38 Weeks Update

Well I wasn't planning on doing another update until after Thor came but with everything that is going on...I want to make sure I keep up with the pictures and if I do that..I might as well document what is going on.

Thor has definitely started his journey home. I still don't think he will be here much before his due date and am still hoping for Memorial Day weekend but I don't want new mom naivety to ruin Thor's pregnancy photo book.

At 37 weeks I was 50% effaced. At my 38 week appointment which was actually on the 10th I was 70% effaced and 2 centimeters dilated. My 39th week appointment is on Wednesday the 15th so we shall see where I am there.

I knew on Friday (the 10th) that I had made some progress because I was having bad, constant cramps....similar to the menstrual cramps I used to have. These lasted 2 hours and were strong enough for me to think that maybe he was coming so I started to rush at work to finish or get as much of a project done as I could. I figured I would just go to the doctors appointment as usual and go from there. The doctors office is quite literally across the street from the hospital so I figured I was fine. By the time the doctors appointment had come the cramps had subsided. While I was being checked by the amazing midwife (love her...if Thor could come when she was on call....I will be SOOOOOO happy) I actually had a contraction so maybe the "cramps" I was feeling were actually contractions". I continued to "cramp" on and off the rest of the night. Based on the doctors appointment I finally got off my butt and packed the hospital bag. Brian just needs to put jeans and socks in and we are set! 

The midwife has said that I could come this weekend but she thinks it could possibly be by Wednesday (coincidentally my next doctors appointment). While I have made progress I know too many women, including my mother, who have made significant progress and the baby still didn't come for weeks so who really knows.

Because it could really be so close I made Brian take my photos. I apologize for not smiling much...I was still cramping at the time :)

Half way to an outie...

Yup....Brian is still Brian

No baby yet but we are getting there :) 9 days till due date!

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

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.

Guess who is a big sister?????

Yes that cute thing is going to be a big sister to what will have to be the cutest baby boy ever!

Her parents are expecting Joshua around Valentines day. Carley was born on Chris's birthday and if Josh is born on Valentines Day then both little ones will have birthdays on holidays!

And yes, this little monkey has hair! and curls! It took several attempts, a failed video and help from others at the baby shower to get a picture of the curls :)

Carley and Mommy in the background

Will not turn her head!

Ahhh there they are!

And she is turning a little blonde too which is surprising as both parents have dark brown hair. Chris's hair may even be black.

The failed video:

She is just too cute!

The Nursery is complete!

Well we need the baby of course! and a crib...but other then that it is basically done!

One of the things we had needed to do was buy a ceiling fan. It was low on our priority list because until we were pregnant we had not real use for the room other then storage. The fan would provide light so the room was only useable in the day time.

Well as we are expecting (duh!) we needed to get that fan in! So on a Tuesday evening Brian and I went to home depot to get two fans. One for the nursery and one for the outside porch. We didnt like any of the ones for the outside. Rather, their selection was awful and the only ones we did like were way to expensive. We ended up ordering one from homedepot.com. We did find a fan for the nursery!

Late Friday night our friend Will came up to help put up the fan and paint the master bedroom (next post). Since I am, in my current state, useless for these projects

Lets just say putting the fan did not go up as expected. We started late but that was okay because Brian and I started getting ready to paint the Master. The fan was only supposed to take an hour or two tops....it wasnt finished until 9pm thanks to our friend Al.

Brian and Will had set up the fan and before they put the fan blades on they decided it would be a good idea to test the fan to see if they had set it up right. They had followed the directions but this was both of their first time putting a ceiling fan in. Well....the fan part worked but not the light. The lights came on then then shut off in a split second. The light bulbs were blown so back to home depot I go to get more bulbs and these are special bulbs so I had to actually have someone help me.

When I got home, they tested the new bulbs and nothing. They took the whole thing apart, reput it back together and nothing. Called Al and tested the breaker and nothing. We were debating on what to do. Do we return it and exchange it at home depot? But what if it is still user error? Finally Al showed up.

Long story short was that the builders messed up our house again. They wired the switches wrong so when we turned the light on it blew. Al rewired the wall socket and voila the fan works. We had to take the switch from the dining room but that was okay because mom had given us a dimmer which is what Brian wanted for the dining room forever.

So we got another unexpected project done! Brian got a dimmer (we just need a plate) in the dining room so I can have the lights on without blinding him! Brian is very excited about it, he keeps reminding me that we have a dimmer in the dining room.

Here are some of the pictures of this adventure!

Apparently standing on a ladder is uncomfy

The bunk bed was a lot heavier then they were expecting

Will: "World's easiest electric chair"

Pregnancy: Fourth Month update

So I am doing the next few posts out of order as I want to get this one up asap.

December 3rd 2012 I was officially 20 weeks. So I am no longer 4 months but beginning the 5th month. I am still tiny....an ER nurse thought I was two months (after of course being told I was expecting) lol.

The doctor's are very pleased with my weight gain. I sincerely doubt I will be one of those women who have trouble not gaining weight. I think I will hit the lower side of the target weight (25-35) but not much more. Some days I even wonder if I will gain 25lbs total.

I am still getting sick every weekday morning and I still have be careful with what I eat. I have managed my work day food situation but dinner and weekends are rough. Being with my parents helps but unfortunately I cant just live with them. I have managed to gain 8lbs above what I was before I was pregnant so my body is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

And I am much better then Princess Kate, poor thing. Anyway on to the pictures!

Still dont know why I am standing uneven

Still wearing regular clothes. I am finally starting to look chunky but definitely not pregnant. I am to the point where if you know I am pregnant and you are looking for change you will see it. Otherwise you have no clue. Oh and I can notice my center of balance has changed. I used to walk with my hips...now i feel my hips barely moving in comparison. Very weird. It has taken me a few days to relearn how to walk. Yup and my hair still stinks. No fun positive side affects yet :-\

2 months

2 Months because it took Mommy (man that's weird!) that long to realize she was pregnant :) It was decided at my first dr's appointment that I was exactly 8 weeks so we are going to have to skip the 1 month post :)

At this point I definitely hadn't gained much if any weight, so I do not think I look that much different. How am I feeling? Oh that deserves it's own post.

I am not sure what has caused our good fortune....

I don't know if it was the Holy Well in Inisheer, Ireland that is supposed help infertility:

Or the the "wall statue" in Bunratty, Ireland that's supposed to help infertility:

Or the Mexican fertility goddess my friend Nicole, from work gave me:

However whatever it was...worked!

If you haven't guessed by now....Brian and I will be expecting our first bundle of joy May 21, 2013!

We are safely out of the first trimester and all the people that should know in person already know....which means it is safe for public knowledge. :)

Update on regular life

Sorry for the long break in posting....nothing has really happened to really prevent me from blogging so I guess life just got away.

Marriage life is really not different for us. The only strange thing is my new last name but I quickly got used to that because of my new job.

Still not sure what we are going to do for a honeymoon. We don't have as much left over from the wedding budget so I am not sure what we are going to be able to afford. We were invited to join a two other couples to go on a cruise next March/April to the Carribean so maybe we make that a honeymoon? I know your supposed to go away just the two of you but I just dont really feel that that is so important with us. Brian and I have gone away by ourselves plenty of times. Also...that is a bit far away for a honeymoon.

I have had my IUD taken out. Brian and I are not actively trying but we are no longer preventing. I did find a great obgyn and office so I am excited about that but I did receive news that I was not expecting. I have always known that I would more then likely have issues getting pregnant on my own and we are currently waiting and seeing but an issue I have known about is apparently a bigger issue then I thought. I will post about it later. Right now I am trying to fight the withdrawal symptoms from having my IUD taken out.

My Mom and Dad have made great progress in their move out of the Great White North and I am getting so excited for their move.

We finally got our bookshelves so we are putting together Brian's man cave this weekend so I will be posting pictures of that. We are also getting our ducks in a row for the future projects so hopefully I will have more pictures of that.

Work is still going well. Transitioning well to being on the phones full time. Overtime is no longer required which is good because I am about burnt out of overtime. There is overtime this Saturday, I may do it...it depends on how I feel.

I really feel that is about it. There will be posts describing my pregnancy journey and what I have to do or am lucky that I do not have to do and I will of course keep you posted on the house as it gets finished. I will definitely do a better job keeping you all up to date.

Xavier's First Birthday Party!

Today I celebrated Xavier's first birthday party! It was so much fun! Carley, who turned 1 on September 9th, came as well. I ended up taking almost 200 pictures. There are a series of pictures of Carley and Xavier on a couch that I will save for tomorrow. I will do my best to pick through and only post the best :) I did get a couple videos. Two videos will be a separate post.

The decorations:

The birthday boy and guests:

Birthday boy!

Xavier and Aunt Elise (Jenn's Sister)

Getting a bit big to do this.....

Trevor and Xavier with the half brother Malaki and cousins Jackson and Alex

Trevor and Xavier

Carley!!!!!!

Chris and Carley

All snug as a bug!

Xavier and his dad

Trevor

I have hair! Still taking after Aunty Rachel with the Phil Collins look though :)

I just love that smile! Look at those teeth!

Xavier and Carley

Her favorite hangout spot

Feeties!

Ms. Micki and Carley and Xavier

"Yes I put pasta in my hair!"

Hiding out in the kitchen where it is quiet

He wants cake!

Mmmmm!

Carley likes cake too but Daddy was making her be neat and tidy with it :(

Trevor, Xavier and Malaki's Dad, Sean, being silly

Carley trying to steal birthday cake

Oooo blocks!

Jenn, Xavier and Brittany

Look at all that loot!

Camo and Mooses!

I love babies in onesies!

The cake picture doesn't do enough justice....

My sweetie isn't a baby any more :(