirsten said it was hard and I know I can't even imagine; I'm anxious to hear about her experience. They had Elizabeth at the Birth and Women's Health Center here in Tucson, which is where we're planning on having our baby boy!

I think Kevin and I have been kind of relieved to have another couple a few months ahead of us in regards to pregnancy; they've provided invaluable information and tips so far! I'm sure with Elizabeth here, we'll learn a little more about the baby actually arriving!

The funny thing is that I was looking for Kirsten at church all day yesterday because she helped us order a baby sling and I had the check for her! We went to morning and evening services and I wondered if maybe Elizabeth was on her way :)!

That's it! I'll update a little later this week!

Summer weddings...

We have been getting wedding invitations in the mail for summer weddings, oh, for the past month or so. I've kind of ignored the whole possibility of seeing people we haven't seen since we moved to Tucson AND I BECAME A WALKING BABY MACHINE. The last time everyone saw me I still looked and acted like a normal human being; now I look more and more like a beached whale and I pretty much only think and talk about the baby. Goodness!

So, as you can imagine, attending social functions such as a wedding this summer is kind of terrifying. I tried on all the dressy maternity clothes I own last night and it was really frustrating...they looked cute about two weeks ago when I had a little belly, but now that my belly is BIGGER, they are looking scarier off the hanger and on me. Of course, my husband, having learned his lesson early on in this whole process, tells me I am beautiful no matter what I wear, look like, or smell like when I ask his opinion (potentially a smart man, but in reality you have a frustrated wife either way). Thank goodness my former college roommate, Tammy, is coming to town and is planning on shopping with me to look for something I'll feel more comfortable in. Tammy will tell me the truth and it'll be hilarious instead of frustrating! (I refuse to shop for something like this by myself, since my feelings on how I look change daily).

Yesterday I did go shopping, like actual shopping, for the baby. I was looking for his "take home" outfit; figured he'll need to look good for those first family pictures! There are of course a million cute things out, but there is a particular onsie at the Gap that I really fell in love with, so I'm hoping it'll go on sale later this summer, in addition to the matching hat.

Cycling went well last night...the bibs are super comfortable, but I was only on the bike for 5 minutes...going to work up from there as sad as that sounds! That's about it!

Blessings and more blessings!

Ever since our ultrasound all these great things have been happening in regards to the pregnancy! First, I've been feeling great for over a week now (yea! new record). Kevin found a belly button ring for me that I can wear throughout the duration of my pregnancy! That arrived today and is going to be perfect; so far my holes have started to migrate north and get a little farther apart, so if you know anything about navel rings, that means my current jewelry will be too small soon. Also, we received a bunch of boy baby clothes and an infant car seat from friends of ours who are expecting their first baby (a girl) later this week. Very exciting.

Then, yesterday I decided to see if I could find some cycling bibs for $35 or less...and if you know anything about cycling bibs, that would be a great deal. So, I go online and the lowest price I can find is $35, but the gift certificate I have won't let me make online purchases. I decided to check out our local Supergo and found a pair of Cannondale cycling bibs for $29. Amazingly, they were actually discounted even more at the register and I got them for $25 altogether! What a deal and I'm very excited to start riding my road bike again on the trainer tonight. I figure I'm in training now for LABOR. Regretfully, I was followed by an aggressive dog on my morning walk and so I'm thinking I'll have to change my routine to when Kevin is home for my daily walks because I don't want to be caught alone with a big dog like that again! And lastly, we qualified for a discount for the water aerobics I wanted to take this summer and it came out to less than $10 for my fee (originally $70).

So, with walking, riding, and water aerobics...I'm hoping my endurance and fitness will be good come the end of August! Keep me accountable: if you see me on chat, ask if I've worked out today!

Lastly, I was a little concerned last night about our baby because I listen to his heartbeat every night via a stethoscope and it sounded slow last night...like 100 beats/minute (usually it's around 140). I checked my heart rate and it was at 88, so I knew I wasn't accidentally hearing my heartbeat. Kevin gave me some orange juice, just to make him move around and he's been a little gymnast ever since in my abdomen, so I'm not worried anymore.

That's about it! Kevin has all the ultrasound pictures on his computer, so I'll post them as soon as I get copies!

IT'S A BOY!

But, you probably knew that already! We're still tossing the names around...Kevin claims he needs a couple of days to chew over the names now that we know "for sure" that it's a boy. Both of our moms came down to Tucson for the ultrasound appointment and that was too cool to have them here, seeing him live on the screen! We had a great afternoon of lunch and shopping; we so enjoyed having them both here for this day because it made it that much more special for us!

I had convinced myself it was a boy, so the ultrasound just confirmed that for me...if you don't know the whole story: I had a dream the morning we found out we were pregnant that I gave birth to a baby boy; so that is why I thought we were having a boy this whole time!

In other news, I've been feeling good! This means eating everyday and taking two walks a day which is really making me feel better.

That's about it! I'll be posting ultrasound pictures tomorrow...for now you can check out a picture on my husband's blog.

Welcome to "Name that Condition"

You may have noticed I'm posting a lot more often this week and that is because a lot more has been happening...medically at least. Suffice to say, I did not start my walking regimen yesterday or even eat solid food all day!

I was for sure I'd wake up feeling better yesterday morning, a little weak from my mostly liquid diet, but better for sure. Well, I woke up with a stabbing ear ache and coughing up some lovely green mucus from my lungs. I thought the ear ache might have been from allergies and my nose draining somehow, so I stuck out the pain until 10:00 in the morning...then I called the doctor because it was getting worse (the story of my medical life lately)! I talked to the nurse and she got me in at 11:30. By the time I checked in and was sitting in the lobby tears were already coming down my face from the pain. This continued until the doctor showed up an hour after my appt time and I think I kind of freaked him out. I told him the tears were from the pain, but he insisted on asking if I was stressed out, if everything was okay at home. Good grief! Despite this, he did start me on antibiotics and some anesthesia drops for my ears.

I actually really liked this doctor, even though he's not my usual physician, but my favorite exchange of the appt went like this:

D: You're pregnant?
Me: Yep
D: How far along?
Me: 20 weeks
D: Really! I can't even tell you have a belly! (I pull my maternity shirt tight over my belly) Ahhh! A little one!

Smart man, this one. The one thing every pregnant woman wants to hear is that she doesn't look as pregnant as she actually is, and I'm not being sarcastic, as this was true for me also.

Today is better so far; I've eaten a little something for breakfast and been able to drink some water, in addition to no new medical problems! Kevin says it happens about every other day this past week, so I won't be holding my breath for tomorrow's health outlook!

Thanks to everyone who has been letting me know about the names: Kadin and Mikayla seem most popular among you!

Name Meanings

I received an email that stated:

"NAMES I FEEL, NEED TO HAVE A MEANING BEHIND THE NAME, AS IN BIBLICAL TIMES WHICH STATED THEIR CHARACTER. ALL THE NAMES YOU PICKED ARE LOVELY, DO THEY HAVE A MEANING TO THEM?"

Why yes the names do have meanings and here they are:

Kyle means crowned with laurel in Hebrew
Kadin means friend in Arabic
Madalyn means high tower in Greek
Mikayla means who is like God in Hebrew

Of course, some of these names have multiple meanings, so if you go look them up yourself, you might find additional or alternate meanings.

The Name Game

Being pregnant, I tend to change my mind almost every hour about various subjects. Kevin will argue that I also did this before I became a walking baby machine, but that's up for debate. Of course, the big deal for me right now is what to name this new addition, so here are the current choices:

If it's a boy:
Kyle Daniel or Kadin Daniel

If it's a girl:
Madalyn Ann or Mikayla Ann

Yea, yea, you guessed it, we're trying to stick with our respective initials. Leave a comment as to which you like best or even suggest something else! I'm going to want to name this child as soon as the anatomy screening comes back from the ultrasound technician (which happens on April 20th)!

And the winner is...

First, a health update: Last night I ate my first solid food and IT STAYED DOWN. I stuck with liquids again today until dinnertime and, cross your fingers, dinner is still in my tummy.

I think the baby is happy I'm eating food again. He/she was really active while I was on that liquid diet, but since I've been able to eat a little, the baby has settled down some.

Last night we had our latest appointment and found out there is definitely only one baby (according to my uterus size), in addition to hearing the heartbeat again. Also, I just make the cut for low risk in regards to glucose screening, which means no gestational diabetes test for me (if you know how I fear needles, this is like winning the lottery). I am gaining weight right on schedule, about 10 pounds so far and should gain about a pound per week from here on out. The baby weighs almost a pound now according to the midwife. I think that's just about all of the exciting news we found out.

My goal tomorrow is to start up my walking regimen again! Wish me luck!

Today's real post!

So since Thursday my body decided that rejecting food in the form of vomit and diarrhea was the way to go, so the midwives put me on an all liquid diet for the past 24 hours. Thankfully, I kept it all down...the threat of an IV may have helped. Despite all of this, I am still feeling yucky and now my husband is sleeping in the guest room because he doesn't want to get it. I figure I must be looking pretty unhappy if he's scared of getting it...the boy didn't even move out when I had morning sickness, but I guess that isn't contagious.

We celebrated hitting the halfway mark today (20 weeks) with dinner at beyond bread...all this meant was a bowl of soup for me, but it was good to get out. I am too excited that every week from now on is on the down slope of this whole being pregnant fiasco. I'm sure some ladies just completely love the experience of being pregnant, but I have no desire to ever go through this again no matter how cute that baby is (can you say adoption for our next child?). I'm not sure Kev would survive taking care of me and a toddler if we tried to do this natural for a child #2!

That's all for now, next appt is on Monday, so I'll try to post after that!

A Delayed Post...

Blogger was down, so here is my delayed post from Thursday...

So, the news I have is indirectly related to baby...I feel yucky. This is probably due to the fact that Kev and I spent last night in the ER waiting to have my infected, pussing, incredibly painful right eye examined because Benadryl made it worse! Turns out I have an infection (conjunctivitis?) and have to do antibiotic eye drops for the next week, three times a day. Now where did I pick up this fabulous little infection you ask? Well, that's a good question...seeing as I was frequenting middle and high schools the past two weeks, I assume I got it there. If you've been in contact with me recently (like the past week), wash your hands a lot and be on the lookout for red, pussy, painful eyes. Regretfully, I've felt like crap since waking up this morning...now this could be from lack of sleep, the sore throat I'm now experiencing, or the queasiness. All three just aren't making me a happy camper. Baby has been particularly active, most likely due to the change in his/her schedule I assume! Our next appt. is on Monday, so I'll give you an update then. That's it for now!

I would post more but...

Just a brief aside...and I warn you that this one is bigger than the last! Thanks Grandma Pam!

Yea for an update!

Just a brief update: I am feeling good most of the time...a few yucky days here and there. My belly seems to grow in spurts; Kevin's mom took a picture at 18 wks and I think it will definitely rival the picture she took at 16 wks! I'll keep you updated on when that picture is posted! I had been experiencing little flutters and such feeling the baby move, but my first real good thump occurred on March 24th, right before Good Friday. The midwives call this your "quickening" date; whatever that means! Since then I get thumped pretty regularly about 3 times a day...usually around the times when I eat slightly larger meals than my typical grazing. If I miss out on a larger meal, then the thumping gets really insistent; one of the girls I talked to said my baby is already ordering "womb" service...hehe.

On the cat front, for those of you that didn't know, my cat has become an annoying terror since I became pregnant. She would wake us up at all hours of the night, multiple times and meow as if she was dying. We sent her to Kevin's mom's house for a week or so, but that didn't seem to help until I started playing with her right before we go to bed! Now she sacks out and lets us both sleep as much, and as late, as we want!

In other news, we have a doula: a.k.a. a birth assistant. Now I hear you thinking, isn't Kevin your birth assistant? Yes, yes he is, but how would you like to be the ONLY encouragement for a laboring women if labor goes on and on for hours. Also, since neither of us have really experienced or done this before, I thought it might be nice to have another assistant there. Now, I hear all you family members saying "I would gladly encourage you during your birth" and of course I know this. However, there are certain things I will feel more comfortable doing and saying to someone I won't be seeing the next day than to a family member who will remember it for the rest of my life, so that's one of the reasons I wanted a doula.

And lastly, we finally have a date for our ultrasound: April 20th at 11 a.m.. That's it for now!

So we'll be driving down the road and I usually ride passenger side, so I'm watching all the shops go by and I see a pizza place...mmmm...that sounds good, then next door I see a sub shop...mmm...that sounds good, a 1/4 mile up the road a Chinese place...mmmm...that sounds good too. It doesn't matter where we're going, every food place I see makes me crave something they make and the last food place we see before we get home is what I usually want for my next meal. Regretfully, this is usually the Jack in the Box up the road, but oh well. I think I now understand why so many woman have told me that they gained 50-60 pregnancy pounds instead of the suggested 25-30...you are so hungry and EVERYTHING sounds good!

Not only does this happen while driving around, but also when we watch TV. I can't even tell you what we used to have to do when food commercials came on: mute the sound, cover my eyes, turn the TV off; just because I would get so sick just watching/hearing those commercials. Now the food commercials just make me crave different foods, but it doesn't only happen with food. Last night there was a hotel commercial running and I said to Kevin "I want to go stay in a hotel tonight!'. LOL.

Heavens...I am feeling better today after taking my full dose of unisom + B6 last night. Weirdly, I actually threw up before breakfast, not just dry heaves like usual. This baby is definitely growing because my ligaments are sore everyday now! Here's to showering before 11 a.m. today!

Rollercoaster Ride

So, once again, a lot has happened since my last update...I am feeling better, or was feeling better. See, Kevin has this thing about taking pills, and one of the "no more puking" strategies I have is to take a combo of unisom + B6 every night. We saw our midwife yesterday and she said it was fine to keep taking it, but Kevin insists on trying to wean me off of it. So last night I took half pills, instead of whole pills, and I feel yucky today.

On that note, I have been doing better lately! Those daily tasks such as showering, brushing your teeth, actually getting dressed, and EATING are all happening. It's so nice to eat. I've actually gained back the 10lbs. I lost during morning sickness including 2 post pregnancy pounds; Right on schedule!

We had our first group prenatal appointment last night and it was great! You take your own weight and blood pressure, then have one on one time with the midwife, there is a topic we talk about, ask questions, and really dialogue about our experiences. It was soooo nice. All the other couples are expecting their first child also, except for one! We not only heard our baby's heartbeat last night, but we could hear the baby MOVING! It was too exciting! We are officially 16 weeks 3 days in to this adventure.

This weekend was really wonderful because it was the first time I had seen a lot of my extended family since finding out we were pregnant! They were very excited and supportive. Also, Kev's mom took our first picture since I've started showing, so I'm hoping she'll post that soon on her own blog!

And finally, I did do just a little registering for the baby, so if you're interested, here's the site and you can find our list under Kevin or Mindy Harkins. The rest of our registry will be through Target here in a couple of weeks (after we *hopefully* find out if it's a boy or girl). We'll be in Phoenix just about every weekend from here through Easter at least, so give us a call or drop us a line if you'd like to get together!

Just kidding...

Last week was going pretty well early on, well, kind of. I puked real badly after taking my unisom/b6 combo before bed on Monday, so I stopped taking the combo altogether and felt pretty good until Thursday. I can't even explain how bad it was on Thursday, so I eased myself back on to the unisom/b6 combo and today is the first day I've felt fairly well.

In fact, I took a shower, brushed my teeth (without getting queasy!), drove downtown, acquired my teaching certificate, got a soda (soda is like nectar from Heaven lately for me) with Kevin between his classes, did a little shopping, and came home. That is the most I've done by myself since we found out we were pregnant! I must say I am exhausted.

As far as baby stuff is going, we've decided on an "alphabet" theme for the the baby's room. We've chosen to go unisex with the room decor no matter whether it's a boy or girl so if we are blessed with another surprise in the near future, we won't have to purchase new nursery fabrics/accessories, etc... I definitely have a belly now if you see me in profile, which is kind of cool, but also scary. We're officially 14 weeks and 3 days along, which means welcome to the 2nd trimester. Our next appt., if you could call it that, is March 14th. We won't know if we're having a boy or a girl for at least another 6 weeks, if not a little longer.

Well, I have to go eat again or I'll be queasy in no time...Here's to hoping for more frequent updates and feeling good!

Despite popular opinon...

I am still alive, though barely at times. So I think today is the best I've felt yet...exactly 12w6d in to this pregnancy. Now, I'm not experiencing this whole supposed "superwoman" phenomenon where you wake up and it's like a switch was flipped while you were sleeping and you feel amazing. I'm just feeling better, which is a definite improvement and I'm not sure how excited I'm going to get about it until I've got a week's worth of feeling better under my belt.

I still threw up this morning, but I've been eating all day so far and DRINKING WATER! For the past 8 weeks drinking anything, but especially water has been grounds for puking everything sitting in my stomach and intestines (I'm convinced) up.

I've been taking a combination of Unisom and B6 every night before I go to bed. There is some research on it, but you'd have to ask my husband, Kevin, if you want to know the details. NO, it does not help you sleep...it has some effect on the nausea. I've actually slept worse with it, but I'm typically not near as sick.

Since my last post, we had a very traumatic doctor's appt. which I won't post the details of here, but it was only traumatic for us as parents, the baby is just fine. Due to the fact that Kevin almost fainted at this appt., I have a feeling he will be well near my head during delivery and most likely not cutting the cord! We'll start our group prenatal care appts. in March, which means no more individual appts.! This is actually very convenient because the group prenatal care meets in the evenings which means we don't have to work around Kevin's school schedule.

Also, we had visitors! Our moms graciously traveled down to Tucson from Phoenix in order to clean our house. Praise the Lord! With me out of commission and Kevin just taking care of EVERYTHING, it was 12 weeks of filth, which was the dirtiest our place had been since we got married. It made me feel better to have it cleaned, I must say and we can't thank them enough!

That's all I can write for now, I'm exhausted. Thanks for all of the prayers and support!