Christmas Day and a finished nursery

George was not feeling well today, so instead of going anywhere Mom and Dad brought brunch and presents to us. In the afternoon, while George slept, we finished the final touches on the nursery! Mom and Dad are also coming over tomorrow to help us do some organizing of closets and the basement so everything is ready for Myers' arrival. We are so grateful for their help.

January 2nd is the big day...

At my doctor's appointment yesterday, I found out that Myers is breech. George and I had the option of having the doctor try to turn him manually, but after thinking about it, researching it, and praying about it, we decided to just go with a scheduled c-section. I was afraid that once I made the decision I would keep second guessing myself, but I feel at peace with my decision.

I did get to have another ultrasound so that they could make sure he was breech. I didn't get to see his face because he was facing my back (what a stubborn little boy!), but I did get to see that he has hair. Based on the measurements the ultrasound tech took, he is about 6 lbs. 3 oz right now.

Our c-section is scheduled for January 2nd at 8:30am, so our little man will be here before we know it!

School is almost out!

I have three more days of school until Christmas Break! I can't wait to have the chance to sleep late (if little Myers allows it), finish up my thank you notes, and just spend some time resting before Myers arrives. The plan is that I will go back to school at least half days for the week before my due date, but of course that is all up to Myers and when he decides to make his debut!

I can't believe Christmas is a little over a week away...this month has flown by with everything that is going on at school, holiday parties, classes for the baby, etc.

35 weeks...the countdown begins

This week I am 35 weeks pregnant. We have 31 days until the due date as of today! Most things are ready. I need to wash a few more outfits, we need to install the car seat and have it inspected, and I need to buy a few little things like an extra mattress pad, more diapers, etc. The nursery is almost complete. George is going to do some touch up painting on Saturday, and Mom made us a valance for the windows that we need to hang. We also need to hang the pictures. Once we have everything done I will post pictures of the finished product!

The past two Sunday afternoons we had Childbirth Preparation classes. They were very interesting and informative. The teacher gave us some great strategies for massage that we have already put to use to ease the back pain that I am starting to get by the end of the day. I always feel better when I know all about whatever is coming up, so even though some of the girls seemed scared to death after watching the videos and hearing what all will go on during and after the birth, it put my mind at ease. Now I need to pack the bag for the hospital just in case!

Next week is my last week of school until January 5th, then I will only have 1 week until my due date! It's almost here....

Thanksgiving Thankfuls

Since today is Thanksgiving I though I would make a list of some of the things I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful to worship an amazing God who always loves, protects, and provides for me (even when he provides things in His time and not mine)! My faith in God has helped me through so many difficult and happy times, and it makes me wish that everyone had a personal relationship with Him.

2. I am thankful for my wonderful husband, George! I am so blessed to have met him so early in my life so that we can spend the rest of our lives together. He is truly the love of my life and my best friend. He is loving and protective of me, and he is a wonderful provider for me and our baby to be.

3. I am thankful for this little baby that is growing inside me! Myers is a much prayed for miracle. I can't believe how much I love him, and I haven't even met him! I can't wait to hold him in my arms.

4. I am thankful for my family. My parents have been wonderful loving role models for me throughout my life. Through the way they live, they have demonstrated to me how to be good parents, have a strong marriage, and how to be good Christians. I have an amazing extended family that have always been there to support me. I am also blessed to have married into a great family that I love (I have great in-laws)! I realize that not everyone has this kind of family situation, so I am very grateful for what I have.

5. This last one is a mix-mash..I am thankful for my wonderful friends who are always here for me. I am thankful that I have a house over my head, plenty of food to eat, and all of the other necessities of life. I am thankful for my puppies who make me smile and give me kisses when I need it. I am thankful to have a job that I love.

Baby Shower #2

On November 16th I had my second baby shower in Conyers. Jenny, Jenna, Beth, and Jane did a great job setting everything up! All of my friends and family made me feel very loved. We got some great gifts, and I think we are set for Myers' arrival!

Thank you to everyone who came to both of my showers. George and I feel very blessed to have such great friends and family!

PUPPPs

Last Thursday or Friday I noticed that my stomach was itching more than usual, but I thought my stomach was going through another growth spurt. On Sunday morning I noticed that there were little red bumps on my tummy. I thought that maybe the lotion was irritating my sensitive skin so I stopped using the Cocoa Butter lotion. At my 32 week appointment on Tuesday I showed the rash to my doctor and he said that I have PUPPPs (puritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy-say that five times fast). This is basically a skin condition that occurs only during pregnancy. This condition will not cause any harm to Myers or I in the long term, but is just annoying! It reminds me of the time that I got poison ivy, but this won't go away until Myers is born and the only thing I can do is soak in Aveeno Oatmeal Bath and put a little bit of hydrocortisone cream on it. So far, it has made very little difference in the itchiness. very frustrating, but I know it will be worth it when Myers arrives!

We had our 2nd baby shower on Sunday, and it was beautiful. I will post pictures as soon as I can!

Baby Shower #1

The McCown's
The Kinder girls

Cute outfits

More Cute Outfits

Gifts

More gifts

Gifts

Decorations

Topiary

I had my first baby shower yesterday. I felt very "showered" by my family and friends. Jackie and Ginny hosted the baby shower at Ginny's house. They did a beautiful job. The nametags were so cute and we had such beautiful decorations. Jackie even made a Giraffe topiary for the refreshment table. One of Jackie's friends said a beautiful prayer for George, Myers, and I.

George and I received some wonderful gifts! Most of the gifts can be seen in the pictures above. I think the only gift that isn't pictured is the travel system (stroller and car seat) that Honey and Pop (Mom and Dad) gave us. Thank you to everyone who was there!

Maternity Center Tour

Today George and I took the maternity tour at Northside Hospital. It puts my mind at ease now that we know where we are supposed to enter the building, where we are supposed to park, etc. I have been to the Northside Women's Center twice to see my cousin when her kids were born, but George had never been there so it was good for him to see everything. When we were going up the elevator to start the tour, a lady and her baby were being wheeled out to go home. The baby was so cute and tiny. I teared up thinking, that will be us in about 9 weeks! We also were able to see some babies in the nursery. They were all so tiny. George said, "Are they premies?" It is so easy to forget how small a newborn is when we often see our friends kids who are several months old!

My biggest question was what happens if all 42 labor and delivery rooms were full when we get there? I have heard horror stories about women laboring in hallways because there was "no room in the inn." The lady from the hospital said that they very rarely run out of rooms since building the new center, but now they had a back-up plan that was "nicer than the regular rooms." That put my mind at ease! They have also gotten rid of all semi-private rooms, so I was happy about that too.

30 week appointment

Today George and I went to the 30 week appoitnment. Wow, 30 weeks already! I can't believe it. We only have 10 weeks left (give or take a little).

According to Dr. Marcus, everything looks great. I am measuring exactly where I should be and Myers' heartbeat was at 148 beats per minute today. I am now going to the doctor every 2 weeks and then at week 36 (the week before Christmas) I will start to go once a week. They told me I am done with all of the big tests, until I have to do the Strep B test at week 35.

No matter how many times I hear it, when the Doppler picks up that little heartbeat, I am amazed. This miracle happening in my body just proves to me without a shadow of a doubt that God exists and is an amazing God!

On another note, George and I voted today after the appointment. Since there were so many reports of really long lines during early voting, I was worried about how long I would have to stand up and how many trips to the bathroom I may need to take during that time! Well, we pulled up to the high school at 10:30, and we walked out at 11:05! Yeah!

We got the furniture in yesterday and put it together last night. Here are some pictures of the nursery right now. I feel much better now that things are coming together. At least Myers now has a place to sleep! This weekend we are going to buy a mattress and possibly a pad for the changing table.

Yeah! It's beginning to look like a real nursery!

Wow, I'm in my third trimester!

Today I officially entered my third trimester. Only 12 weeks (plus probably a few days) to go!

After our Disney trip I changed the countdown on my computer from the trip to my due date. The counter says 83 days left. I know it will pass really quickly between showers, childbirth classes and the holidays. I can't believe that in about 3 months George and I will be parents!

Pictures of the nursery in the works

I still haven't found the flash drive, but I did find the cord to the camera. Hopefully I will find the flash drive soon because it has the memory card with the pictures of George and Mom painting the room.

A wall hanging I made for the room
Now we are waiting for the border, crib, and changing table (and maybe a glider if I can find one)


A good shot of the color of the room

Painting the nursery

This past weekend George and Mom painted the nursery. We painted the bottom half a moss green color and we left the top half beige. I ordered the border that matches the bedding to go at chair rail height. It should be in next week. I took pictures of the room so far, but I can't find the thing to put them on the computer. When I find it, I will post some pictures!

Next order of business is to order the furniture. We have picked out a honey pine convertible crib and changing table.

I realized that October 11th was three months until my due date. Wow, time sure is flying! One Sunday I will officially be in my third trimester.

I had my 27 week appointment on Monday. I passed my Gestational Diabetes test with flying colors, but my blood test shows that I am slightly anemic. So I have to eat lots of meat and leafy green vegetables. Other than that, my doctor says everything looks perfect.

Walt Disney World pictures

George and I with Mickey Mouse.
George and I with Pixie Dust in our hair.

The t-shirt Mom made me for the trip.

Walt Disney World or Bust

So we leave tomorrow morning for Walt Disney World! It has been almost two years since our last trip, so I have been going through major withdrawal. The cool things about this trip (besides the fact that it will be Myers's first trip to Disney-albeit in uterus!) is that I will turn 28 on my 28th trip to Disney. We will be in the Magic Kingdom on my birthday so I will make sure to get a birthday button to wear around. We will also be there during the Food and Wine Festival. Even though I won't be able to partake of the wine, I can definitely take part in the food part of it!

I had the idea for a cute t-shirt for the trip, so Mom made it for me with a transfer. It says "Future Disney Fan on Board" and has a picture of Mickey ears. I will take pictures of me wearing it and post them on the blog.

The dogs' room

Last night George took apart the bed that was in the dogs' room to prepare for it to become the guest room. He said this morning when he went to put the dogs into "their" room for the day, they both went to run in to get their milkbones and stopped at the door. He said they both looked in the room and then at him. He said Daisy just shook herself, but went in, but Bug wouldn't go in until he picked her up and put her in the room! Sometimes I wish they could talk so I could hear what must have been going through their heads. I imagine it went something like this.... Daisy thinks, "How dare they rearrange my room without my permission! I don't know if I am going to put up with this. After all I am the queen of the house!" Bug thinks, "Wait a second, Daisy doesn't seem okay with this change, maybe I shouldn't be okay with this either. I better wait to see what she does. After all, she is the queen of this house!"
I guess they are going to have to get used to the changes because more are coming!

Cleaning out what will be the nursery

The nursery set we have decided to go with. It is called Happy Tails.

The room that will become the nursery.

Today I started to clean out the room that will become the nursery. I cleaned out the closets in both the dogs' room (which will become the guest room) and the guest room (which will become the nursery) and combined everything into the closet in the dogs' room. It all fit! I also measured and designed how I want the guest room to be set up. Now all we need to do is take apart the bed in the dog's room and clean the carpet in there so we can move the furniture in. George spent the day working on the outside of the house and cleaning the garage.

We haven't decided whether or not we will repaint the nursery. It is already a khaki-ish color so we could leave it if we wanted to. It was painted right before we moved in a little over 3 years ago, so it is fairly new paint as well. I guess when the bedding comes in we can see if it goes or if we need to change the paint.

We ordered the bedding set yesterday. It should be here in a week or so! Now we need to decide what furniture we are going to go with. It feels like things are finally getting moving!

My little monkey

I have decided that Myers must be part jumping bean or a monkey swinging on the umbilical cord or a soccer player in the making! He is moving all of the time now and I can feel him even when I get busy at school (less than a week ago I only felt him when I was sitting or laying still). Everything I have read says that babies are most active between weeks 24 and 28 because they are still small enough to move around freely yet big enough for you to feel them move. It's nice to feel him move b/c I know he is okay in there. I am sure soon he will be keeping me up at night with all of his movements and I will wish for a break, but it will be good training for when he is here and waking me up with his crying at night!

Yesterday I went into Gymboree just to look and they were having a sale, so of course I had to buy something! I bought a cute little shirt that says "Mommy's little monkey" and pants to go with it. The pants have a little monkey that fits into the pocket. It was too cute to pass up!

George mentioned last night that he is getting really excited about Myers's arrival. He said up until this point he has been exicted, but mostly nervous. I think he is worried that he won't know what to do with a baby, but he is so good with kids. When we work the church nursery all the babies always love him because of the silly faces he makes. Plus it will be a learning experience for both of us because although I have worked with babies and kids a lot, I of course have never had an infant to take care of 24/7!

Tomorrow Mom and I are going to the Baby Expo that is at the Cobb Galleria, so hopefully we will find some good stuff and possibly some ideas for furniture.

23 weeks

Today is the beginning of week 23! Here is a belly shot with my new haircut...

Our family blog

Since we are preparing for our new addition I thought I would begin a blog so everyone can keep up with what is going on.

As of tomorrow I will be 23 weeks pregnant! It is hard to believe that I am over halfway to the birth of our little baby boy. He is kicking pretty regularly, and it is so amazing everytime. To think there is a little person inside of me moving, flipping, and kicking...it is truly a miracle!

Today George and I went to look at furniture. We found a set at Target that we really liked. It matches the bookshelves that we already have (thanks to Mom and Dad). However, when I came home to look at reviews online, it is no where to be found on the Target website. How frustrating! Oh well, we may just have to call the store and have it reserved for us instead of having it delivered to the house.

While we were at Target we bought one of those devices that allows you to hear the baby's heartbeat. We tried it, but couldn't hear anything yet. the instructions said you could hear sometime between 21 and 28 weeks, so we will continue to try!

Today we also started to organize and rearrange stuff in the basement so we can get the stuff that is in the soon to be nursery moved down there. We cleaned out the room with all my teaching stuff and the mud room. I also packed up 5 bags of stuff to take to Goodwill! Hopefully next weekend we can get the furniture in the dog's room taken apart so we can clean the carpets and move the guest room furniture in there.