Monday

So I keep putting off blogging because I was going to take some pictures and post them, like maybe a belly shot since I have not taken any of this pregnancy (the camera is not my friend), and maybe some of Matthew doing something fun. I should have had the camera with me this morning so I could have taken a picture of him covered in SAND from head to toe. I guess this means bath tonight :) Hopefully I will get some pictures up soon.

Other than that we are just trying to slowly accomplish tasks off the list of things to do before baby comes. It is very cool to think that my due date is next Wednesday! I ordered her a blessing dress on Saturday since we are going to bless her the day after Chris's graduation from WSU, I figured I should probably find one. Everywhere that I was looking the dresses were crazy expensive though (and by crazy I mean $50+ which I know is not crazy for everyone, but for us it is tooo much). Then I happened upon the Children's Place website and did you know what they have blessing outfits at affordable prices! They only have them online and not in their store (which is okay because we are not close to a Children's Place). I was excited to be able to order her a dress that is going to be so pretty and won't completely break the bank. Now I just need to get my behind in gear and get her white blanket done. I am almost done with the pink blanket (about 10 more rows and then just finishing the edges).

This is the dress Chris and I both liked, it is not the traditional super long blessing dress, however it is very pretty and more our style anyways. They had another one on there that I really liked but the smallest size was 3-6 months and there is no way that is going to fit in the beginning of May.

37 Weeks!

Full Term!

Well I have now officially made it to full term, baby girl could come anytime and no one would complain.

Now is when my patience is really being tested.

I am ready to meet her and hold her!

 I am hoping that when we meet her we will be able to choose a name :)

We have decided that her middle name will be Joan.

She will be named after her Grandma Linda (middle name Joan), who is Chris's Mom.

Now we have to decide which first name is the best fit.

Boxes and Rambling

I have officially started the packing process. There are lots of items that can be packed up early, we are working on books, pictures, and artwork. I am also focusing on our bedroom because it has become the store-all room and currently we still need to make room for baby girl. I would really like to get the cradle in and all the bedding washed and ready to go, but in order to do this I need to make room.
I was worried that having the boxes around and starting to change things would disturb Matthew but so far he seems okay with it. I think he will be okay as long as we leave his room alone for now. Plus he really likes that we let him color the boxes after we pack and label them. It is a fun way to include him and to make the process fun. I figure they are just boxes so why not let him make them beautiful :)
I really like the idea of having lots of the odds and ends packed before baby girl comes, it will make moving much less stressful if we are organized and ready before she comes.
So there you have it, my goal before baby comes, pack, organize, and make a baby corner in our room. Baby corner is first priority though. I feel like I need to have that done this weekend, so I am working there first. unfortunately this may be the hardest task because it involves sorting through all the paperwork that is on the computer desk, organizing the piles of junk in our room, and moving the desk and desktop computer to storage. I have seriously considered getting rid of the desk and desktop computer but I think we will use them in the preschool room at the new house. So, as much as I want to toss them (give them away) I don't want to risk having to re-buy something later. Although I really would like a child size computer desk for it, we will have to wait for extra money to do that.
I am so excited that the new house will have a designated "preschool" room. The living room will be used as a preschool area and it is separate from the great room that is off the kitchen. So we will have a small living room that is our own set up and then the real "living room" will be for the business. No more living in a preschool 24/7 like we have been doing here. The house is set up so the living room is easy to close off from the rest of the house, there is a door on one side and a small entry way on the other where we can put our baby gate that is currently at the top of the stairs. There is also a half bath in the laundry/mud room that we can use for the daycare and we will not have to share the full bath.
Sorry this is a whole bunch of rambling about things I am planning. This is the exciting part of moving for me, getting to plan and set up a new house. This house we are excited to be setting up, and I think we can make it feel very home like for the kids. Knowing that we will be there for four years makes it easy to move in and make it our own. Matthew will be 6 before we possibly move so he will remember this house the best from his younger years, I want to make sure they are good memories. Having a park and elementary school across the street should help though :)

Baby Girl Update:
I am 36 weeks as of yesterday which makes me officially 9 months pregnant! So far no worries about blood sugar levels, I am monitoring with a glucose monitor twice a day per doctor request. 
The ultrasound had her measuring about 4 days small from my original due date (the 20 week ultrasound said the same thing I believe). So I am not sure what the doctor will say about that this time. I am hoping he doesn't move my due date but it is possible I guess :(
However, if she is due a little later that will be good to know because it would change when they start pushing being induced. I really would like to avoid that if possible so moving her due date would give her a few extra days to make her appearance if she needs them, however I am hoping she doesn't wait that long!

Pictures :)

The ultrasound went great. Fluid levels are really good, she is measuring behind where my due date should be, but I will find out her size estimate later today after the radiologist has a chance to compare this ultrasound with the other ones. 

The other good news is she is still very definitely a girl! The ultrasound tech was really nice and she said she always double checks gender for people. She also let us watch baby girls face for quite a while, it was a really clear picture and we could see her opening and closing her mouth and eyes, and moving her hands around her face. The tech also said she does have hair (don't know how much but there is hair).

So things look great and it was one of the coolest ultrasounds I have had because everything was so clear, it was very nice to watch my baby girl for awhile! Here are a couple of the pictures she took for us, these show her face so clearly, she is beautiful already :)

35 Weeks

Yesterday marked 35 weeks, I was gonna take a belly picture today but I am just kinda grouchy and not in the mood to have my picture taken, maybe tomorrow.

I had a doctors appointment this morning, we talked about my glucose numbers. He is having me monitor them twice a day (in the morning and 2 hours after dinner), this is because he feels it is a more accurate way to check my glucose levels since I have a family history of diabetes. So far they are nothing to be concerned about, if I get reading consistently above 90 in the morning or 120 two hours after a meal, they will treat for gestational diabetes. So far in a week I have only had one morning check over 90 and it was a 93, here is hoping that I do not meet the conditions for gestational diabetes.

My blood pressure and weight are still doing just fine, so no worries there.

He did ask that I get an ultrasound tomorrow so that they can check babies growth, and amniotic fluid levels. He is just concerned because I am consistently measuring small, and this time I actually measured a smaller than I did 2 weeks ago. I go in at 7:30am to have my ultrasound done, I am pretty excited to see her and trying to just trust that she is okay and we are just being cautious. I also figure we have made it to 35 weeks so hopefully even if she has to come early for some reason she will be okay, it will be better to know what is going on than be surprised with complications.

So all in all I think everything is okay at this point and if something is wrong we will know soon, I am glad I do not have to wait to get the ultrasound until next week.

Baby Shower!

I have an awesome friend Janel here in Pullman who was so nice and threw me a baby shower on March 3rd. It turned out so cute and I really appreciated the time and effort she put into it to make is special for me. I again failed on the picture taking, but I did snap a few shots of the desert bar.

I took some time to lay out all the sweet gifts that were given to me for baby girl, I forgot to have someone take pictures while I was opening gifts so this will have to work :)

For the shower we did not do the traditional shower games, instead I opened gifts first and people snacked on all the yummy treats, and then everyone had the opportunity to make hair bows. Janel is very talented at bow making and shared her wisdom with the rest of us who had no idea where to start. Another friend Courtney who came and is also very creative and crafty was very nice and showed us how to make some other really cute flowers for the hair bows. Here are some pictures of the gifts and the finished hair bows.

Yup...

So baby was super quiet yesterday, all day, I can't remember feeling her at all. It was kinda nice to not be sore I just figured she was sleepy. Then when it was time for bed I laid down and tried to do a kick count. Nothing, I actually fell asleep before I even felt one movement. Telling myself it was fine she would be awake in the middle of the night like she always is after I go to the bathroom. Nothing again. I could not get her to move.. and then I was done waiting. I called my doctor, Chris got Matthew out of bed.

We went and visited the nice people at Labor and Delivery for a non-stress test.

We got there and they put her on the monitor I immediately was relieved to hear the heartbeat, 130 beats per minute. They wanted to monitor for awhile, and eventually she finally started moving, and then she kept flipping so they had to keep moving the heart rate monitor. I was relieved to say the least.

I felt silly going because I figured it was probably nothing, however she would not move or wake up or do anything for me. I was all done waiting. I decided it was better to be safe at that point and just have them check on her. 

I still feel silly, but at least I know she is healthy! Another plus it got me out of my glucose test this morning :)

So Fun!

I am washing some pink and purple clothes today :) My parents gave baby girl clothes this Christmas and I have been waiting to wash them until I had room to put them in her dresser (was being used for art supplies). Well there is space now so I am washing them and some hand-me-downs from our friends Gary and Naomi.

I have this urge to paint her dresser, which I don't think Chris will go for because he is not a fan of painted wood furniture. Usually I am not either but I would love to paint it white and change the handles to some cute little girl handles. I blame Pinterest for this idea!

Matthew's dresser and night stand drive me crazy too, they are just dark and very grown up. I just wish there was some way to make that set more kid friendly also. I don't think it is one I would want to paint though, it is in really good shape as is, just too dark for my liking. I suppose he will grow into it so I will wait it out.

Anyways, none of that was the point of my post. I was just excited to be playing with little girly clothes :) 

** Update**
Chris doesn't care if I paint it, he thinks its silly, but said if I want to paint it I can paint it. :)

32 Weeks!

It is crazy to me that I have 8 weeks (give or take) left before I get to meet my baby girl! I am doing alright, sleepy and cranky at times, a little nervous about labor and delivery. I know I have done it before, but I have quite a few people I know who have had lots of life threatening complications during or after this process. Just adds to the nerves a little bit. Mostly I am excited though!

Right now we are anxiously awaiting news from Pacific University so we know whether we are going to move our sweet babies to Oregon or Indiana. Other than that we are still working on figuring the business plans out, we were talking about staying open but closing for the first week that baby girl is here, however when I told one of the parents that was what we were thinking. Her response was "well you only in the hospital for 2 days right?" so she expects me to be ready to start work again right after I get out of the hospital? Yes, I will have help, no I will not be able to sleep during the 10 hours that her son in here though, regardless of if I have help or not. I don't think a week is that much to ask for after having a baby... Plus it looks like we will be closing the first of May so that we can get ready to move, so Chris is just thinking it makes much more sense to close in April so that we don't have to worry about the extra kids, then I can get my rest, and we don't have to meet the new licensing standards that begin April 1st. It is going to be a lot of work for one extra month of a little income. We really are not making that much, it helps a little of course, but with all the extra stress we are thinking it is not worth it.

Look what I did!

I found this pattern through Pinterest, and I was able to make the hat! This is the first crochet project I have done and it turned out cute :)

Here are some pictures of the finished projects:

The hat that I am holding is new born size, and my second attempt :)

This is the first hat I made, I read to pattern wrong so it ended up being way too small, but it still looks like the hat should so it is now a hat for my baby doll from when I was little, this will be passed on to baby girl so it is kinda cool that she has a pretty hat now :)

I am going to head to the store and buy the real colors I want to use for her hat. This is my practice yarn, but now that I know I can make this project I am going to go buy the color I want a a little thicker ribbon, to make her hat for her go home outfit :) Love it!

Here is the link to the hat pattern:

Baby Flapper-Girl Hat *Pattern*

Can't Decide..

I am trying to pick colors for baby girl and I can't decide between brown and pink or the lavender. I like them both. Here are some examples of the colors:

10 More Weeks!

Today marks 30 weeks! It is crazy to think I only have 10 weeks left before baby girl is suppose to be here, I am mentally prepared for 12 more weeks though because I want to avoid being induced if at all possible. I will be very thrown off if baby comes early, because I am convinced she will be late. 

I was suppose to start appointments every two weeks already but my doctor is awesome and said we can do one more 4 week interval. He just made me promise to come in if I felt anything was off. I was talking to him about how crazy busy our month was going to be with Chris and all his interviews, so he said we could go a month to lighten the load a little! I have to go in and do the 3 hour glucose test soon. I failed the short one again (I did with Matthew too). 

I really want to nail down a name for this baby girl, but we can't yet. Oh and I have a friend here in Pullman throwing me a baby shower and I am excited that someone wanted to do that for me :) Things are looking up and some of our stress is being relieved already. We still have many questions, but just knowing he is in an optometry program is a huge relief, and then to know that we don't have to send him on 2 more trips across the country is awesome! 

Let the Rib Kicking Begin :)

28 weeks

New Developments this week:

1. Feeling bigger

2. Increased back pain

3. The rib kicking has begun

4. Just plain more baby activity- Love it! 

Just a brief overview I feel like baby changed positions in the last 24 hours or so. I have only felt her down low in my tummy up until this point. Now I am definitely feeling her move and kick in my ribs, welcome to the 3rd trimester I guess!

Names

I am apparently not as worried as I was with Matthew about keeping our name choices a secret. I think it is because I have learned to take opinions for what they are and work with them to our benefit.

Below is our list of names we like, we are having a super hard time with middle names, I am hoping for some middle name suggestions :)

  

1. Kelsey Ann (our favorite right now)

2. Madison - not sure because it is super popular..

3. Samantha - Chris really likes the nickname Sam for a little girl.

4. Alyssa

5. Avery

6. Caitlyn 

I know there are more but I can't find the list right now. 

Middle names? Thoughts? Suggestions?

26 Weeks!

It is hard to believe that I am two weeks away from the third trimester. My doctor considers the third trimester beginning at 28 weeks, some people consider it 26 or 27 weeks though. He says that it is 28 weeks because from that point on the baby is more than likely going to survive if born.

Tomorrow morning I "get" to have my glucose test done, as well as a few other labs, to check blood counts, iron levels ect.. With Matthew I had to take an iron supplement in my third trimester so it will be interesting to see if it is the same this time.

So basically I am kinda in shock that I am already this far along. I am excited to meet this little girl. She got lots of clothes from Grandpa and Grandma this Christmas!

24 Weeks!

I am 24 weeks along today which means only 16 weeks to go... maybe 18 if she hangs out as long as her brother did. At this point I am just figuring I will have her mid to late April, hopefully before May though :)

We had some friends over for dinner last night and talked a lot about babies and birth stories. It was nice to talk to someone who understands wanting a natural labor and delivery. I am really hoping that I will not have to be induced and will be able to experience a completely natural labor this time. Oh well we have 4 months before we need to worry about making that decision.

On a different topic Chris has already received notice that he will be asked to interview with the Southern College of Optometry! We are so excited to be in this stage of his schooling and getting ready to take the next step in his college career. I think he is going to be the best Optometrist ever!

Finals Week

It is finals week for Chris which apparently equates to me being super stressed out with him. It has been a rough week between finals and Matthew teething with all the other kids here. Anyways that is sorta what I am going to write about but mostly that is just venting.

Ever since I got pregnant I have been exhausted and moody. I don't remember it being this bad with Matthew, I feel like I was in the beginning and then the end of my pregnancy with him, but this time it has been constant. I really don't like feeling this way all the time! I am so excited to have our baby girl, and everyday I just get more excited, sometimes I think it is because I want to start feeling like myself again. I want my patience back, I want to feel good again, I want to not feel tired all the time (I know that will be awhile, but at least once she comes I will be closer to sleeping normal again).

Now don't get me wrong as far as being pregnant goes I have it easier than a lot of people. It just drains me of energy, kills my back (I get pregnancy sciatica), steals my patience, and makes me grouchy. That's all :) At least I am not sick all the time, or on bed rest, or have high blood pressure, or countless other things that can truly make pregnancy miserable.

I guess I know in many ways I am lucky that this is all I have to deal with, but it is still no fun.

On another note: I love my little Matthew, he is such a great kid and he just gets better everyday. He is learning so much now, we are still adding signs to his vocabulary and he is trying to use more verbal words. He is super grumpy right now because of all the new teeth, but the thought of molars coming in doesn't sound like it would be pleasant, so we understand. He is going to be a super big brother, I just wish he understood what was happening so that we could prepare him, oh well he will adjust. He has always taken to transitions easily, sometimes amazingly easy. 2012 is going to bring lots of changes to his little world, I just hope that he handles them all okay. We will be having a baby, a couple months later closing the daycare (meaning he will loose his friends), and then moving somewhere completely new. That is a lot of changes in a few short months for our little guy!

22 Weeks

I had another check up today. So far everything looks good, the doctor said that I am measuring small, and the ultrasound put me 4 days or so later than we thought, which would be about the 14th or 15th of April. He however doesn't think we need to change the due date at this point. The difference in days is not big enough. He thinks that I am not measuring as large as I should be is simply because she is hiding inside me so well, that doesn't explain the difference in the ultrasound, but he is not worried at this point.

Other than that she has a nice strong heartbeat, and is very active. He even felt her kick while he was getting her heartbeat, which apparently is good considering they don't really expect others to be able to feel the kicks until 24 weeks. Chris has felt them a few times though, starting about a week or a week and a half ago.

Names

Now that we are having a girl we get to talk about names.
Lots and lots of names, we have some favorites,
but I'm not sure if they are the only ones we want to consider...

Here is how we named Matthew,
We looked at hundreds of names,
made lists,
and then more lists,
and evenually narrowed it down to about 5 names,
we took that list to the hospital with us.

At that time I thought naming a girl would be so much easier!
Ha! So here is what I am asking,
Do you have a favorite name for a girl?
Or maybe a few favorites?
Why do you like them?

We are (I think) going to copy a friend of mine who gathered a bunch of names and then made a bracket, they then went down the list choosing one over the other, they ended up with a great name, which they both liked, and it was not one they would have thought originally. Now we may do this a few times or take the runners up with us to the hospital also. Then when we meet our baby girl we will have a nice list of names and can choose the one we feel fits her best.

Please comment with some awesome names to add to our list!

Thanks!!

Bed Time

I need to go to bed but I am still up and on blogger again.

I just thought maybe if I do a post about all the things running through my head I might be able to fall asleep.

I don't really think it is going to work, but it's worth a shot!

We're having a girl!

I have been saying this all day long

and jumping for joy inside.

I didn't know how much I really wanted this baby to be a girl,

but I am just so excited.

I am excited for Matthew to be a big brother,

I am excited to see Chris be the daddy of a girl,

I am excited to have a daughter to dress in cute clothes,

and put pig tails in her hair,

I am excited to help her grow into a wonderful person,

I am excited to find out if she will have red hair,

I am excited to see if she is a girly girl or a tom boy,

I am excited to see it all I guess.

Don't get me wrong

most of those things also apply to Matthew.

I assure you I was just as excited 

when I found out Matthew was a boy,

but now,

now we will have one of each gender.

I have been blessed with the amazing opportunity

to raise a son and a daughter!

We bought her two outfits today and I love that my husband asked me to wait until he could come. He is an amazing father and husband.

I just keep looking at the clothes over and over,

and at the ultrasound pictures over and over,

and tomorrow I will be cleaning out some drawers in a dresser,

just for her.

Now we also just for hand-me downs and good deals to fill those drawers, 

because with out them Matthew wouldn't have many clothes either.

I could keep making this list all night

Maybe I'm crazy

but I'm happy and crazy 

so it works!

***Good Night All***