The Room



  We have been busy working on our little girl's room. We bought the crib before we knew what we were having because we knew we were going to go with white furniture. Once we found out it was a girl, it didin't take long for us to have the bedding all picked out. I had narrowed some bedding down for each a boy or girl before we found out so it was easy to pick once we knew. For those of you who don't know me very well, I LOVE elephants. I knew I was going to do an elephant theme!!! We got a great deal on ebay which included a few extras (the mobile, rug, lightswitch plate, and some wall decals).





   Brian was really excited to paint the room. Unfortunately, the pictures don't show the color well, but we matched the yellow of the bedding as the paint color. He did a fantastic job! We are going to accent the walls with the pinks, whites, and oranges that are also in the bedding. My friends have been busy thinking of artwork ideas! We still need to purchace a dresser/changing table combo. My friend is loaning us her very comfortable rocker, and my mom is going to try and repurpose a small nightstand that my grandfather made. I found a really cute lamp at Home Goods that has a white base and the shade the pink of the bedding. There is a white ribbon around the top andI am going to glue a smaller orange, bright ribbon around the center of the white ribbon for added color.

  Remember that great deal I told you we got on the travel system in the last blog? Here are the pictures:                  

        

     I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE feeling our little girl move. Some days she moves more than others, but the days she is really active is so fun. I feel her most of the time when I am laying down. I can feel her moving around and occasionally a kick or two. Brian has not yet been able to feel her, but I hope he will get to soon!



It's a GIRL!

 I have been meaning to write in this blog a few weeks ago, but got busy with work. Brian and I had a very exciting week! On Tuesday, Brian and I had our ultrasound and doctors appointment. I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous for the ultrasound. I just wanted so bad for this baby to be healthy. The baby was laying head down with the feet to my left side. The ultrasound tech was able to see right away that I have an anterior placenta laying on my right. Most people's placentas form toward the back of the uterus. There is nothing wrong with having an anterior placenta, it is just slightly less common. The only thing that hey said was I may not feeling the baby moving "as much" because there is extra "cushion" there. We got to see views of the babies legs, arms, kidneys, heart, spine, brain, etc. It was a little hard to see the profile because the face was down, but we did get to see a slightly blurry look at her nose, mouth, eyes, etc. We have a super cute picture of just one little foot that she was able to capture. The ultrasound tech was able to say that for how far long we are, everything looks as to be expected. The growth of the baby looks good and so does the structure. She asked us if we had any questions for her. We did ask a few and then said, as long as the baby is healthy, we were wondering if you could see what it is. Luckily our little lady was cooperating. She was able to tell us right away that it was a little girl. I had a few tears run down my eyes. We did not care what the baby was, as long as they were healthy. There are fun sides to both boy and girl, so we are just ecstatic! I know Brian is hoping she will be a daddy's girl! I am really excited to be able to pass on my middle name. My great-grandmother's name was Mae and she was a the most amazing lady. My grandmother, mother, and my middle name are all Mae so it is really special to be handing it down to this sweet little girl!

 The doctor that we saw was the same lady who sent me to Dr. Corfman. At the time, I did not like her because I though she was giving up hope on me and just handing me off. I left her office that day and cried to my mom that " I am never going to be a mommy." Now, I am so thankful that doctor sent me straight to him! I have gained about 6-7 pounds so far and my uterus is just slightly above my bellybutton and I measured 21cm, which is right on.


  We had to keep the gender secret for a few days, because we were going to do a gender revel party for our parents. A few people were sworn to secrecy, I told my two best friends who have been very involved in this whole process (love you girls) and Brian told his nephew. It was sooooo hard to keep the secret! My parents and Brian's parents came over for dinner on Friday night. My parents had a good idea what was going on, but we were able to surprise Brian's parents. We had a nice dinner and then brought out a cake. Brian and I heard about people doing the surprise cake and putting whatever color the gender is in the middle so when you cut the cake you will see what it is. We were able to take some pictures:



The pink icing!




The family was very happy and excited!



   We had a great time on Friday. I was able to tell my grandma, brother, Brian's sister, and sister-in-law. Everyone was very excited and happy! We feel so blessed it is unbelievable!

   After we found out it was a girl, we took back a few clothes that were more boyish and had a blast picking out some cute girly things at Carters. Luckily we were having a sale because we were a little excited. We also stopped at babies-r-us to return jacket and decided to just browse around. We just so happened to take a peek at the strollers and noticed a chicco travel system that was on clearance. Brian had done some research and decided that he wanted to purchase the chicco brand system. The stroller looked to be in good shape and we enquired about why it was on clearance. Apparently it was floor model, but since they are not a full babies-r-us they are no longer carrying the model so they were getting rid of the floor sample. The stroller/car seat is mostly gray with some pink and we got it for $130.00. The originally price is $330.00!!!! We had no intention of buying a stroller that day, but how can you beat a $200.00 savings???? We were pretty excited!



  Today it came to the point where I had to buy maternity clothes. I have been using the b-band with jeans and a hair binder. Although it had been working it was super uncomfortable! My friend/fashion consultant went with me to motherhood maternity and I was able to get a pair of capris and jeans and about 5 t-shirts/tank tops. I put on my capris on when I got home and oh the comfort! I should be set for awhile now!



  I have started to feel the little girl move around 18 weeks. I have not been very confident about it though as it feels like gas. The night of the ultrasound I was sitting on the couch with Brian and felt three very strong kicks! That was the first time I was SURE it was her moving/kicking. I don't feel her a lot yet, but mostly at night I feel a little movement and it is so amazing! I can't wait until Brian can start to feel some of the kicks!



 Again, I can't say enough how happy and excited we are! We are so lucky and blessed!

It is good to make friends!

   I can't believe I turned 18 weeks on Thursday! I have noticed minimal change in my belly so far, but I am getting really excited for my ultrasound, which is just around the corner! I am slightly nervous, just hoping they find a healthy baby in there, but know I we will love this baby no matter what! Brian still goes back and forth between thinking it is a boy or girl almost daily, but it will be so nice to know so when I talk to the baby I can start calling it "little girl" or "little boy" instead of "little one."

  Speaking of children, we unfortunately have a 5 month old in our ICU that was involved in a car accident. Right now he is a pretty sick little guy, but I think he will pull through and do well. He is, however, the cutest little thing you ever saw. I don't often think about work when I go home, but it is hard not to think about this little guy. Although it is awful to have to have kids involved in accidents, it has been so enjoyable working with him. Plus I get to give him lots of love!!!

  A cool thing happened today, I have been going back and forth between thinking I feel movement. A few times I am pretty sure I have felt a kick or two, but just general movement it has been hard to tell. A lot of people describe it as butterflies in your stomach, but I have not felt anything similar to that. I do feel more of a gas sensation and it is hard to know if it is really gas or if it is the baby. Well, today, Brian and I were listening to the heartbeat with my doppler and we heard a "thunk." At the same time I heard the "thunk," I felt that gas feeling. It was so neat to hear and feel it at the same time. I do notice that when I think I feel the baby move it is more at night or early in the morning. I can't wait to start feeling more distinct movements, it is so cool!

  So this is why it is good to make friends! I stayed and worked for the big bucks last night. I was able to pick my assignment and I thought I was setting myself up for cush night.....WRONG! By midnight my patient had to be re-intubated (a breathing tube put down the throat). Usually just the CRNA ( nurse anesthetist) comes up, but in addition, the anesthesiologist came up too. Now, keep that thought and let me explain. When I had my first appointment I had a few question because I have scoliosis (curving of the spine) I was wondering if that was going to cause any problems with delivery. The nurse practitioner did not think it would with the actual delivery, but would possibly be a problem receiving an epidural. My jaw about hit the floor. I applaud all the women who take on a natural child birth, but my birth plan is to come in and immediately ask for an epidural!!! Enough with all the pain bull crap!!!

The reason why an epidural may be difficult for me is due to the fact that the catheter has to go in between the vertebrae of  your back. If you look at the picture of  a normal spine vs. a scoliosis spine, it make finding the land mark a little bit more difficult. My scoliosis is not terrible, but enough where I had to wear a back brace as a child. This anesthesiologist was talking about putting a epidural in a pregnant lady that took 5 minutes, so I decided since we were on the topic that I would ask about myself. He was so nice! He had me bend over, felt my back and asked about my curve, etc. I told him I wasn't due until August 2nd and would most likely be delivering at Maple Grove, but he said that and epidural was "do-able." He took my name and told me to call him a few weeks before I deliver and he would make sure himself or the other docs who would be on would know about me and he would make sure that someone would be on "who could do it for me." Now, I know you can't plan when you go into labor, but as long as he knows the general time, he said that he would make sure I was taken care of. How nice is that?! Thank you doctor Montgomery!!!!

 The only thing that makes me worried is that I am a nervous nelly. I tend to, at times, think that I can jinx a situation. I wouldn't read ahead if weeks in my baby books because I am afraid that something will happen if I do. After I talked to the doctor about this, I got worried that I would somehow jinx the situation and something would go wrong, i.e. deliver premature, etc. I know most of you are rolling your eye and the biggest eye roller is my husband, but I just can't help myself. I am just getting so excited for this baby I don't want anything bad to happen. I already love this baby so much!