Someone's a big sister!

So you all know this cutie....

Well she is officially a Big Sister! The cutest Big Sister of this generation.

Her brother Joshua Christopher was born 2.18.13 7lbs 3 oz, 19 inches!

He was so alert while I was there! I must have come at the right time! Visiting him at the hospital was very weird for me. A) just two years ago (or so) I was there welcoming Carley into the world and B) in a few months I will be welcoming Thor (and hopefully we will have a name for him). Very de ja vu and eye opening. But what a cutie to have open your eyes to reality!

So for comparisons sake....baby Carley and baby Josh side by side...

Carley...1 month old

Josh...1 day old

Baby and Benjamin's photo shoot

So here are the pictures of Benjamin's and Baby's photo shoot. We will have to wait and see which one will be the best one to use when Thor gets a bit older.

My favorite and the easiest I think

The outfit Baby is wearing is actually my brothers...it actually could have been mine as well. My plan is that when Thor is big enough to fit into it I will take a picture and see if I can photo shop him into one of those photos. I have more but these are the best of Benjamin and the easiest for photo shopping.

We did try with Bailey but Bailey had no interest in the doll as expected....

What is in my bed?

Really??

Do I have to put up with this?

Fine...

I dont like this....

Why do you insist on making me share?

4 hours later

Such a funny girl!

Benjamin and I have a deal....

A deal that Mom isn't too fond of right now because she and Daddy are the ones dealing with all the hard work.

Benjamin is getting really old. He is 14 years old right now and Basset Hounds typically live to 10 or 11. He is doing well but he is definitely an old guy. We know he has continence issues, think he is going blind and I think he has dementia at some points. He has skin issues and enough pain to warrant pain meds. Everything that can be managed with medication but we are coming to the point where we do have to watch him and see if it is time to make a really tough decision. Last time I went down in January, Benjamin did not react to having Doug (my brother) or me there. He has always reacted excitedly seeing me and he should have been even more excited to see Doug as he hadn't seen Doug in years...yet we got nothing. That was probably our first wake up call that we need to be watching Benjamin more closely. I was really nervous about how he would react when he saw me this visit and I am pleased to announce he was back to his old normal self! My talk with Benjamin has been delayed for a bit.

So why tell you all that? Because Benjamin and I have a deal!

I really really want a picture of Thor lying on Benjamin. Bailey is going to be so sweet with Thor but she is not the lying down, cuddle type Basset. Benjamin is the only dog since William that we have had that would let us lie on them, cuddle next to them and place things on them without moving or caring. And I would love one picture of the two of them.

So the deal is that Benjamin fights it for another 4 months. That way Thor can be born and we have some time to make it to Charleston and set up for what I hope to be a great picture. Mom isn't too pleased only because it is such a chore to have to put up with Benjamin right now. Giving the medicine, having to carry him out to go potty, and having him still have accidents in the house. Benjamin is a lot of work and it is not getting better. I don't think it is necessarily getting worse and Mom isn't going to put Benjamin down just because she is tired of dealing with him but making that decision is going to be hard enough without feeling bad about taking away the one photo her favorite daughter wants.

Because of Benjamin's non-reaction to Doug and me in January, I was starting to see where Mom was coming from. I really want that picture...but if Benjamin is miserable and in that much pain that he cant react to his two favorite people??? Not worth it.

So I had to come up with Plan B....in case Benjamin could not make it 4 months (if he makes it longer...awesome but the deal is 4 months). Well, plan B is using my doll Baby that looks like a 6 month old baby and photoshopping Thor in when it comes time. I will post that photo shoot in the next post.

Benjamin gave me a surprise though. He was lying on my lap right next to my belly and stayed there while I took pictures. So I may not get the real Thor with the real Benjamin in real life but I do have Benjamin and Thor together during the pregnancy.

My favorite, this is how Benjamin kisses. Thor must have kicked

We tried to get bailey in on the action but it didn't work quite as easily...

And yes...while I do now obviously have a belly....it is still tiny enough that Bailey can sit in my lap and not disturb Thor in any possible way.

Baby update!

Thor has been very active lately. So active you can see my belly move. Brian has felt the kicks and it has been really cool. At first it is like you have a butterfly in your belly. It can get confusing on whether your feeling the baby move or if your feeling your muscles contract. Thor started moving right as my belly was about to "pop" (you will see I haven't "popped" that much) so it was hard to tell. But as he has gotten bigger the movements are starting to feel more like kicks/punches.

At first it was weird and distracting. I would be on the phone at work with a caller deep in thought/concentration trying to help the caller when the baby would kick or roll over or do some big definite movement and I would end up losing focus. As the movements became more regular it became less distracting and more reassuring. The baby obviously knows when I am having a not so happy call and will kick which actually helps me feel better which snowballs into the call getting better or at least me not taking the callers frustration/anger personally. He's my little secret weapon :)

I took two videos but the first one blogger wont let me upload (it was a failed attempt anyway) and the second one doesn't show anything as I thought it did :-\. Hopefully when the baby gets bigger I will be able to get better videos.

I did have an appointment on the 8th. No pictures yet because I am trying to do them "monthly" and we haven't hit the 7th month mark yet. Everything is going well. I gained a pound so I am up a total of 16lbs. Still have a ways to go to get to the 25-35lb goal the doctors have but everyone I have seen is still pleased. The midwife loves my belly :) She keeps cooing about it which makes me feel good. I dont think I will get as big as they want but the baby will be fine. Mommy didnt gain what she was "supposed" to with either my brother or I and we were just fine. Plus if I was in danger the doctors and midwife would be getting worried by now and none are at this point. I will worry when they worry.

I am tiny though. I actually think I'm not that tiny but I am definitely tiny by societal standards. I have come to the conclusion that what size society thinks is appropriate for a month/stage of pregnancy is completely different then what is medically considered appropriate. By society's standards/reactions....I am teeny tiny. By medical standards, I may be on the smaller size but still where I should be. I am in maternity pants but the ones I have a huge on me. I am wearing maternity shirts just to wear them. I can still wear the majority of regular shirts and do on a regular basis.

This is getting real!!!

Our first carseat (we may be getting another hand me down)! My baby doll from my childhood is testing it out.

I will be bringing both Baby and the carseat with me to Charleston to see how Benjamin and Bailey react. I fully expect them to ignore it and not care. It would completely shock our family if there were any negative reactions. Both dogs are great with kids. I just want to make sure they refamiliarize themselves with infant things.

I am also bringing Baby down so I can get a picture of Baby with Benjamin. I fully expect Benjamin to be around infour months but he is 14 and getting old. I really want a picture of my baby lying on Benjamin and if I have to photoshop it oh well. Plus, even if I do get #1 with Benjamin I could photoshop #2 instead because Benjamin will not make it to #2.

Randoms....

*Superbowl weekend was one of the better weekends I can remember having. I slept so well Friday night. Saturday we mopped the kitchen, bathrooms, dining room and foyer. Cleaned the inside of the fridge. Had the oven do its self cleaning cycle, did tons of dishes and organized the kitchen and living room. We made a roast with potatoes and carrots. As usual with red meat, baby loved it. Sunday we just lay around the house until some friends came over the game. I was routing for the Ravens only because they were winning in the beginning. I was pretty dissappointed with the majority of the commercials.

*Baby is doing well. I havent been sick for about a week now so maybe I am finally through that phase? I still have to stick to my strict diet but as long as I don't eat a no no food, I doing well. My next drs appointment is on February 8th. I found a website where I can track how far along I am and I trust that much more then my doctors office. Baby has officially started kicking. I have been feeling him move for awhile but the kicks are becoming visible...now if he would only do it on command....

*Did I fail to mention it was a boy? Brian finally called his mom so I was able to make facebook official but I can't remember if I put it on here. We did not want to know. We found out during the horrendous doctors visit on Jan 10th. The tech ignored our file and told us quite casually. We were so pissed we didnt mention anything. We also could see what it was..there was no hiding it but the tech could have tried much better since she didnt even try to skip over that part or pretend it wasnt what it was. Seriously doubting continuing my services there after this baby is born except I still want babies born at a particular hospital and this office is the only one who works out of that hospital. Arg

*We are very excited it is a boy. Brian is being difficult with boy names. Because he came up with the girls name it is my job to come up with the boys name but he has nixed everything I have come up with. Its getting annoying. My baby shower is on March 30. We picked that weekend knowing it was Easter. We have so many people that ought/need to be invited that are out of town that we felt the need to at least try to make it during a time they may be able to come. Given the holiday, outside of family obligations, they may be able to get away easier then another weekend. I don't think our plan is working very well so far. We definitely understand but I was looking forward to possibly seeing everyone.

*Work is going well. I did qualify for the bonus which is eagerly being awaited for. We have big plans with our hopeful tax return and that bonus. I may have some news with work but nothing yet. 

Anyway, that is about it! I should be posting pictures this weekend. The belly is still tiny but its popped!