Rub a dub dub...

Well, usually I give baths, but this time daddy gave the bath. The first one actually. I usually bathe her in the tub, but daddy doesn't want to bend over the tub, so she went in the kitchen sink. She is so cute. Daddy is merciless when it comes to getting clean. I tend to rush through bc she gets unhappy (although she is getting used to the tub time and is actually starting to like it)...so I do a quick clean. Not dad!!! Scream all you want...you're still getting clean!!! haha. Enjoy!

New Pictures.

Well, here are a few updated pics for all of you. For those of you who are on facebook...I have WAY more pictures there. It is just easier to upload pics to one place...so I probably won't be sending out vast amounts of pics via email.

Life for us is starting to fall into a routine of some sort. I go walking about 3 mornings a week and this provides a really solid morning nap for Delia. If we miss our walk, the nap is hit or miss and usually doesn't last more than about 30 minutes which makes her miserable. She needs a good solid hour and a half in the morning to stay on track. I feel like our days are so full and yet I don't even have to leave the house! Between the laundry (which is mountainous!!!) the diapers...the bottles...and then the every day clean up and straighten up it is insane!!! I am in the process of going through all of my "stuff" and giving a ton to goodwill. I just went through my clothes in the closet and need to bag it up and put it in my car. Next I have three boxes to conquer today in my closet. I was going to try to visit a friend in the hospital who just had her baby yesterday, but it isn't going to happen. I am so nasty and have been spit up on three times.

Enjoy the pictures...Delia chillin with Maggie (the least likely to show interest bc she is a scaredy cat! and she is actually very receptive to Delia!!)


Sleeping in the car seat and snuggling at a friend's house.

Cute bib says it all...and waving hello!

sleeping in the glider & burp time.

our favorite cloth diaper...cheetah print! and snoozing.

snuggling with mom.

Going on 33 weeks.

It has been a crazy two weeks! Just busy with life I suppose. Last weekend my mom and I went garage sale-ing and had a great time and got quite a few finds! We only have two more big baby items that we needed...a crib and a changing station. Well, at our first stop we found a decent crib for $30 (which included a mattress!)..for another $10 we got a mattress cover, some sheets, blankets and a couple of cute outfits. JACKPOT! So we got it. Then the rest of the day was sort of a bust...until we got to a church yardsale. We got there 15 minutes before it ended and I got the steal of the century!!! A motorized litter box for $2.50. Yes, that is right, the decimal is NOT in the wrong spot!!!! It is a Litter Maid Elite with an ionizer. I googled that joker when I got home and it retails for almost $150!!! Since I have been pregnant, the litter box duties have fallen to Chris and he has been a good sport, but I definitely know he hasn't been thrilled. He thinks that they poop too much and thus we should feed them less. I already feed them less than a 1/2 cup of dry food each a day. Poor kitties...hungry bellies! So, this has been literally a God send. Because I have seen his affection for the cats diminish since he took over the poop scooping detail and I don't want him to ever resent them. He talks about how they should be allowed to go outside way more now than before. :( So, thank you God for this find!!! It works like a champ too!!! It scoops automatically several times a day and you have to empty the tray every other day...the cats were like, WHOA! What the heck? at first, but they are used to it now.

Then we had our first birthing class. Not what I thought. It was more informative than hands on at this point. We will not be taught any breathing...just relaxation techniques and massage points etc. We watched a birthing video and saw a 10 cm circle in our little book. Let me start off by sharing that this circle is MUCH larger than I had envisioned 10cm to be!!!! Lord have mercy!!! There is a reason you can't look down there and see it for yourself! haha. Holy smokes! We have some nice people in class with us and our teacher is super nice!!! Old enough to be my mom and sweet as candy. She is a country mountain girl for sure!!! haha. Sorry if you don't know what that means. Anyhow, the future classes will hold water births, c-sections, relaxation techniques, touring the birthing center, meeting pediatricians. It should be fun.

On Wed. we had our next doctor visit with an ultrasound. I got all worried and worked up because I really wanted to be a little more sure than 90% with the doctor telling us not to go crazy with pink items. I know we can't be 100% sure until we see this little person IN PERSON..but you know. So, the visit started off with my blood pressure being higher than normal. So far this pregnancy has been smooth sailing...weight gain on track, bp normal/low, all heartbeats right on, u/s images all on track developmentally. So, there was concern. The u/s tech started doing images. She can't tell us anything medically speaking, but we did see some really fun pictures of this baby. Punching, making fists, and we got the money shot! It is a girl!!! So, Delia Ann it is (unless we find out differently when this child arrives). There was one really cute shot with her little legs folded indian style and over her body (so we could see her little foot!) and one arm over her forehead (this is how Chris sleeps and rests a lot!) with her hand in a fist. She took my bp again and it was lower (my bp is super sensitive to my emotions) and left us. The doctor came in and took my bp on both arms making me relax my arm with him holding them. Then he did the u/s again. Chris asked how the baby's head looked and his response was "big". We both were quiet and Chris was like, what does this mean? Is it big in comparison to her body or is her whole body big. The doctor proceeded to tell us that she is measuring 2 weeks ahead on the developmental charts. Ok...so now I am like, hmmmm. I know I may be the ONLY pregnant woman to say this, but I do not want her to be early. This may sound selfish, but I was really looking forward to the month of June being mine. Mine to rest, finish preparing, read, etc. I know LOTS of women work right up til they go into labor, but I was counting it a serious blessing to have about a month off from working. Then he went on to tell us that at the rate she is growing, she could be big and may get as big as 9+ lbs. I of course new where this was going, his next question was "how tall are you?" I told him 4'10"-4'11". He was like, hmmm. As he continued speaking about growth rates I just jumped in and said, if she gets that big I will have to have a c-section won't I? He was like, whoa, slow down! and then he laughed bc I was cutting to the chase and skipped a bunch of the discussion. haha. But yes, that would be his recommendation. Now, let me just cut in here and say he doesn't prefer c-sections and does NOT do them unless he has to. He went on to tell me that I have to toe the line and not gain anymore weight. That we need to do whatever we can to create the best case scenario for a vaginal delivery if I don't want a c-section. Chris went on to tell him of all of the monsterous babies in his family 12 pounders and all. The doctor said, well you may just be destined for big babies then we will have to see. Then he told me he wanted labs done on me. This was because of my bp & the size of the baby (she is at about 6 lbs when she should be at about 4.5-4.75 lbs). So, I was told that I needed to collect my urine for the next 24 hours in a jug provided by the hospital & it needed to be kept on ice or in the refrigerator. I was like, uh oh...I have to work and I have to go to the bathroom like every 40 minutes! I filled that jug right to the top! Now, you know I teach middle schoolers, and I thought that they would make fun of me. They were amazed at how much an individual can pee at one time. When I told them I went 32 ounces in one sitting they were like, whoa!!!!!!!!!! But they were mostly concerned about the tests and hoped for the best. That morning I had a total meltdown. I broke into tears and felt like a failure for gaining too much weight at this point and that I might have to have a c-section. I am really concerned about how this will affect breastfeeding (which is really important to me). However, the blessing of working with so many women/moms is that they all rallied and several of them have had c-secs and have nursed and assured me that I can do it! So, I have come to terms with the fact that a c-section could be in my future and that we need to do what is best for all of us. But in the meantime I am weighing myself every day and eating wisely and walking 3x a week. I am doing everything I can to move towards a normal vaginal delivery, but am trusting God for what is best.

I am attaching a few pictures of the past couple of stages so you can see the progression. The yellow shirt is on May 6th and the orange is today, May 16th. Let me know what is new in your life!!

Well, I just wanted to post some more pictures. It is heating up in NC. I took my classes to the Knoxville Zoo the other day and was fine until I entered the gift shop and realized just how hot I was. The school bus has a/c, but it wasn't doing much good for me. We got home like three or so hours later and I was all splotchy and hot and actually had to take a cold shower to regulate. Chris took me to dinner because he knew I was tired and he didn't want to cook. :) So we went to one of my favorite places called Mama G's. It is Itallian and I had tortellini in alfredo. Holy smokes it was amazing. I slept hard that night. I will have to be extra careful as we near summer to not allow myself to get too hot.

I ordered new glasses yesterday, so in a few weeks I will post more pics with my new glasses and my ever expanding baby bump.

This morning we slept in and skipped church. It was much needed after waking up every single day (including Saturdays) at 5:30am. We just laid around and watched a couple of sermon's on tv and the baby was moving like crazy!!! He would put his hand on my belly and push with his finger, and she would actually push back. We both were like, how cool is that? He puts his mouth on my belly and talks to her too. Apparently, babies hear lower frequencies...so he talks to her in his deep voice. :)

My mom and I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and bought some super cute newborn outfits that are summery. I really want a second sonogram to see if this child is really a girl. Oh my goodness what will we do if the other 10% is right??? *sigh*

Well, just wanted to post more pics.

Love y'all!

Cute stuff

Well, several years ago I bought a new bed after hurting my back. It cost me quite a bit of money and I thought it was a good bed. However, when Chris moved here, I gave him my bed bc he didn't have one here and he has repeatedly told me that my bed is HORRIBLE! Then we got married and two people on my bed is even worse. We both wake up with HORRIBLE backaches and I have a hitch in my hip. He has told me every single day since Oct. 17th he has told me that once we get his bed I will realize how bad my bed is. Well, this past weekend we drove to his dad's house in NW TN to pick up his bed and a few other things he had in storage. I have to say, the man is right yet again. We slept on his bed while we were there and I never sleep truly good when I am away from home so I couldn't make a real assessment of the bed, but after coming home last night and sleeping on it, dang it all!!!! I love his bed. My back doesn't ache and my hip hitch is significantly lessened. I only woke up once to pee (which in and of itself is nearly miraculous!) and I am thinking that it isn't that I had to go the bathroom so often before as much as I would wake up more often and when I would wake up, I would realize I had to use the bathroom. So, I am looking forward to much more quality sleep.

Also, his step mom got the baby a bunch of really cute clothes. To let you know his dad's sense of humor, when she arrived (she currently resided in Memphis and drives up to TN on the weekends until she can retire) he took her aside and said we changed the baby's name to Rebekah. This resulted in this kind, sweet woman using expletives. haha. Because as you can see...she got a bunch of the stuff monogrammed! She has a friend who monograms things, so that is nice and the stuff is so cute!!! So while things aren't important to me, I thought I would share the cutie things. All I can is that this baby better be a girl! :) There is one more bib that I didn't post that says "mommy loves me" and has her name on it. Just didn't want anyone to think I was being left out and daddy wasn't ;)

I was also amazed to see his dad's home. A year or so ago three tornadoes went through his town at once and actually combined forces. His house was left unharmed because he lives in a hollow with two high ridges on either side of his home. However, all of the trees down was crazy. Then a few weeks after that a huge wind storm blew through and due to the tornadoes...the trees had been loosened which resulted on a HUGH tree falling straight through the middle of his home. So he has been in a state of serious repair. Chris might go up and help him if his job ends and leaves him a few weeks or so between jobs. Chris thinks that he can finish it up in a few weeks...it is just more than a one man job between the ceiling, floor, moving all the furniture around and adding a back room and a deck/porch. The roof has been done and it has all new trusses. I guess we can all sit back and thank God for our blessings, huh?

Well, I hope you are well!!! Drop me a line soon!
moe

If bigger is better, then I am doing just fine!

Bigger is better! Isn't that what they say? Not sure if I totally agree, but I will say I am getting bigger. I can feel my body changing. I have checked out books on natural painless (is there such a thing?) childbirth and nursing. I plan to ONLY nurse for the first year of this child's life (with pumping/bottles for night and daddy shared feedings...but no formula if I can help it). There is a Le Leche League in Waynesville, about an hour away and I will attend a meeting next month. According to my books the best way to learn to properly nurse is by observation. So, I will go and hear these women, observe and take in as much info as I can and keep reading. I will miss next month's meeting because I won't have the day off from school, but I do have one friend here who just had a baby and she said I am more than welcome to observe and ask questions whenever I want. Then I will hit up the next Le Leche meeting in June and then this sweet child will arrive in July and hopefully I will have a good headstart and be a successful nursing mom. My own mom (who was a Le Leche League leader and nursed all of us) is concerned that I might freak out if this doesn't work out. Most of you know I had breast reduction surgery when I was 16 (which is the second best decision I made...after accepting Jesus of course) and this can hinder your milk production. But from everything I have read online, it should be ok...I might have to pump to psyche my milk ducts out and make them produce more than their share since I might be lacking some duct work. Again, it is an opportunity to trust God. He knows how badly I want to nurse my babies, so I trust He will make a way for that to happen.

Life here is ok. We are finalizing our taxes tonight!!!! Which isn't as easy as it always used to be since he drove a truck and has to go through a bunch of receipts to write off etc. Whereas in the past it took me like 45 minutes TOPS to do my simple taxes. But once it is done, we can heave a sigh of relief until next year.

It snowed here yesterday all day. It wasn't cold enough for it to stick, but it flurried like crazy with wind gusts blowing the flakes around all day long. The kids were loving it. We are finishing SAT testing tomorrow and then Easter break begins. And let me tell you that 3:30 tomorrow afternoon can not come quick enough!!!! BRING IT ON!!! No big plans. We will go visit Chris's dad for Easter and then I am laying low for the entire week. I will sleep in, rest, read, and snuggle with my three fur children. I hope to feel refreshed by the end of the break. Lord knows I need it.

Well, I hope all of you have a fabulous Easter reflecting on the great sacrifice Jesus made for us! Let me know how you are doing.

moe & delia ann

From the inside out!

Well, more big news!!!! Today I felt her move from the outside!!!!!!!! Every time she moves I put my hand where I feel it and see if it can be felt from the outside...and today...I swear she kicked my hand. Maybe she didn't KICK it, it might have been her head or even her butt cheek for all I know...but it was able to be felt from the outside. This means that Chris will be able to feel her moving very soon. He is so excited. I think he has felt a little jipped of feeling movement...I have assured him that soon...very soon...she will be moving so much that we will be able to SEE it! I always thought that pregnancy seemed to take a long time with other people. I feel like I blinked and five months of my life just whizzed by. Man!!! This child is going to be here so soon I can hardly believe it.

I took more pics...enjoy them!