John William Is Here!!

Little Will was born at 2:19pm on Wednesday, weighing just under 7lbs. The three of us are all doing well! I finally got to kiss his little feet and rub his little nose. :) In fact, his right foot was the first thing I touched when they pulled him out of me. :) (They lowered the screen just enough so I could see him.)

Will has gotten two great reports from his pediatrician. He is nursing really well, which has made me very happy! I'll post details later - just wanted to get some pictures up for everyone. We should be going home tomorrow morning.

12pm Tomorrow!

C-section is scheduled to be done at noon tomorrow. We're heading to the hospital at 10am.

So next post will have pictures of our son!!!!

:)

Missing Sleep

Nope - you didn't read the time this was posted wrong. Its 4:40am in the morning - kind of sums up what it has been like for me the last 5 days or so. We made it past Christmas - thankfully, Will will not have a Christmas birthday. But I suspect that, with or without the c-section, he is about ready to come out. Every pregnancy symptom seems to have hit me these last few days, and poor Ellis has had to suffer with me. Since about Thursday or Friday night, I wake up around 2:30 or 3:00 to pee and then can't ever fall back asleep. Tonight, I got about 3 hours of sleep, but woke up with heartburn! Yes, Jennifer, I have finally suffered from heartburn in this pregnancy. I'm definitely thankful I didn't have it before now. Ugh! I will say that, for the most part, pregnancy was not bad for me at all - I enjoyed being pregnant. But this last week or so is not for me! :) At around 3 this morning, I told Ellis "Well, I guess my days of sleeping through the night are over for a really long time." I was hoping I might sleep through the night tonight - b/c I am pretty darn sure I won't be able to tomorrow. Ellis thinks it just the anticipation of everything, and he is probably right. Its definitely been a strange Christmas for us this year!!

9 Months Pregnant

I wanted to have a few pictures of Ellis and me when I was 9 months pregnant. Dad was kind enough to come over and take some for us. I realized that my black top makes it a little difficult to see how big Will is now. I bet I'll have some more pictures at Christmas though!

This is Ellis's favorite thing - he thinks its hilarious how I can put things on my "shelf." I do this often with the ice cream bowl ... no hands needed. :) And its a great place to put the remote control. :)

One Week

If all goes as it should, one week from today, we will finally meet little Will. I had, what should be, my last prenatal appointment yesterday with my favorite doctor again, Dr. Risinger. She is going to perform the c-section. Ellis and I have decided not to try the version procedure. We would rather not subject Will to any more trauma than needed. The procedure is really unlikely to turn him, and then I'd be in surgery anyway. So, rather than push and pull on him and possibly put him in distress, and then yank him out - we decided it was best to just do things calmly and planned and have the c-section.

We will go in around 10:30 or so (exact time of the operation hasn't been finalized) next Wednesday for the c-section and then, as Dr. Risinger says, we get to have a birthday party. :) Ellis and I are anxious and excited. Its weird knowing exactly when he will be here. And yet, I am so very very very ready to meet him. I can't wait to kiss his little feet and snuggle up to his little face and nose.

I will admit that I still have a little trouble adjusting to the idea of a c-section vs. regular labor. I guess I feel in some ways like I am being robbed of that last moment after carrying him for 9 months. If all goes as planned, I will end this pregnancy without ever even feeling a contraction (other than the occasional Braxton Hicks). It does make me sad to think that Ellis and I won't get to experience that moment of anticipation when I get to tell him "Its time" and he helps me through the beginning stages of labor, we go to the hospital and tell them we are in labor, we make all the phone calls to excited family and friends, and I get to see Will come into the world and immediately lay on my chest. It does not help that so many of the birth books and other such "help" books out there make it sound as if a mother has failed somehow if she has a planned c-section. Calling the "common" use of the procedure an "epidemic." According to the Birth Book by Martha Sears, which I hate by the way, c-sections are a "convenient" means for doctors to deliver a baby and that the decision to take a breech baby by c-section is because a doctor is not "brave" enough to attempt to deliver it vaginally. The rationale behind it is only to "take no chances," and apparently that is a really bad thing, according to Ms. Sears. The book makes you doubt everything a doctor thinks or says to you and makes you think every suggestion or decision they make has some ulterior motive that has more to do with their well-being or career and not yours or the baby's. Frankly, having a brother in the medical profession, I just can't believe that is true. Sure, there are bad doctors out there just like there are in any other profession - and I definitely believe that you should make yourself aware of your options. But I do think it is unfair to judge any woman who finds herself in the position of having to have a c-section rather than "natural" labor and delivery. Maybe breeched babies can be safely delivered vaginally in some cases, as The Birth Book claims, but I also see absolutely nothing wrong with "taking no chances." If you can avoid known possible risks associated with it - why put yourself and the baby through it on the idea that, although you might be taking a chance, it is better for the baby to come out "naturally."

Anyway - sorry for the rant. But I must admit I feel better having written it. I have never had surgery - never even been admitted to the hospital - so as we eagerly anticipate the arrival of little Will, I would be lying if I didn't admit that, once in a while, I fret about whether we are making the right decision and get a little sad when I think about the "natural" labor that I will not have. And it hurts to read the stuff that is out there that perpetuates my feeling that I am being "less of a mother" by having a c-section.

In the end, as long as Will comes out healthy -- that is ALL that matters to me. :)

December 27th

What a difference a week makes - and what a difference a different doctor makes!

After reflecting back on my doctor's appointment last week, I think the reason Ellis and I (well, particularly I) took the news so hard was the way in which it was told to us. The doctor I saw (who shall remain un-named) made it seem like we had to hurry up and make a decision right away, needed to have the version procedure by the end of this week if we were going to do it, and we better get ready to have the c-section early next week. So we left there thinking we had to make some tough decisions in the next couple of days and, what freaked me out the most, thinking that we were going to have this baby in the next week or two - and not because he was ready but because we would undergo a medical procedure or surgery that would take him out.

Well - today I saw my favorite OB and Ellis and I feel a zillion, billion times better. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Dr. Risinger is AWESOME! Anyway, Will is still clearly breeched - but I'm also nowhere near ready to have him so that Dr. Risinger didn't even bother checking my cervix (famous last words, right?). She was wonderful to talk to, explained things much more clearly to us and, most importantly, told us we should not feel pressure that decisions and procedures had to happen in the next day or two.

I emphasized to Dr. Risinger that I did not want to do a procedure or have a c-section that would take Will out earlier than he was ready to. She agreed that right now is a bit early - we don't need to worry about rushing things when I am only 37 weeks. In fact, she said we could wait until about January 3rd if we wanted. I really want her to do the procedure, and she is on call only December 27th or January 5th so....

After talking it through with her the "Plan" as of today is that we are looking to December 27th to be Will's birthday. If we decide to do the version procedure after talking to the high risk OB (nope, still haven't heard from his office but Risinger is following-up on that for us), then we are going to do it that day. If it works, which admittedly has a low probability since I will be 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant, then I may be induced or, if everything goes really really well, then I can just go home and wait to go into labor. If the version doesn't work, then we'll go right in for the c-section.

So ... unless Will decides he is ready to come out on his own (or the version goes really well or the little guy flips), we'll be singing happy birthday on the 27th!

Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and concerns. I now know this isn't something to be as freaked out about, and I'm sure if I'd seen Dr. Risinger last week, my experience that day and the days the followed would have been much different. (Like I'm sure I would not have taken the news so hard.)

The Nursery is Complete

Here are a bunch of pictures of our nursery. Ellis did a wonderful job getting up all the shelves and Will's name and other pictures on the wall for me. It was such a nice surprise to come home to Friday. And then the chair arrived Saturday. We are both very very pleased with how it came together!!

(Hope these pictures upload okay. Our camera stinks - the day time pictures are really bright and the nighttime ones are dark. )

Still thinking...

Thank you to everyone for their advice - on and off the blog. Ellis and I are coming to terms with what we need to do. I think we both are coming to the conclusion that we will skip the version procedure (thank you to my friends out in the medical field for correcting me!! duh - its not an inversion but a version procedure...oh well). We would rather let Will stay in as long as he can. I've heard lots of stories of women being induced right after a successful version procedure - which would be the end of this week, I guess. And we just aren't ready to do that yet. Anyway, I went for an ultrasound at the high risk OB's office Friday, so I'm assuming we'll have the consultation Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll see.

Will did look fine in the ultrasound though. Good strong heart, and apparently big chubby cheeks! :) He weighs about 6 pounds, 3 ounces.

(Marie - I haven't tried the frozen peas method. My OB looked at me like I was from Mars when I mentioned it to her. But I guess I really should try anything. I've got the peas in my freezer, so I'll give it a try!!)

When you are expecting, expect the unexpected

So, it all started last night. I had Braxton Hicks contractions that actually kept waking me up. They started to make me anxious because I wasn't positive they were just practice contractions, or whether they were real contractions or what was going on. And I ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep last night (as did poor Ellis).

Then, at 8 this morning, Ellis and I went to meet with Dr. Castles, a pediatrician that Jennifer highly recommended to us. We were both very impressed with him and the practice, so despite the lack of sleep we both had the night before, things were going well.

My 36 week appointment was at 9:00. Ellis wasn't planning on coming but after the night I had, I told him I wanted him there. Thank God he was! Baby's heart rate and everything seemed good. My cervix had not dilated or effaced so any worries I may have had the night before were alleviated. But the doctor couldn't feel the baby (probably because I am carrying so high) so we waited for her to do an ultrasound to determine whether Will was still breeched or not. At this point, I was about 95% positive he was in the same position, but I was not worried about it because the doctor at my 34 week appointment didn't seem to think the breeched position was a problem. From what I understood, we had plenty of time to see if he would turn, and it could happen even right up until I went into labor.

As I suspected, we saw Will's big head on the ultrasound screen - its still up at the top of my uterus. The guy has not moved since he was big enough to be in a breeched position. Something tells me he is going to have some stubborness in him! :)

The doctor then proceeded to tell us that we had 2 options at this point. We could try the inversion procedure to see if they can get the baby to turn. My doctor's practice does not do inversions, so she would need to set up a consultation with one of the high risk OBs at the hospital if we wanted to try it. Otherwise, we needed to schedule a c-section. As most of you know, I really really wanted a vaginal birth. I didn't want a scheduled induction and I didn't want a scheduled c-section. So the information was a bit overwhelming - needless to say, there were quite a bit of tears on my part. But we talked to the doctor for a while about all of this. If we do the c-section, they want to do it when I am 38 or 39 weeks - which means the week before Christmas or the 26th or 27th. (If Will ever complains about his birth date, I'll just have to explain to him that it was all his fault ... I tried to keep him in until January, I really did.)

The doctor said that 2 weeks ago she would have told me that I had plenty of time for him to turn and not to worry about it. But now I am very close to being full term, and they want to discuss options and make sure we have a plan in case he does not turn. She said that the chances he turns at this point are very slim because he does not have the room to do it, plus, if he drops into my pelvis as labor approaches, he really won't be able to.

I have heard things about this inversion procedure and do not have much faith in it. Ellis and I agreed we should explore our options and at least talk with the doctor - but I told him I'd be going with great pessimism. I know it can be a painful procedure for mom, can lead to complications for baby where we end up having an emergency c-section, and it doesn't have the best probability of success. Of course, I know it can work too, and let us have a more natural and safer birth. But if any of you have experiences about this inversion procedure you could share with me (commenting on the blog or sending me an email), I would really appreciate your sharing it with me so Ellis and I can make a good, informative decision and have some additional questions for the doctor. (Although I'd like to avoid hearing the worst horror stories ever, please!!)

After the appointment, I was definitely upset and knew I couldn't go to work right away. I came home and talked to some family and friends and, most importantly, Ellis and I had some time to mull it over. I felt a lot better by the time I headed into work around 2. People at work (well...most of them anyway) have been fabulous about my pregnancy. My boss told me that I really just needed to take care of the baby and if I needed to start my maternity leave now, he would understand. But its all so up in the air right now, I couldn't tell him for sure when it would be. I know I'm not ready to start yet.

Ellis has been wonderful throughout all of this - he is very much my rock through situations like this and helps me see the good things and prevent me from over-stressing about the bad things. The important thing is for Will to come out safely and healthy, and if a c-section is what we have to do, then that is what we will be prepared to do.

So, the plan at this point is to wait to have the consultation with the high risk OB about the inversion procedure. Ellis and I want to wait until after Christmas to have the c-section, and we both have lots more questions to talk to the doctors about, which I guess we will get to early next week. (My next appointment is Wednesday.)

Of course, now we're both realizing how we need to really make sure we are READY for this baby! :) Ellis is finally putting up my shelves in the nursery as I type this. The store called today and said my glider and ottoman are in so it is being delivered Saturday. Hopefully, I will have pictures of the "finished" nursery to share after this weekend.

'Course, little Will could surprise us all and flip tonight! Wouldn't that be wonderful??

Anticipation

So, I haven't updated in a while because ... well ... there isn't much to say. :) Ellis and I are doing all the last minute preparations for the baby. I will admit I had a little bit of anxiety last week. I got nervous about all the little things we still needed to take care of and the fact that I could potentially go into labor at any time. But I have learned that I am now in my 9th month of pregnancy and really just need to SLOW DOWN - since then I have felt much better. I have things pretty much in order at work to the point that, if I happened to go into labor tomorrow, I know most things would be taken care of. That is a big relief. Finishing touches on the nursery are being worked on -- I hope to have it completely done in the next week. (Ellis is hanging shelves, the chair should be in at any minute, and I have some decorations to hang on the wall.) We are meeting with 2 pediatricians that came highly recommended to us, so this time next week, we should have one lined up. We also toured the labor and delivery floor at the hospital last week, which really made me relieved -- something about knowing where we would go and where I would be just made me feel better.

So things are moving along! I am 36 weeks Thursday and have my next prenatal appointment then!

I really hope this baby stays in after Christmas ... but, if he decides that is when he wants to come, I know we will find a way to make sure he feels special on his birthday each year. I just want him to be healthy and happy. Can't wait to meet him! And I know it will be here before we know it!

The bigger the belly the harder they fall

Seriously - what is UP with maternity pants? None of them fit me - they just all slide down to my hips. I guess not having much of a butt to hold them up is part of the problem, as well as the fact that I am carrying the baby so high, but surely other women out there have the same problem? Why can't they make the bands a little tighter (but not as tight and wide as a belly band)? I thought that, as the baby got bigger, the elastic part of the pants would stay up better but Noooo. It just gets worse. The bigger my belly, the steeper the incline that lets the elastic band on my pants just slide down. I am really looking forward to wearing pants that FIT one day soon.

Mom said I need to get suspenders. She just might be right.

Just in time for Thanksgiving ...

... this is a big THANK YOU post for the blog.

Ellis and I are very thankful to have many co-workers, family, and friends who wanted to host and attend baby showers for us. Bob, Susan, and Missy hosted a couples shower for us in the beginning of November to which we invited Ellis's co-workers. There was a ton of good food, and Bob gave us several gag gifts that had us all in stitches! We had a lot of time laughing at that shower. I especially liked that it was a couples shower, so Ellis and my dad could be a part of it.

Then, Jennifer and Julie were sweet enough to host a shower for all my friends from high school, college, law school and work. The guest list included everyone's kids, which made for a very fun, chaotic shower. :) The dynamics definitely change at a shower when babies, toddlers, and young kids are running around! And for the better, I think! I had so much fun seeing how much everyone's children had grown. I can't tell everyone how much I appreciated the long distance driving many undertook to attend the shower. For example, Amber came up from Savannah, Ashley traveled with Sydney from Charleston, Jennifer and Julie came down with little Alex, Charlie and Alex from the upstate ... I also got to see Kara and Maggie, friends from high school that I had not seen in a long time. And my best friend from college, Marie, drove all the way down from Richmond with her daughter Anna to spend the weekend with us. I had never met Anna, who is now 8 months old, and was so happy to see her and Marie!! I hope to have a chance to see them again soon.

Most recently, during lunch time on a Thursday, Nici, Lindsey, and Tara threw me a baby shower, which included all the women lawyers at the firm that I work. The lunch was so yummy and it was a great excuse to get out of the office for a while. I am very thankful for how supportive and happy my co-workers have been for me and Ellis.

So a big thanks to everyone for making it to the showers. Mom has come to just about all of them, which has meant a whole lot to me. And, of course, we have received so many great gifts for little Will - we are just about set for his big arrival!!

I wish I had taken more and better pictures at the showers, but unfortunatley, I didn't. (If you have any from the showers, I would love it if you would email them to me!) Thankfully, Dad took lots of great pictures at the couples shower ... I needed him to be a photographer for each one! :) Here is a sampling of pictures from all the fun we have been having these last couple of weeks:

Its hard to see in this picture - but Ellis is wearing a little blue pacifier made out of lifesavers and a jelly bean! Yep - all the men at the couples shower had to wear one .... wonder if any of them will ever attend another baby shower...

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, the hospital will let us bring Will home since we have the car seat!I think Mitzi thinks the infant toys are actually all for her! Poor thing ... wow is she in for a surprise...

I mean, really, could this kid be any cuter? Anna was just the sweetest, happiest baby!!! She can most definitely visit us any time!!

Anna tests out Will's new exersaucer - I think she approved! She also tested out his pack n' play at night, which I think also won approval.

Its a miracle!!!

We finally have our home computer up and running. I am amazed by exactly how much I missed it. I can finally organize my pictures, shop online, update my blog, etc from home! We had a wonderful tech guy come out to the house this weekend. Replacing the mother board was apparently all it took. But then he spent about 2 hours cleaning viruses and such from our desktop and Ellis' laptop. The computers run so much faster now. What a relief.

Yea!

Pediatrician

I went for my 32 weeks appointment yesterday. All still looks well -- although I have to admit I'm getting more concerned about the fact that Will is breeched. I will definitely talk to them more about it next time and see if they can't do a quick ultrasound to see if he has moved. I met Dr. Goode (who I really liked) and talked to her a bit about the practice's philosphy/plans with delivery. I don't think I'll have a formal birth plan or anything, but I do feel better getting an understanding on the OB's philosophy on induction, episiotomies, pain medication and other such things.

But I entered the 8th month of pregnancy yesterday!!! WOW! Just 8 weeks to go. Time has flown by, although I am more than ready to meet little Will now.

Since the due date is coming sooner and sooner, one of the last big things Ellis and I need to decide about is a pediatrician. We would really like to find someone over on our side of town because it would be much more convenient. I have heard that you can interview the pediatricians - but what do you ask? How do you find the right pediatrician? If any of you have advice on how to find a pediatrician or suggestions of pediatricians to try - I'd greatly appreciate a comment on the blog or your sending me an email. Thanks!!

(P.S. The long awaited "mother board" for our computer has come in so I'm really hoping to have a working computer soon. It'll make it easier to post pictures and such when I don't have to wait until I have time at work.)

Will

THAT'S RIGHT! We have agreed to call little John William by his middle name - calling him Will for short. However, we still love John William so I think he'll find himself being called by both names a good bit.

This picture was taken last Friday at our "official" 4D ultrasound. Thank goodness she took the ones she did when we came in before because he was not cooperating this time. Little guy is still being an acrobat with his feet over his head. And, yes, that is his little foot with little toes in the top right of the picture - the foot is next to the profile of his face. He is really squished on in there. I can usually feel his big ol' firm head on the right side of my stomach above my belly button. The doctor says there is no reason for concern about him being breached though - he has plenty of time to learn that he can put his feet down for heaven's sake! :-) (He did yawn a couple of times during the ultrasound but we missed the picture each time. How cute to think of him yawning in there!!)

Everything continues to look good. He is practicing breathing like he should be. And I am right on schedule for my due date (hope it stays that way).

TRIUMPH!!

Two weekends ago, Ellis and I finally finished painting the nursery. It was a horribly, electric blue color - kind of hurt your eyes to look at it. It took one coat of primer and 3-4 coats of the yellow paint to cover it up!! Then, on a Sunday afternoon, Ellis tackled putting the crib together. After all the work, I was SO happy to have the nursery done. Makes me feel prepared for little John William. ('Course, still need some things on the wall, curtains, a chair and a rug...but I'm working on that.)

You can see little Mitzi in the room - already plotting what kind of trouble she can get into. So many fun plastic bags and packaging and strange smells for her.

At this stage, things are going somewhat smoothly. I would read the directions for the next step, set out the gizmos needed to complete it, and then Ellis executes it. Sounds like a good plan...

But apparently I did not correctly read the direction those stupid bracket-thingys are supposed to go on the mattress spring. It took MANY screw-tightenings to put them on the wrong way....

.... and many, many more to put them on the right way. But, after a bit more cursing and Ellis swearing that the drop side of the crib just will NOT fit into the frame the way the directions say it is supposed to ....

TA DA!!!

And the finished product!!!

First Baby Shower - October 14th

The counsin baby bumps! (Kathy's little girl is due just about a month after John William.)

My sweet little niece, Kate, was a big help at the shower - helping me dig into all the gifts! :)

BIG thank you to Ellis's mom and sister and family who helped host this shower for me. It was attended by family members and church members of Ellis's home church. The members there amaze me - we see them about twice a year and yet they took time out of their Saturday afternoon to come to a baby shower for me and bought us gifts. I wish I had more pictures but my photographer (a.k.a. Ellis) didn't take as many as I thought. (Maybe he was punishing me for making him stay??....)

Anyway, we got so many wonderful gifts and lots of cute little clothes for John William. Last weekend, I bought my first container of Dreft and set to washing all the clothes. It was fun folding them up and putting them neatly in the drawers in the baby room. (I might was well enjoy it now when I actually fine baby laundry fun!!)

30-week check-up yesterday

Considering I had to sit around for over an hour for what would have amounted to all of about 10 minutes of an appointment - it went well!! :) They were really busy yesterday. But I was able to meet Dr. Eden, and although the appointment itself was very short, I really liked her. I knew she was busy and falling behind with seeing patients, but she still took the time to discuss some things with me - which I always appreciate. John William is still growing strong - he was kicking and moving around a lot this afternoon so it took a while to hear the heartbeat, which was kind of funny, but it was a strong 132. :)

Computer problems continue...

So, I had figured out I could upload pictures through Ellis's laptop at home when I posted the 4D pictures of John William. I had my first baby shower that my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and Ellis's family hosted for me, and we finally painted the nursery and put the crib together. I want to share pictures but, as of this weekend, our internet connection at home has died. Don't know why we can't get a connection, but we can't. We'll try to fix it this week so I can post pictures soon!

I actually think the computer curse is following me. We lost access at work too - server went down. They finally routed us through one of the other offices, but the internet is very ... very ... slow ...

Big mile marker of 30 weeks starts Thursday!! - I have my next prenatal apptmt tomorrow afternoon. :)

Our little son

On Thursday, I officially started the third trimester. Pregnancy continues to be a wonderful, amazing experience. Just tonight, I pressed on my belly and felt little John William. I called Ellis over to feel too because the baby was very close the edge of my uterus and it was easy to feel him. We laughed at the fact that he suddenly moved and my stomach went all lopsided and then he started making wavy movements and my belly evened back out. It is just so amazing to remember there is actually a little baby in there.

We went for my 28 week prenatal appointment Thursday. Everything looks great and, most importantly, my placenta has moved up the uterine wall - so no placenta previa to worry about!! The ultrasound tech pointed out the baby on the usual ultrasound, and I just couldn't see him. Glad I couldn't - because she surprised us my switching to 4D so we could really see him. So, as you can see, we got our first real shots of little John William!

That thing to the right of his face (left side of the picture) that looks like a hand, sort of? Yea - its not a hand, its his knee! The little guy is totally breached with his feet up over his head. He was like that at 20 weeks too. Can you imagine sitting for 2 months with your feet up over your head? (Doctor said he has plenty of time to move before delivery, so we aren't worried that he is breached. Would be nice for him to move though!) During the ultrasound, we were able to see him suck in the amniotic fluid and practice breathing. He tried to eat his knee a couple of times and hid behind it once in a while. This time, we brought a videotape so we have the whole ultrasound live and not just still pictures.

I know its hard to say this - since we're looking at him through my uterus and through the amniotic fluid - but I really think he is going to look just like his daddy! :) Can't wait to see him again in about 3 weeks when we go for our "true" scheduled 4D ultrasound.

Child Birth 101

Ellis and I took the all-day Saturday child birth class last weekend. He was such a good sport to do it on a college football day! :) I had heard absolutely nothing good about the child birth classes offered by the hospital and my OBGYN gave me some information on this private group called Just for You that offers all kinds of classes. The lady that runs the business and teaches the classes is a nurse and also a certified lactation consultant, among other great credentials. I got one glowing review about her breastfeeding class and decided to sign up. She offered the child birth class only once a month and we couldn't make it in November and December, so we went a little early. Got great material to bring him and "refresh" our memory when the due date approaches.

I really enjoyed the instructor. I appreciated her perspective on pain medications, c-sections, inductions, etc. Basically, her message was "Don't freak out or stress about all the 'what-ifs' about labor because, regardless of how you ultimately end up giving birth, it is a means to a wonderful end that is much more important and long lasting than the labor itself." I really liked that message.

Ellis endured the "birth video" quite well. I think he will be a WONDERFUL partner when it comes to time for the labor and delivery. He and I had a little trouble with practicing the relaxing and breating because we would get cracked up every once in a while. It was like being in church - once you found something funny, it was REALLY funny, and you couldn't stop laughing because you knew you weren't supposed to. :)

Our next prenatal appointment is Thursday when I will be 28 weeks!! Can't believe I am in my third trimester. Where on earth did time go? I remember when I was just barely showing, just beginning to understand and get used to everything. Now, I'm in my 7th month! And still feeling great. Little John William can really pack a punch when he wants to n0w, or he likes to make my belly look like there is some alien making waves in there (Ellis is not to fond of seeing that when it happens). He should weigh about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds now!

At the appointment on Thursday, we'll have another ultrasound. (Hopefully, Ellis will FINALLY order the darn part for our computer at home so I can FINALLY post some pictures on this blog....ahem, Ellis? Any day you want to order that mother board or whatever its called would be great.) Anyway, so I'll have new pictures to post.

John William

In other big news for today - we are sharing the name we have chosen for our son! (drum roll please....) It is John William.

And how did we come up with it? Well, I have always liked the name William and it is a good, old family name on Ellis's side. (such as Colonel William who fought in the Revolutionary War and the big Battle of Cowpins - if you want details, Ellis would be more than happy to talk for hours to you about it. :) ) We are also naming him John in memory of Ellis's father. So, the entire name has great meaning to us, and we love it! (And I sure hope he does too.)

Now, whether we end up calling him John or Will is still up for decision. Honestly, we may wait until the little guy comes out screaming in January to make the decision. It's that decision that has kept us "clammed up" in answer to "what are you going to call him?" But I just can't keep it secret anymore!!!

:)

Baby Girl Cousin!

Congratulations to Kathy (Ellis's sister) and Clarence!! They found out today that they are having a little girl! Kathy gave me the green flag to tell everyone and then I just waited a little bit longer to see what they were having - But our son will have a little cousin his own age! Kathy is due just a little over a month after me. I am very excited to have another little niece!! And I bet Kate (our almost 5!! years old niece) is going to be a great big sister. Since I'm missing out on buying all the fun girl stuff for our child - I'll just get to spoil our new niece with them. :)

We are so excited for both of you! Can't wait to hear what you will be calling her!

24 Week Check-up

Well, I am actually 25 weeks and one day today, but I have been a slacker in keeping my blog updated. I went for my 24 week check-up last Thursday and most everything looked good.

I went in to take that glucose test. The orange fizzy drink they give you wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Just sort of boring hanging around the doctor's office for an hour to wait until they can draw your blood to test for gestational diabetes. (I will get the result back next time.) I measured right on target - my uterus is 24 cm which is just what it should be at 24 weeks. And I heard the little guy's heartbeat again - going strong at 132. Love hearing that.

I also learned that my blood is O negative - which surprised me. I never knew my blood type until now. Unfortunately, because my blood is RH negative I get to have this wonderful shot at my next appointment. Apparently, if this baby's blood is RH positive, my body will develop antibodies during pregnancy and birth so that, if we have another child who is RH positive, my body would reject the embryo as a foreign body and make me miscarry. So - to protect a future child we may have - I have to get this exciting shot. (At least, that is my elementary, non-doctor understanding of all this. Feel free to let me know if I'm wrong in the comments!) Anyway, don't know why, but I am picturing this really long, painful needle. Hopefully it won't be - I'm usually very good with shots.

One other thing came out of the appointment - kind of good and kind of bad. Good, because I get an ultrasound next appointment; Bad, because we are checking to see if I have placenta previa. Best description of it and the possible complications are here. Basically, at my 20 weeks ultrasound, it showed a low-lying placenta, which meant that my placenta, rather than being in the middle of my uterus, was close to my cervix, lying low. If it stays there, it can cause some not-great complications, including bleeding, pre-term labor, c-section, etc. Good news is that 15-20% of second trimester ultrasounds show a low-lying placenta and only 5% of those turn out to really be placenta previa. Usually, the placenta moves upward as the uterus grows. SO - this all being said, the doctor is giving me another ultrasound at my 28 week appointment so we can check and see if the placenta has moved as my uterus grew. The doctor and ultrasound technician really didn't seem to be worried - just want to be cautious and check it out next time - so I am determined not to worry unless I have to. :)

But at least will have another chance to see the little guy again - and hopefully get some better pictures of him where he doesn't look like a screaming skeleton! :)

In other wonderful news - Ellis finally felt the baby kick a week ago today. When he starts kicking now, you can see my tummy move. Its pretty funny. I LOVE feeling him kick. Like yesterday, I was in the firm's library researching and suddenly - there he was - saying "Hi mom, How are you this morning!" Love that. He is most active between about 9-11 pm after I eat dinner. Looks like he might be a night owl like his father!!

Giggling with Baby

Last Thursday, the baby was kicking me pretty good and I thought that, any day, the kicks would be strong enough for Ellis to feel. And then the baby fell silent for days -- I actually began to miss the little booger's kicks. Yesterday, I was having a not-so-great-day and suddenly thump-thump-thump went on in my stomach in the middle of the afternoon. Wow - is THAT a way to put a smile on my face. :)

Then, last night, I'm reading in bed and start to feel the big thumping again. But this time you can see the baby kicking because my stomach kept popping and making my book bounce up and down (of couse, this is all still pretty subtle - you'd have to pay attention to see it). I immediately yell for Ellis to come up and watch. The two of us just laughed and smiled watching my stomach do wierd things. 'Course, everytime Ellis put his hand on my tummy, the baby would stop - or I'd start laughing, making it hard for him to feel it. I know he will soon though!

I have been very blessed so far to have a great pregnancy. I never had morning sickness - just felt queasy and tired for the first couple months. I haven't been plagued with all the other symptoms that commonly come with pregnancy. Admittedly, some days I want my own body back - in the sense that my stomach just feels enormous and it sometimes gets really uncomfortable. But, overall, I actually feel wonderful. Being pregnant is just such a miracle - thinking of the fact that I have a little baby inside me is enough to make the bad days not so bad. And its moments like last night that make me very very happy and thankful that Ellis and I are able to have this experience together. I just pray it continues and our son comes out a strong, healthy little boy!

What is going on this week!???

Ellis and I are having the worst week -- I just keep thinking about the fact that we have a 3-day weekend coming up, and that seems to help. So, it all started with Ellis catching a cold this weekend. He NEVER gets sick (very much unlike me) so it is rare that he gets a bad cold. (Thankfully, I haven't caught it yet but that is just shy of a miracle and, given the week we've had, I'm still waiting to catch it.) He also mysteriously got bitten about 50 times (no, I'm not exaggerating) by mosquitos in our backyard this weekend. They've never been that bad.

So, anyway, Ellis had not been feeling up to par and I drag him all around town Saturday for DAY THREE of the crib shopping disaster. We can't seem to find one we like out there - if you don't want a convertible bed, your options are limited to about 3-4 cribs per store. Anyway, we're taking a break from that whole shopping mess.

So, Monday evening, I come home and my car just literally dies in the driveway. Needless to say, I am REALLY thankful it happened at home and not in the office parking lot or some random place. But the battery just went dead out of nowhere. This is/has been a very busy week at work for me, so it was the WRONG week for my car to die. And when we got in the house, we discovered that the air conditioning upstairs was not working - and it was about 90 degrees up there. The coil on the A/C unit had frozen over again, so we had to turn it off and wait like 4 hours to turn it back on. I couldn't go to bed until about 12:30 when it had cooled.

My parents were so very nice to give me a ride to and from work on Tuesday (Ellis had meetings and couldn't do it). And the A/C guy came out and fixed the A/C unit without our having to replace the units which was what we really feared. Then, Ellis and I took my car to be serviced yesterday - turns out the brake pads were completely worn to, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise that the car died.

So it seemed all was better when I was driving home in my newly serviced car to a cool house yesterday afternoon. I had to leave work early to get the car, so I brought a ton of work home that I needed to do. I go upstairs to the office to turn on the computer so I can start working. And the COMPUTER ... WON'T ... START. It would turn on but just the fan would run and the hard drive wouldn't kick in. We had a violent thunder/lightening storm Monday morning and I though - NOOOO, this is not happening. After spending over an hour on the phone with the Gateway tech support person (who was incredibly helpful and went outside what they normally will do when your warranty has expired ... which by the way - JUST expired 2 months ago. Sigh.), we concluded the thing has to be serviced. In that hour or so, I learned all kinds of things about mother boards and controllers and hard drives and crap. All I kept thinking is - WHEN am I going to have my computer back and CAN I PLEASE have all my info on the hard drive back?

We think there was a power surge that came through the phone line Monday morning during that storm and fried a controller or something like that. Luckily, the surge protector we had protected the computer from being completely fried. But I do ALL of our accounting in Quicken on the computer and kept thinking, "I have got to back this up. Got to back this up." But did I??? NOOOOOO! Thankfully, learning from Jennifer's episode (see link to Alex's blog to the right), I had just finished burning all of our pictures on CDs. But there really is a good bit of information on that computer that I WANT. The least being access to the friggin' internet. So we are off to find someone to service the thing and crossing our fingers the result is good.

So - there you are. Here I am at 7am in the morning, trying to get some work done (you can see from my writing this blog that I am already procrastinating - -but I needed to vent) before I have to travel to another county for court this morning - in what I can only suspect will be a downpour of nasty Ernesto weather - wishing that this week would just end!

On a good note - our son's kicks are getting harder. Sometimes he kicks hard enough that it catches me totally off guard and I can't help but laugh. Last night, I felt him actually push on my stomach - which was a very weird feeling. I'm hoping Ellis will be able to feel him soon. Every time he gets active, Ellis will put his hand on my belly - and then the little guy stops! I told Ellis I think his hand is so warm that it puts our son to sleep! :) (I love saying "our son".)

Anyway - the curse of the fried computers has passed on from Jennifer to me. If you have any precious computer info - back it up TODAY! :)

Belly Shots

Here is me at 20 weeks. I swear my belly gets bigger every day! :)

ITS A BOY!

Yes! Maternal instincts were right - I've had this feeling that the baby was a little boy since he was around 8 weeks old. And that feeling was confirmed today. Ellis and I will have a son in about 5 months!

Today was such a wonderful day. I went to work this morning, but must admit I did not get too much done because I was very nervous for some reason. I think I was just so excited for the appointment that it made me nervous! Ellis and I went to lunch first and then off to the appointment at 1:00.

The ultrasound lasted about 30 minutes. We checked all the vital organs, bone structure, etc to confirm that he is a healthy, growing boy. (I had the basic genetic testing - for down syndrome, cystic fybrosis other disorders - done last time and the blood work came back negative!) Our son wanted to make sure we knew he was a boy right away. The first picture posted above is the first one we saw. The ultrasound technician said that she usually waits until the end to tell the parents what they are having, but said it was too obvious for her not to go ahead and tell us its a boy! He was basically in a position such that he was sitting on the ultrasound probe, so the picture is taken looking up as if he is sitting on the picture. I love the little foot picture too (yes, he has 2 legs and feet and 2 arms and hands!). I always find the pictures of babies at this stage kind of spooky because the fluid behind their eyes comes up black in the ultrasound. But he was just a-kicking and moving during the appointment. I had a coke at lunch to make sure he was active (and wow was he!). At one point, he started kicking me with his foot and I felt it while watching it on the ultrasound - which was wonderful!

Toward the end, I asked the ultrasound tech if she was sure it was a boy. She said, "oh yes, its definitely a boy. If you have a girl, I'll personally come to your house and repaint your nursery and I hate painting." Then she took the last picture I posted above! Needless to say, Ellis is a very proud father of his son already!! :)

We celebrated by going and buying our first little boy outfit. I have resisted buying anything for our baby yet - but wanted the first thing we bought to be after we found out if it was a boy or girl. Above is the picture of clothes we bought him. SO CUTE!!

We are both so thankful that he is healthy and everything looks good!! (I'll reveal the name when we come to a final decision, which should be soon!)

Baby Movement

Yea! I'm so excited that on Saturday morning I finally felt the baby move! I'd been told it feels like bubbles or butterflies in your stomach and had been concentrating hard to to feel something. Saturday morning, I woke up and was laying on my back for a minute before I got up and felt the unmistakable little pokes in my stomach. (I was laying there holding my stomach, trying to feel something.)

Now, I finally know what all mothers are talking about. Its like bubbles popping against your stomach on the inside, although I told Ellis that it felt more like something flopping around inside me and hitting my tummy. The baby kicked around for a few minutes that morning - then I felt him again Saturday night and a couple times yesterday. Now that I know exactly what it feels like, I can feel the baby without concentrating too hard.

It is so wonderful to feel more connected to the growing baby inside me. And Thursday is the big day when I can finally figure out whether to use "he" or "she" on this blog! :)

Its a boy!

My sister-in-law's sister (who is due one week after me) just found out yesterday that she is having a boy! (Fooled you, didn't I? You thought the post was about us!) There goes my theory that they would have a girl and we would have a boy so that Steve and Mary would have a niece and nephew in January. Ellis is determined this is another sign that we are, in fact, having a girl! :)

I'm so ready to know what we are having. (And I'm tired of other people telling me that I should not find out - that it spoils the "surprise." I even had a CVS clerk this weekend tell me that I shouldn't find out and that the doctor told her the wrong sex when she did --- 22 years ago!) Anywho -- frustrating that Kristen just found out and she is a week behind me in pregnancy, and I still have to wait another week! Grrr!

And, no, still no baby movement. Although I concentrate really hard to feel something!!

Furniture Dilemma

Aaaah! Ellis and I went baby furniture shopping Saturday. I can not believe how many choices there are - colors, convertible or non-convertible, different shapes and sizes. Yikes! I found my self asking the saleswoman where the changing table was - I had no idea it was like a big piece of furniture that you could put a hutch over that made it really not look like a changing table at all. (I have SO much to learn.)

I did pick out the glider chair for the baby room though (well....I'll have to pick out the fabric but its a step). I officially won the "why don't we just put the old La-Z-Boy in there - it rocks and reclines" war that Ellis was trying to win me over with. Sorry - but a beat up, tan La-Z-Boy wasn't making it in Baby Farr's room! :)

But, WOW, I cannot decide about the crib to get. Convertible or not convertible? I know a convertible makes more economic sense but it so big and doesn't really "look" like a crib. And when the kid is old enough, he or she will probaby want a totally different looking bed for its room... I don't know. Plus, Ellis and I always get drawn to cherry finished furniture - everything in our house is cherry. So, yes, honey, I agree the cherry crib furniture is very elegant and nice -- but could we agree on a different finish, please??

God knows what we're going to do when we have to pick out a stroller!!

Have a Safe Trip, Mary!!

My sister-in-law, Mary, is heading to Honduras for about 5 months to spread her talents in social work to the people of Honduras (you go girl!). She is taking off Wednesday and will be gone until late January or early February. Its something she has wanted to do for some time and (as timing would have it!) as soon as she got her plans in order, both her sister and me announced we were expecting! (Her sister is due only about a week after me.) I am so happy Mary decided to create a blog, and hopefully, she'll have opportunities down there to keep all of us up here posted on her travels. So... new link to the right titled "Mary's Adventure" links to her page! :)

Ellis and I were able to visit with both her and my brother, Steve, when all of us got together at the beach for an extended weekend last week with my parents. We had a great time -- Thanks Mom & Dad for letting us all stay with you for a few days!! Since Mary will be gone when Baby Farr is born, she and Steve went ahead and gave us baby gifts! Yea! So, Baby Farr got his/her first baby gifts! Thank you so much, Mary and Steve!!!! (That night, I held up one of the onesies that said "I am an elephant and I am very big" (that makes me laugh every time), and told Ellis, "Can you believe we will be responsible for something this small in just a few months!!?)

So, next time we see Mary, Ellis and I will have little Baby Farr with us. Please keep Mary in your thoughts & prayers this week as she gets settled in Honduras. I hope you have a WONDERFUL time Mary! Please keep us posted on your blog!

Thank you!

Thanks to everyone for the emails and posts about where to get good maternity clothes! I've got some stuff coming in the mail, so hopefully my closet will expand next week. Its taking me way too long to figure out what to wear in the morning. :) Couple of you suggested the bella band and I've just ordered it from Mimi Maternity - I would love to keep wearing my regular suits for a little while longer. This has all happened so fast! Now I see why people say to enjoy it while you can because, before you know it, baby is here!

16 Week Check-up

I had my 16-week check-up today. Nothing exciting to report - although it is wonderful to hear the baby's heartbeat and know he is okay! Ellis came with me this time so he could hear it too. Unfortunately, the doctor I saw this time was much more hurried than Dr. Risinger. She was in and out of the room in the blink of an eye, and we heard the heartbeat for like 5 seconds. Oh well. Baby still doing good though - heartrate in the 130s!

Next appointment is the big one! August 17 at 1:00pm - we get the next ultrasound and find out the sex of the baby! :)

HELLO Belly!

Or should I say "HELLO Baby"? Its official - I am definitely showing now. I'm still a little bit shocked by how fast it happened (and worried about stretch marks because it happened quickly). It was only about a week ago that I just had a little pudge that made me more self-conscious than anything else. I could still fit in my own clothes and just looked like I'd had a really big cheeseburger lunch or something. As for weight gain, I had not gained any weight since I became preganant. (I actually lost some weight because I had the great pleasure of dealing with a stomach flu when I was only about 5 weeks pregnant.)

But in just the last week, I've grown a belly and gained 4 pounds! I bought some maternity clothes from gap.com before our vacation because none of my shorts fit anymore and, I must say, it was so liberating to wear comfy, stretchy clothes that just let my belly hang out there all week long. (Maybe Baby Farr was so happy to have some more room to breathe that he took a big stretch and took this past week to grow! :) )

As if I needed any confirmation that I really "look pregnant" now -- Jennifer, Julie and I were at the grocery store over vacation and the girl bagging the groceries looked at me and said "so do you know what you are having"? After getting over my surprise, I replied "I don't know yet, but I think I'm having a boy." I was initially embarrassed about it - but am now really excited that I finally look pregnant!

I've changed enough that now I have NO idea what I'm going to wear to work tomorrow. The idea of putting on those restricting pants and skirts does not appeal to me. As most of you know, I work in a law firm that is pretty formal in work attire. I usually wear suits everday - and sometimes wear pants and sweater-sets. I dread the thought of trying to squeeze into any of those clothes. Unfortuantley, I've found it really difficult to find good work maternity clothes. Gap.com has great stuff and cheap prices - but they are all out of my size in the trouser pants they carry!! :( So - if anyone has thoughts on other great websites I can order some work clothes from (or a store you know of in town that is worth looking at for maternity clothes)- please let me know! My wardrobe (and growing baby) will thank you!!

Vacation in Beaufort, SC

We had a much-needed, wonderful vacation this past week in Beaufort, SC. Thank you SO much to Josh and Julie for inviting all of us to come down for the week. Ellis and I had lots of fun playing with the boys - Alex and Charlie. It's a little wierd thinking that, this time next year, he and I will have about a 6-month-old baby!

12 Week Check-up

I had my 12 week check-up today and all is well! It was just a routine appointment but I got to meet one of the doctors who may ultimately deliver our child, and I really like her. She was a little hurried, but not more than most doctors. She listened to my questions and explained the genetic tests to me in a way that I could understand - all of which I appreciated. Best part though - I got to hear the baby's heartbeat! Good 150 beats per minute! :) While we were listening to the heartbeat, she asked me if I had any feeling if it was a boy or a girl. I told her I believe it is a boy, and she agreed - said that she was making the same prediction. All my friends swear I'm having a girl - so I guess we'll see!

Next appointment is July 24. The one after that (8-9 weeks from now) will be the next ultrasound when the big boy v. girl debate will hopefully be resolved!

The perfect card

My mother has this uncanny ability to pick out the perfect card. Anyone who knows Ellis knows this is the perfect fathers-to-be card for him!

Happy 6th Anniversary!

I love you with all of my heart! Here's to many more wonderful adventures together!