Clare's First Christmas

We started our Christmas holiday on Saturday, December 20th with a trip to Mimi and Pops. Sunday was the Marchant Family Christmas with Clare's cousins, Preston, Hayden and Logan. Clare and her "Boys" had a great time together. Preston loved Clare's patent leather shoes so much he stole one off of her foot so he could eat it. The big hit was a FP Laugh and Learn Purse complete with mirror, lipstick, bracelet and keys in a singing purse from her cousins, Logan and Hayden. She loves it! Mimi and Pops gave Clare a spinning top that may be banished to the bottom of the toy box - it makes lots of fun baby sounds - over the top for Mommy and Daddy though. Aunt Betsy made sure that Clare will be a pretty little lady in a cute ladybug outfit with a great book.



We took Clare to visit Legendary Santa at the Richmond Children's Museum on Tuesday. This is the "same" Santa that used to visit with children at Miller & Rhoads when I was a child. We stood in line for 1-1/2 hours to see him. The kids behind us were surely on the naughty list! I'm always amazed at the level of parenting (or non-parenting) that some people exhibit. Clare was an angel and looked adorable. She sat on Santa's lap and had her picture taken. She was stone faced - no smile - the picture was snapped and then she turned around and saw Santa's face and the bottom lip stuck out with tears flowing.



We stayed with Mimi and Pops until the morning of Christmas Eve and then headed to Grammy and Grampas in Williamsburg. We got to hang out with Aunt Susie and Uncle Jeff. Clare was totally spoiled and had a great time. Santa brought some new books, Leapfrog learning toys and a FP Laugh and Learn Kitchen!!! We can't wait to get the kitchen set up in the our newly renovated kitchen. And she loved the wrapping paper and boxes.

All kinds of updates

We've been renovating our kitchen and that along with life in general have gotten the best of me. The kitchen is due to be finished this week - we started in mid-November and I thought it would last a few weeks. We spent and unexpected 5 days in a hotel while the odor from the new hardwood floors dissipated.

Clare has changed so much.

Her first two bottom teeth popped through this week. We only had one rough night as they made their way in. She doesn't show them much because she's too busy sticking her tongue out, something she has done from birth.

She is sitting up on her own and has been for two months - yes, I'm a slacker with updates.

She now has enough hair to warrant a bow - something I've been waiting for since she was born - I'm trying not to overdo it! I have a box full of ribbon to make bows for every outfit - if I only had time. Here is a picture from Thanksgiving - Clare and Preston were playing innocent...

Pumpkin patch pictures

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and got some really cute pictures. This one is my favorite....

Jumping and jumping and jumping

Clare has finally realized she can JUMP in her jumperoo and loves it, but as soon as she realizes that she is being watched, she stops as evidenced by the videos. I took an idea from Betsy and used my digital camera to record these, so the quality isn't great.

Berry Sweet!

Clare went to her first Halloween party on Friday dressed as a Strawberry. I made her costume which she was not happy about putting on. Once we did get it on her - she was all smiles. The best picture has her head cut off! I may need to take a few more because she's so darn cute!

Sleep "Learning"

There has been much discord in our house over the fact that I am the only one who can get Clare to sleep and it is not an easy process at that. Brian has been getting frustrated because 1) he wants to be able to do it - so that I can get out of the house and 2) we're hoping to be able to go on a date soon. She sleeps great once she is asleep, but it takes bath, books, rocking, singing, nursing up to 3 times - basically if I think it might work I do it. So tonight it began (or stopped?) ...I've been reading Healthy Sleep Habits...which I didn't get. I know everyone raves about it, but I just didn't like it because I needed to be told exactly how to handle this whole going to bed thing. I checked out a book called The Sleepeasy Solution from the library. One thing I especially like is that they call it sleep learning instead of training. WOW - this is what I needed. It gave me a plan and while I am not an advocate of crying - it gave great explanations for why I was doing what I was doing which I was able to read between checking on her. It took 1 hour and 18 minutes of going in at specific intervals, but she's asleep. I feel good about the fact that she did it on her own - just wish me luck tomorrow night!

Voyeur Parents

Last night Clare went to bed with little effort. She had a few good naps, which if you read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" you know means she should sleep well since "Sleep begets sleep". Anyway, she went down about 9 PM and we heard her wake up and talk to herself for a few minutes around 10 PM. Brian and I held our breaths because that usually means one of us is going to get her to try to settle her back down. Well - to our amazement, she fell back to sleep on her own. Usually, she wakes up around 3 AM to eat. At about 4 AM, I woke up to her talking again. The monitor on our nightstand is both sound and video, but it may be used without the video. I turned the video on to see her smiling and kicking her feet. I woke Brian up after a few minutes and we watched her play for a good 10 minutes. It was the cutest thing ever. She was having a ball. She kept looking at the camera and smiling! Brian pointed out that the camera has a light on it which must be why she was looking at it.

Wahoowa!

Daddy went to Charlottesville yesterday for the UVA vs. ECU football game. He left at 5:30 AM. He was expecting to be disappointed, however, the Hoos pulled it out. Clare and I spent the day running errands and caught a few minutes of the game - I had turned the XM radio on in the car and heard the score at halftime, so I thought it might be good to watch on TV. We emailed this picture to Brian so he could see it on his Blackberry, but... his email system sends my messages to a separate folder that he can't view on it. He didn't see it until he came home last night.

Closing in on 5 months old!

This picture was taken on Ana Clare's four month bday. Of course, now she is nearly five months old. Time is flying by. She had her checkup a few weeks ago and is in the 95th percentile for weight - 16 lbs. 2 oz. and 75th percentile for height at 25 inches. I'm certain that she's closer to 17 lbs. now. I've had several people tell me their children weighed that much at a year old. So, yes, Ana Clare is a chub! We're on a 3 hour eating schedule and doing a pretty good job of sticking to it. She had been eating as often as three times between 7 AM and noon, so the pediatrician put a stop to that. I think it was more for me than baby!

We're working on a sleep schedule which has not been quite as successful. At this point, I'm the only one that can get Clare to sleep - she has become quite the Mommy's girl. What this means is I have to be around for bedtime - no babysitters and I have to be home to help Brian if I go out.

She is adorable. She's grabbing everything within reach, rolling over in both directions, laughing, making MMM sounds which is so cute - she has so much to say.

Motherhood...

My friend Jen asked me the other day if I was enjoying motherhood. I smiled and said yes. This is something I think about often. At the risk of cursing myself, I have no complaints. I love every minute of it. Sure, there are rough days, but nothing that I wasn't prepared for. I knew there would be days of no naps, when crying seems to never end, and that I'd be spit up on more times than I could count. Every day is different and challenging - but what better challenge than to have a beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed girl looking to you to take care of her.

Sleepless in Charlotte...

Miss Ana Clare has decided that there is too much going on for her to miss by sleeping. Over the last week, she has napped for a total of 3 hours during the day - in 20 to 30 minute blocks, stays up until at least 1 AM (last night was 2:30 AM) and then wakes up by 7 AM. Needless to say, the Piascik Family is in desperate need of a caffeine jolt. Brian is the only one that can indulge although I'm not sure it's helping. I think I'm going to work coffee back into my mornings. I've been online today trying to determine how it might affect her - as long as I don't drink more than 2 cups, we should be fine. Ana Clare's long nap tends to happen right about the time Brian comes home from work, so he walks in and wants to wake her so she'll sleep at night. Hopefully, this is short lived and we'll be back on track soon.

We're headed to Virginia this weekend. Football season starts Saturday - WAHOOWA! We have new seats at the stadium that Brian is excited about. We are going to Richmond on Friday - arriving in time for Brian to start his fantasy football draft online (priority!). He'll go to the game alone on Saturday - we don't think Ana Clare will like UVA football yet. We'll hang out at Mom and Dad's and hopefully get a peek at the model of their new house. I'm anxious to see it.

Sunday is Logan's birthday party in Charlottesville, so we'll head home after that. We can't wait to see all of our cousins! Ana Clare has a really cute party outfit to wear!

This Is How We ROLL!!!

Ana Clare just rolled over!!!! (just this minute). We've been working on spending more time on her tummy and I guess she realized that she doesn't need to stay there. She got to her side and then rolled from front to back with a little boost from Daddy once. Then she did it on her own with no help. Brian and I both yelled and scared her. She has now done it four times in a row and we got it on video. Now - I just need to figure out how to upload it - maybe that will be a weekend project!

Clare's First Beach Trip

We are at the Beach! Clare, Brian and I left on Saturday morning to join Brian's family at the Outer Banks. I had no idea how much a baby needed for a beach trip. We could not fit anything else in the car and actually left a few things at home. The front seat was full and the back was packed to the ceiling. I'm hoping the trip back won't be so tight.

We're here with Clare's grandparents, Aunt Susie and her boyfriend, Aaron, Uncle Jeff and his girlfriend, Sarah. We left our house at 9:30 am and stopped at Jeff's house in Raleigh for a break from the carseat and lunch. Clare slept the entire trip to Jeff's, woke up to eat and play when we got there and then slept the rest of the trip to the beach. I was even able to get some work done in the car.

On Sunday, we packed our gear and headed down to the beach. Our house is oceanfront, so it's not a long walk. I carried Clare down to the beach wearing her bathing suit and coverup and wrapped in a towel. She actually falls asleep on the way to the beach - it takes all of two minutes. I think the combination of the salt air and the sound of the ocean are intoxicating to her. We have a tent for Clare which Brian, Aaron and Jeff set up while I watched in anticipation - once it was set up, I laid her down in it and she slept for about a half hour. It started to sprinkle, so we went back to the pool at the house. She definitely looks adorable in her swimsuit.

Clare is having a great time and getting lots of attention from her family! She put her feet in the pool today - we're easing our way into it. Yesterday, she screamed when we did it. Today - she didn't seem to care. So, I'm hoping by the end of the week we'll be able to take her in so she can swim around a little. (edited - we took her in on Friday for a few minutes - we needed a picture!)

Two Months and Growing FAST!

Ana Clare had her 2 month check up on Wednesday. She is growing too fast! She is now 12 lbs. 2.5 oz. and 23 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and the 90th percentile for head circumference. Her Daddy swears that means she's really smart! She did very well at her appointment. She had 3 shots and one oral vaccination and was a real trooper. She hasn't seemed to have any side effects from any of them. I had to hold her down while the nurse gave them to her - that was no fun!

She's starting to sleep better - instead of little catnaps, she's taking longer ones - right now she's been asleep for 4 hours! She even slept through me putting her in the carseat, driving to an appointment, undressing her, having an ultrasound, redressing her and putting her back in the carseat. We had to go have an ultrasound done of her back because there was some concern about a knot that Brian felt near her spine. It turns out that it is of no concern - possibly an overdeveloped muscle, but the pediatrician is sure that it is nothing.

I'm about to wake her up so she can eat before she's starving.

Picture Perfect

Clare had her first professional portraits done today. She was a real trooper. They took 72 shots and we were subjected to the ultimate sales pitch, but we talked our way down to an acceptable number of prints. We chose 9 of them and now have the CD of all the shots. Here are my and Brian's 2 (uncropped) favorites.

Continuing with the monkey theme...

Our Smiley Girl!

It has been a challenge to get a good shot of Clare's beautiful smile...this is it!!!

How to sooth me...

Brian and I made an incredible discovery this weekend. We were driving home from his cousin's house which is about 25 minutes away. Clare had been toted to the farmer's market and then to Kevin's house and was once again in the car seat, so she was rather unhappy. As she screamed, Brian, his sister and I were doing everything we could think of to calm her. Well, would you believe that she became virtually silent as the three of us began to sing UVA's fight song, "The Good Ol' Song". She has made her Daddy so proud! It wasn't just a one time thing - we've tried it a few more times and it has continued to work. So, of course, Brian is all about rubbing it in to Uncle Carter (a Hokie!).

Clare's First 4th of July

Clare's Aunt Susan and her boyfriend, Aaron came to visit for the holiday weekend. We all went out to eat with Kevin and Ali. Kevin is Brian and Susan's cousin who lives near Charlotte. We watched the fireworks from the parking deck at what we call the "urban" Target. It is in the middle of the city and a perfect viewing spot. They were great. Clare slept through all of them with Mommy covering her ears because she was worried her hearing would be damaged.

Some Great News!

My maternity leave is coming to an end in a few weeks and Brian and I have been talking at length about what to do... We are lucky to live very close to both of our offices, but this poses an issue with daycare. Since we live "on the way" to Uptown Charlotte for most people, there is a higher than normal demand for childcare close to our house. As a result, we have been on waiting lists since October of last year. We barely knew we were expecting and had to start thinking about where our child would spend her days. I think in the back of my mind, I hoped that we wouldn't have to worry about that because I'd be staying home.

We chose two centers - one church based and one inclusion program. We are #13 on the church list. There are 4 available spots and 3 of those are taken by siblings of children who are already enrolled, so we won't get in there. The other is run by Easter Seals/United Cerebral Palsy Center and serves both special needs and "normal" children. We LOVE this program, but they don't have a spot for Clare either.

After much discussion, I finally had the nerve to talk to my boss about the situation. I requested that I be able to work part time from home about a week ago. I went into the office yesterday to talk to him about it further. I was really stressed out about it and was trying to keep my head straight and try not to "show my hand". As it turned out, he had thought about it as much as me and proposed that I work part time from home for the next year! I could not be more pleased. I will be working from home and have a part time nanny to care for Clare. I will be here and not miss a thing and will still have a decent income to allow Brian and I to maintain a reasonable lifestyle.

Curls?

Betsy asked if Clare has curly hair. We think so, but we can't be sure yet. She currently has a bit of a receding hairline - not certain whether it will fall out and start over. She definitely has hair on the back of her head and the hair on top of her head has curls. So, we will see...

Brian got a kick out of this. He said that Clare wanted him to be quiet!

What we're up to...

Clare is six weeks old and growing and changing so much. A typical day starts at between 5:30 and 6:00 AM when she starts to stir in her cradle. She is still sleeping in our room - mostly for convenience and because I can't bear to put her in her crib yet. I feed her in our bed and then lay her down between Brian and I to play. Brian loves to play with her first thing in the morning because she is so alert and usually smiling and kicking. Brian gets ready for work and I take Clare downstairs. Once Brian leaves for work, Clare and I flip through the morning news programs and she falls asleep. If I have a lot to do, I lay her down either back in her cradle or in the pack and play. I can usually get a shower while she takes a short nap. When she wakes up, we go run an errand - usually just one is tolerated. The day involves sleeping, eating and trying to get a few loads of laundry done or clean up the house.

We went to the grocery store today. Clare slept in the Baby Bjorn while I shopped. Luckily, Brian came home for lunch at the same time we got home because Clare was ready to eat. We are trying to give her one bottle of pumped milk each day to get her used to having a bottle. We haven't done this enough. If she is really hungry, she has no issues with it, but once the hunger is gone, she doesn't like the bottle. We're working on this.

The grocery trip was a big one. We bought a second refrigerator/freezer, so I could stock up on a few things that were on sale. I'm working on saving money on groceries by using more coupons and shopping the sales flyers. I've always done this, but not as diligently. Our kitchen fridge is a side by side that has limited useful space.

So, the grocery store was our outing for the day. Tomorrow, we are headed to my office for a visit and then to our friend, Jen's for lunch.

We visited my friend, Lori, and her children last Friday. Clare met Cashion, Soyars and Preston. Preston is a couple of months older than her - she looks so tiny next to him.

Gotta run - a poopy diaper has awakened the princess - something else that she won't tolerate for more than 30 seconds.

One Month Checkup

Clare had her 1 month checkup this morning and is doing great. She is now 9 lbs. 15 oz. (hence the cute little double chin!) and 22 inches long. This puts her in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and is meeting all the milestones she is supposed to at this stage like turning and lifting her head. She has also started smiling at her dad and mom! We haven't caught it on camera but it is too cute and has her dad totally in awe. No shots today - thankfully. I'm dreading that - I think it will be harder on me than her.

We think we've finally figured out how to get her to sleep at night. We had tried to use "swaddle" her when she first came home, but she kept kicking her way out of it. After looking back at a book that I'd been reading, we decided to try again. We used a bigger blanket and this seems to work. Last night, she only woke up once to eat and then we had to wake her up this morning to go to the doctor. She slept in the cradle all night for the first time. She had been sleeping on me or Brian in the nursery chair. Everyone got a decent night's sleep!

First Road Trip

We decided to head to Richmond/Williamsburg this past weekend to visit my family and Brian's family. The plan was to leave as soon after Clare's first morning feeding (around 6 AM) as possible so that we would only need to stop once during the 4 1/2 hour trip. The best laid plans... I fed her at about 6 and then passed her off to her daddy. They snoozed while I got dressed and finished all of our packing. I woke Brian up at about 7 AM and he got dressed and packed the car. In the midst of it all - the A/C had frozen up and we had to defrost that which led to lots of water and clean up (the second time in a week). We finally got in the car at about 8:30 AM. READ - it was almost time to eat again. We made it to Concord - about 20 minutes from our house - and had to stop for a diaper change and feeding. And then we had a meltdown just outside of Richmond and arrived in full glory at my mom and dad's house needing to eat again. Brian graded that part of the trip with a "D".

We spent the afternoon at my parents' and had lunch. We were able to meet Preston, our new cousin and visit with my aunt, Bobbie and uncle, Michael for a little while. Then we headed to Williamsburg. Clare got lots of attention from everyone. Brian got in a much needed round of golf on Father's Day. Clare gave him a Red Sox golf shirt that he told her that he really wanted.

The trip back was great with the exception of our adventure in the Chick Fil A parking lot. I'd heard that car rides can assist in the filling of diapers, but I was not prepared for what we encountered. We stopped in Henderson, NC because I felt like Clare needed to eat soon. It had been almost 4 hours since she last ate and I didn't want her to wake up starving. I thought she probably needed a diaper change and proceeded to lay the changing mat out on the car seat. When I lifted her from her car seat I realized that she had pooped out of her diaper up the front and back - thanks to the seating position! So, we had to change her completely. It took some time and about 10 wipes to get her all cleaned up. I was about to put the clean diaper on when she both peed and pooped again leaving a puddle on the changing mat. Brian was already headed for the trash can and I start yelling for him to come back - I needed help. I ended up picking up the naked baby along with the mat and finessing it out of the seat before everything ran down into the car seat. Here I am in the parking lot holding my daughter and the mat in the air while pee runs down the mat and onto the ground - not one of our finer moments. Brian grabbed the mat and more wipes and cleaned it off while I tried to comfort and redress Clare. I'm sure it was quite a show for anyone who may have been watching.

Rough night

Last night without Daddy was a little rough. Our A/C is on the fritz, so upstairs was 82 degrees. We've been fighting it for several weeks. We've been trying to determine what to do about upgrading our system and what modifications we need to make it more efficient. With the heat wave in Charlotte, we haven't been a priority repair since it actually still works. Anyway, Clare slept ALL day yesterday and then didn't want to go to sleep when it was time. We finally ended up in the chair in the den downstairs (it's much cooler down there) at 3 AM. I rely on Brian being here so that I have moral support durning the "cluster feeding". She needed to eat every hour between 10 and 3, but then we slept until 7 AM. She's also battling the stuffy nose. I had to wake her up because the A/C guys are coming "sometime this morning". We all know how that goes.

Now, Clare is in the Baby Bjorn as I type. I've discovered that putting her in the carrier allows me to get things done - she'll sleep soundly while I do laundry and clean up around the house, etc.

Today, we have a few errands to run. I've started keeping a list of all the things that I need or want to do. I've found that by keeping this list I can be more efficient when I have 5 or 10 minutes to do something while Clare sleeps. I'm anxious for her to be more active and alert so that I can lay her on a blanket to play, etc. She still just sleeps and eats most of the time.

Downtime

I'm stealing a few moments while Clare naps... she is keeping us busy. She's been to the pediatrician twice this week. The first visit was for a weight check to make sure that she is getting enough to eat. No problems there - our little piglet weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. - the same as her cousin, Preston. I had to take her back to the doctor the following day because she now has a cold! Who knows how she caught it, but she has a case of the sniffles and is sleeping a lot - mostly in my arms. I love holding her all the time, but it has put a damper on getting ANYTHING done around the house. I've managed to keep up with the laundry and keep the kitchen clean, but everything else is on hold for the moment. Her weight at the second visit was 9 lbs. 2 ozs. I was worried because her eating patterns were changing - she was eating more for less time since her nose is stuffy and I was concerned that she wasn't eating enough.

Brian left this evening for his first out of town trip since Clare was born. He'll be back tomorrow night, but it was still sad for him to go. I know we'll be fine, but we miss him already. He really did not want to leave us.

We are headed to Virginia on Saturday - Clare's first road trip. We'll go to Richmond for the day and then go on to Williamsburg so Brian can play golf with his dad on Father's Day. I started packing for Clare today - who knew a baby could fill a suitcase so quickly. There are so many "just in case" things that have to go in the bag. We'll get to meet Clare's cousin, Preston, for the first time.

Clare comes home!

I'm sorry that I have not posted an update since Clare's arrival, but we had a little bit of delay in bringing her home and I'm just now catching up. Clare stayed in the hospital's Intensive Care Nursery for an additional 7 days as a result of "dusky spells" that she had during the few days following her birth. These episodes caused her to have a low oxygen level, but she also self recovered from them. The last episode happened on Monday (2 days after her birthday) and the hospital requires a 7 day observation after the last one. She is absolutely fine now. Brian and I were very worried in the beginning but after the doctors ruled out every possible issue, it was determined that she had just had difficulty making the transition from breathing inside to being outside. We were fortunate that we were able to stay with her each night with the exception of two. Presbyterian Hospital has a "Parents' Place" room which serves as a hotel room for parent's with children in the Intensive Care Nursery. So, now all is well and we were able to bring her home on Memorial Day.

Our beautiful daughter has definitely made an impact already. I can't help but tear up looking at her. She is amazing! Right now, Brian is sitting across from me holding her while she sleeps - that too makes me cry. I am so in love and so thankful that Brian is a part of this with me. We've been home since Monday and so far we're all doing great. Clare is pretty easygoing with the exception of a few evening outbursts. We went to our first pediatrician visit yesterday. She is continuing to gain weight. When we left the hospital, she was 7 lbs. 4 oz. She was back up to 7 lbs. 7 oz. She is eating well and sleeping a ton. She does not like to sleep in the cradle in our room and has spent the last several nights sleeping on my chest while I recline in the chair in the nursery. I have slept in my bed for a total of 6 hours in 2 weeks and I'm starting to miss it.

Brian's parents and his sister, Susan, spent the weekend at our house. They were lifesavers - they did laundry, fed us, did yard work. Clare's grandfather planted a Japanese maple in our yard while they were here - it's Clare's tree! I just wish we'd actually had Clare home for their visit. Clare's grandmother and aunt spent a lot of time with me at the hospital holding her and sitting with me while I nursed her.

My sister arrived yesterday and has been cooking up a storm since she got here. She is feeding us and taking care of me. We took Clare for her first walk today. I was surprised at the amount of energy it took for me just to walk around the block.

Ana Clare Piascik has made her debut!

Ana Clare arrived by c-section on Saturday, May 17th at 12:14 AM. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz and is 20 inches long. I'm a little biased, but she is absolutely beautiful. I'll post more later.

No birthday today!

Today is the official due date and there is no sign of Baby P. We just spent 2-1/2 hours at the doctors office. I had an ultrasound and another non-stress test. The baby looks fine. She is measuring 9lbs. 2oz., so that raises a bit of concern because they are generally one pound more or less than the ultrasound estimate. Either way - she's big. I'm going back tomorrow at 12:30 to have one more non-stress test. She was a little uncooperative today and wanted to sleep through the whole thing.

My doctor is on call tomorrow, so I'll get to talk to her about where we go from here. I'm not dilating yet, so that limits the induction opportunities. Basically, if I'm induced at this point the chances of a c-section are very high. I told the doctor that from the beginning that induction was not something I wanted to do. I'm not miserable and don't see any need to rush anything unless it was medically necessary. Since we have a few issues - my blood pressure is still a concern, her size is a potential issue, I'm now officially overdue, etc., we'll have a little more direction once we talk to my doctor tomorrow.

Otherwise, I'm feeling okay. I've now hit the 3 week mark for bedrest and asked if I could go for a walk and was told "heck no" by the doctor, so I am back to the couch. My back is starting to bother me, but other than that, I'm just uncomfortable. I still believe that I could go a few more days.

Nothing happening...

Today's appointment was fairly uneventful. I had another NST which was good - the baby is moving and the heartbeat is good. My BP was 140/80 - the higher number can be attributed to stress (maybe Brian's driving?). I have had a couple of headaches which is a little bit of a concern. If I have one tomorrow, then I'm supposed to call the doctor and go in again. I also have to go to the drugstore on Saturday and check my own BP just to be safe.


I'm having lots of irregular, mostly painless, contractions - maybe two or three an hour. It's not worth counting them. The doctor told me he knew of a woman who actually counted 3000 contractions before she even went into labor. I laughed and asked if she was on bedrest, too. I've thought all along that my due date should be May 9th (tomorrow). We'll see if anything happens. I feel like I could go anytime, but I'm not overly anxious. Brian would like to get through the weekend at least. He has a lot going on for work. The on-call schedule for my OB practice is not particularly to my liking, but I guess I don't have much control over that. My regular doctor isn't on call until next Friday (16th). She said she would try to be at my delivery if she could - since she's known me since I was single. I'm one of her first patients since she began practicing. This weekend - another practice is taking the on calls, so I could end up with a stranger delivering her.

Today's update

I went to the doctor yesterday and had an NST (non-stress test). The baby is doing well. My blood pressure is back up - I suspect it really never went down. I continue to be on bedrest. I have to go back on Monday and Thursday next week. There are no signs of me going into labor anytime soon. I asked Dr. L about her size and she said she could be a pound smaller or larger either way, so I'm hoping smaller. But, a friend pointed out that the larger she is the less we'll have to worry about her weight gain once she's born (as far as eating, etc.)

I'm definitely in nesting mode, but can't do much unless Brian is home to order around. He's doing an awesome job taking care of me and indulging my requests. He put the pack and play together last night. It's huge - I think it will now end up in the sunroom because otherwise it will really be an obstacle. Her cradle is ready - all that took was putting the pad and sheet on and putting a blanket over it for now.

BP update

My OB called Monday evening and told me she wanted me to come in Tuesday morning instead of waiting until Wednesday. Brian had a meeting in Greensboro and I was hoping he would be able to go with me, but Dr. L said that I could drive myself. I had an appointment with the on call doctor Tuesday morning and it went well. My blood pressure was back to normal - but, I do have my doubts because I think the nurse that took it is clueless, but that's another blog.

They also did a non-stress test on the baby. For those that don't know, this is a 30 minute fetal monitoring test where they look for fetal movement, track the heartbeat and monitor any contractions. That went well. Then, I had an ultrasound where they took measurements of her head circumference, abdominal circumference and length of her thigh bone. Very interesting! We verified that she is indeed a girl - I've been having thoughts about her coming out a boy. The measurements indicate that, as of Tuesday, she is over 8 lbs.

I go back this morning for another NST and an ultrasound for a biophysical profile of the baby. I think this measures the number of breaths she takes over a period of time and several other things. I'll update later. I will be seeing my own doctor today, so I can ask more questions and get a better idea of where we are and what to expect over the next two weeks or so.

I am doing well with the bedrest and haven't gone insane yet. I will say that I'm tired of trying to find something good on TV. I think I'll try reading today instead. Brian is also working from home today, so I'll at least have some human interaction.

Hotel Presbyterian

I had my weekly appointment on Thursday and after having my blood pressure checked three times, my doctor told me I could not go back to work because it was too high. They did blood work and sent me home with instructions to return on Friday to have my BP checked again. So after taking it easy on Friday - I went to the grocery store and Brian came home and picked me up for lunch - I returned. My BP was actually higher. This gave me an immediate reservation at Hotel Presbyterian Hospital for a 24 hour stay. The doctor said that he was obligated to admit me for observation. I came home and put together an overnight bag - Brian met me and we headed to the hospital. It was not an entirely unpleasant experience - lots of people taking care of me. Brian is amazing. He slept on a piece of foam that they said was a twin size bed - luckily we remembered to bring several extra pillows. We watched lots of TV including the NFL draft. At the 24 hour mark, the nurse came in and said I could go home.

I am now on bedrest until the baby comes. This means I can get up from the bed or couch to go to the bathroom and eat. I have a stack of books next to me and have gone through the TV guide and DVR'd a bunch of movies to watch. I go back to the doctor on Tuesday, so we'll see where we are then.

Our first anniversary is tomorrow - we had planned to go to Greenville, SC for part of the weekend - that obviously didn't happen, so we decided we'll make up for it later - once we have a healthy baby here and she is somewhat mobile.

Officially HUGE!

My good friends, Jen Parker and Jen Bell, hosted a baby shower for me this past weekend. They did a wonderful job - great food and great company. Jen P. sent me the pictures that she took this morning. I was shocked at how big my belly looks. I'd been thinking that I'm not that big, but this is proof - that I was oh so wrong!

I'm off to my 36 week appointment this afternoon - only 4 more weeks and our little one will be here. I haven't gotten to the point where I can't stand to be pregnant anymore. I'm sure that will come soon.

Brian caught me "nesting" last night. I was putting the drawer liners in her dresser so that I can start washing and putting clothes away. He is traveling tonight, so I have full reign of the house and lots of time on my hands. I'll pick him up at the airport tomorrow afternoon and we'll head to Richmond for another baby shower (a joint shower with Betsy - hosted by Morgan and Margie) and then on the Williamsburg to visit Brian's mom, dad and sister.

Ready, set, go....

I looked at the ticker today and it caught me off guard. At the moment it says "35 weeks pregnant. Only 35 days to go." Very matter of fact - I know what week I'm in, but the 35 days threw me for a loop. It sounds so close. I guess we are as ready as we can be at this point. I have a bag hanging on our bedroom door that I'm tossing things for the hospital into as I think of them. I've kept a running list of what we'll need based on advice from my friends and lists I've seen on the internet. Snacks and change for the vending machine, lip balm, gum, mouthwash, the camera, etc. The nursery is ready with the exception of the curtains which we hope to finish this weekend.

My friends, Jen and Jen, are hosting a shower for me here in Charlotte this weekend. I'm really looking forward to that. Mom and Morgan are driving down on Saturday morning. I'm getting my haircut and highlighted in the morning, too - one last ditch effort to look like a pretty pregnant woman - at least for the day. Then, next Saturday, Morgan and our best family friend, Margie, are hosting a shower for both me and Betsy in Richmond. It will be mostly family and a few close friends. Brian will play golf with his dad during the shower and then I'll ride with Susie and his mom back to Williamsburg. This will be our last trip home for a little while, so even though it will be a whirlwind tour - we'll get to see everyone I hope.

So, I'm hoping after the showers I'll feel a little better prepared to bring our baby girl home. I still don't think Brian has realized how close May 15th is - my daily reminders aren't cutting it. He's been great through the whole pregnancy - especially in listening to me complain about every ache and discomfort. His only complaint is that I haven't had any cravings that he has had to indulge. I think he's mildly disappointed that he hasn't had to make any late night runs for ice cream. I've indulged my own since they are usually during the day. ChickFilA vanilla milkshakes seem to top the list, but I've only broken down 3 times. Gummy bears are also on the list. I did like pickles in the beginning, but that only lasted a week or so. With 5 weeks to go, there is still time to indulge Brian!

She has a name!!!!

I was determined last night to decide on a name for the baby. Brian and I spent an hour going over the list that we'd already come up with. As most of you know, we've known for a long time what we will call her, but have been having a hard time coming up with a name to go with it. After looking at the list, we still couldn't agree/decide, so we resorted to the world wide web. As Brian scrolled through lists and said them out loud, I was saying no to just about all of them. Too common, sounds terrible... and then we hit upon one that we both liked. I woke up at 3 AM (this is now a nightly occurrence 12 AM and 3 AM at a minimum) and couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs and turned on the TV for a while. The name popped into my head again and I realized how much I love it. I asked Brian at least four times this morning what he thought of it. He says that it's definitely first on the list. We both agree that it's a beautiful name and will hopefully suit her perfectly. And...we're still not telling! You'll know on the Birth Day!

The Nursery!!!

We're almost done. I ordered the ceiling fan today and am about to order the window treatments (I'll still need to do a bit of work on them.) Mom was here Thursday through Saturday and we painted the mural on the wall. It looks incredible! I need to take another picture where the top is not cut off. There are palm leaves that go over the window.

I'll post the final nursery photos when we've installed the fan and hung the curtains.

Tiny?

So, I just realized that it's been more than a month since my last post. One of my doctors said at my last appointment that this is the boring part of pregnancy. That was three weeks ago and until this week, he was right. But things are starting to get busy and there has been a little more going on. I suffered through a stomach virus over this past weekend (Brian felt completely helpless!). I'll spare you all the details, but leave it at - I didn't eat for two days and have developed a taste for red gatorade. This virus came with another - an ear infection. So, I'm popping tylenol and hoping I don't have to resort to antibiotics. I've been to the OB and the family practitioner this week and have another OB appointment - a regular one, tomorrow.

I've been going to a prenatal yoga class once a week and am really enjoying it. There are about 8 of us there on any given day and all of us are due within 1 week of each other - pretty cool to compare notes. I feel like I'm lagging behind though. One of them told me I was so "tiny" compared to them. That was a first - I've never been called tiny in my life! You'd think I'd feel good about it, but everyone tells me that I don't look 8 months pregnant. It's a little unnerving and makes me worry that the little monkey isn't keeping up. But what she doesn't do in size, she certainly makes up for in gymnastics! This girl can move! It's not uncommon for my entire belly to ripple or jump particularly when Brian and I are watching television (and since we live in 24 hour sports world, that's a lot!).

The nursery should be almost complete next weekend. I've drawn the mural on the wall and am waiting for my mom to come next weekend to paint. I can't wait to see the final product. The furniture is there. I STILL need to do the window treatments and we are waiting on a big stuffed chair that we ordered a few weeks ago. Brian will be on a 4 day golf trip in Myrtle Beach - the bachelor weekend revisited, so Mom and I will have to take advantage.

We have an Infant CPR class tonight and then Childbirth class tomorrow night and Saturday. I've been reading too much again and am having vivid dreams about the baby and delivery, so I'm sure the classes will add to the content of those dreams. Only 8 more weeks until she arrives!

The crib

After a few false starts, the directions weren't all together clear, the crib is officially assembled. I love it even more than I thought. The bedding is scheduled to be delivered on Valentine's Day, so I'll post a picture of the full nursery then. Now, I just have to figure out what to do for window treatments. I'm clueless other than knowing that it needs to be something that will block out the sun/heat. The nursery is the one room in the house that gets direct sunlight for most of the day and also gets extremely warm in the summertime. We also need to install a ceiling fan which will assist in the cooling down efforts. I've been looking for one, but haven't found anything appropriate yet.

I'm feeling great, but am a little dismayed at the number of people that have told me that I don't look pregnant. I'm pretty sure that I do as evidenced by the daily increase in the size of my belly. I'm 27 weeks which translates to about 6 months - only 93 days to go. I had every intention of taking weekly or bi-weekly pictures, but it hasn't been that dramatic yet. Although, now it seems like everyday I wake up a little bit bigger. One person said that I must just have the right build for carrying a child - that's great as long as it carries over into labor and delivery! I'd rather have that! We have a maternity center tour at the hospital next weekend - which I'm really looking forward to. It will be nice to see in person. I've only seen the "marketing" pictures from the brochure.

The beginnings of a nursery

The nursery is starting to take shape. The walls have been painted pale green since before the wedding. We were replacing the carpet upstairs and that was the last room left, so we decided that we would go ahead and paint it a baby friendly color. It will be perfect for the theme we've (I've) chosen. Brian just rolls with the punches.

The furniture - a crib, bookcase, dresser and mirror - were delivered this morning. The crib is still in the box and will probably remain there until the weekend since Brian is traveling. I'm not sure if I can wait that long and may at least lay all of the parts out so that I can see what it looks like. We also bought the components to convert the crib to a big girl bed later on. It's hard to imagine that! The furniture is beautiful and will hopefully grow with our little monkey into her teen years (and beyond...). I'll post pictures once it's set up.

We've also decided on the theme for her room and are crossing our fingers that my mom can come during her spring break and help us paint a "mural" on the walls. At Carter's party, Mom had some really cute paper guest towels in the bathroom. I snagged one and that is the inspiration. It has lots of cute little monkeys on it and is perfect for what I want to do in our little monkey's room.

The Newest Addition - A BOY!

Quen and Daryl's baby boy was born last night - January 9, 2008 around 10 PM. Hayden Robert Marchant weighs 8 lbs. 4 oz. - thankfully a pound smaller than his big brother! Mom and baby are doing well. I'll post photos as soon as I get them. Quen says they'll try to send them today, but he looks like Logan. Pops says Logan knows that Hayden is his baby brother and was giving him lots of kisses - he's a little rough with him, but at 17 months old - you have to understand.

Congratulations to Quen, Daryl and Logan!

Happy New Year!

Well, the holidays swept by and now we are on to the New Year! I could not imagine at the beginning of 2007 what wonderful things would happen - and 2008 holds even more. I'm half way through the pregnancy and feeling great.

We ordered nursery furniture on Monday and expect delivery in February - maybe sooner. I love it - it's exactly what I pictured for a little girl and will grow with her as it's as perfect for a baby as it is for a teenager (did I just say that? - can't even fathom having a teen!)

We are off to make a surprise visit to "someone to be named later" this weekend. Brian has started coaching basketball, so we'll actually have some weekends at home coming up. We have another one planned for Williamsburg in a couple of weeks. We are going to see "Ring of Fire" at the theater with his parents - which I'm very excited about.

I got a call from Carter (my little brother) - they found out the gender of their baby today - but I won't be a blabbermouth and let Betsy and Carter tell... I'm really excited for them. Daryl, my other sister-in-law is scheduled to be induced on the 9th. Logan is in for a real surprise - a baby brother to share the attention!

I'll try to post some more on Sunday when we get back.