I'm done procrastinating....

Well, I'm done procrastinating!

I called and made two appointments to interview pediatricians. We have an interview with Salvatore Ventimiglia on January 17th at 6 p.m. And an interview with Shirlee Kuhl on January 22nd at 4:15 p.m. So on top of the interview we already have with Shirley McManus on January 11th at 1 p.m. we have 3 interviews for pediatricians... Yay!! Two of those pediatricians are DO's!!! Those are the only two pediatric D.O.'s in the area and I've got an interview with both of them!!! Yippee!!! lol

I cleaned out the fish tank... It was so nasty that I had to vaccum the gravel 3 times!!! Ewwww... It hasn't even been that long since it's been vaccumed. I don't know what's wrong... I hope I didn't kill any of the fish, because I had to vaccum, fill it back up, vaccum, fill it back up, vaccum, and then fill it up for good. They were all looking a lil peaked when I got done. But they look fine now and are swimming around. Of course I put some Stress Coat in there and they all rolled around in it for a few minutes... It's so cute when they do that. lol... But the fish tank is definitly clean now.

Pebbles is also scheduled for her grooming on Thursday at 11. And after I drop her off I'll go get the oil changed. I called and found out that I don't need an appointment for the oil change. Yippee! LOL

I loaded and ran the dishwasher as well....

And then when I got done with all that I went outside and played (shoveled) in the snow!! I love it!!! It was so much fun... Of course Paul is going to kill me for shoveling the sidewalk, but I just couldn't help it... It's so much fun!! lol... I was only out there for about 15 minutes, and stopped for breaks every few shovels, so I think I'm okay... Coopers moving around a lil right now, but he's fine...

So now all I have to do is shower... Woo hoo!! Which I am about to do right now... I might even find all of our luggage, bring it upstairs and clean it off later. Depends on how I feel after the shower.

January is going to be a busy month!!! I'm just looking at my calendar and it's crazy!!

I'm trying to find a time for us to go get Jacob and spend a weekend with him and give him his Christmas and Birthday gifts. It's just so crazy though. I was thinking about going to get him on Friday Jan 4th after my midwife appointment. I dunno though, because we'll have just gotten back from AR the day before and I'll still be unpacking and doing laundry and stuff... Ugh... Plus I kinda want Paul to start painting the nursery that weekend... I know he won't be happy when I bring this up, but he knows that when we get back we're painting the nursery... Don't think he knows I mean the day after we get back!!! lol

The next weekend Jan 11-13 we have to interview a Ped and Jenny (doula) is coming over on the 12th. We could always go pick him up after the interview on Jan 11. And he could just be here when Jenny is here. I don't see that being much of a problem. Hmmm...

Other then that the first FREE weekend we have is Jan 18-20. Do we want to wait that long before we see him after Christmas? I mean he won't know when Christmas is... He'll only be 1. But still... How long do we want to wait... We haven't seen him since October 7... So it'll be 3 months since we've seen him.

I'll have to talk to Paul about this...

Well, I'm gonna go take a shower... That's gonna feel good!! lol... YAY!!

Talk more later!!!

xoxoxo

Mandy

I'm Procrastinating!!! lol

So I'm procrastinating today... Something I hate!!! Procrastination is one of my biggest pet peeves, but mostly when Paul does it... Because he does it with everything!

So what am I procrastinating? Hmmmm Lets see. Here's my to do list today -

- Make interviews with Pediatricians
- Clean out fish tank
- Schedule Pebbles' grooming
- Call to find out if I need an appointment for an oil change and 23 point check
- Clean the kitchen
- Take a shower lol

So yea, I'm procrastinating... Which is crazy cause most of those things can be handled over the phone lol.

I just had a snack... peanut butter, apple, and hershey kisses!! Yummy! lol... And atleast I'm getting protein from the peanut butter. Yep, that's how I rationalize! lol

I slept okay I guess. I was trying to go to bed around 930 with Paul because I was so tired. But I couldn't sleep, so by 1015 I got up and checked my email, and then read until midnight. At midnight tried to go back to bed. But Pebbles decided she had to go outside... So I bundled up and outside we went. She peed and poopied a lil. Then back to bed... About the time I got all snuggly warm again she decided she needed to go again. So back outside... She just wanted to be outside lol. So I stayed out there with her for about 5 minutes. She just ran around. Then we went back inside. By this time it was almost 1230. LOL!!! I finally fell asleep around 1. I wanted to be up by 10 today, but that didn't happen... Well let me rephrase, I woke up at 10 and then laid in bed until 1130. I didn't really sleep, but I just couldn't get myself up.

Okay, I've run out of stuff to write about, so I guess I have to go start on my to do list... I'll start with making the phone calls, then segway into the fish tank, kitchen, and then shower... LOL!!! UGH!!

hmmmm wonder if Pebbles needs to go outside?!?! LOL!!

27 weeks... Let it snow!!!

So I'm in the third trimester!!! Yay!!! The final stretch. It seems like so long ago that we found out I was pregnant, but at the same time it seems like it was yesterday lol... Weird how that happens...

Its so amazing to think that our baby started off as microscopic cells and is now over 2 lbs!!! Awesome! It's not a peanut anymore!!!

It started snowing last night around 7 o'clock and snowed until 2 o'clock today!!! We got about 9 inches! It's great. Pebbles was so funny. I wasn't sure how she was going to react to all the snow, and she didn't like it at all. First of all, Paul had to shovel out a little spot for her to potty. And she didn't move from that spot. lol... She tried to look over the snow and couldn't see anything so she just wanted to go back in. When Paul shoveled most of the driveway I took her back out and she still didn't like it. I was even trying (pretending) to take her for a walk and she wanted no part of it. She did her business and ran back to the door. She ain't dumb!!! I guess it was a little too cold for her with all the wind and everything, even though she had her coat on.

Of course we knew the storm was coming, so we went to Fay and Jerry's yesterday instead of today. Since this was the last time we would see them before Christmas they wanted us to open our gifts yesterday. So we did. We got some baby stuff off our registry from them. We knew that's what we would get, since we told them we only wanted stuff from our registry this year. We got our Soothing Seas Aquarium with remote, our Patchwor Pooh diaper stacker (to which Paul goes "What's that?" lol), the Patchwork Pooh blankey, Patchwork Pooh crib sheet, Patchwork Pooh pillow, and another lights and sound maker. It's great!!! I got everything all organized in the nursery today.

I made Paul "help" me do this. lol And of course he just stood there with his arms folded and said "well what do want me to do"... Nothing really, I just wanted him in there with me. So he kinda just stood there and watched me do everything. It was nice having him there. Even though he didn't do anything. lol

After Paul shoveled and I unburied our cars we came in and took a nice relaxing warm bubble bath together. It was nice.

Well, my daddy just called so I'm gonna go talk to him. Will write more later!!!

xoxoxo

Mandy

EDIT - I just got off the phone with my daddy. He said that we should be getting our Christmas card from him soon. Which means MONEY!!! lol... Which then mean BABIES R US!!! lol... Paul and I already decided that whatever money we get for Christmas will be used for the baby. Usually my daddy sends us a couple hundred for Christmas, so I'm thinking we may just get the nursery crib set. It's about $200. I figure that'll be good. But I'll have to look thro my list. I can either get one big thing, or tons of little things... but either way we're still spending the same amount of money... So do I want tons of little stuff, or one big thing?!? I like buying little things cause it always makes it seem like you've gotten more, instead of just ONE item! lol.. I'm weird like that. We'll see. I don't wanna get my hopes up though, but he usually send a couple hundred, so that's what we're hoping for!! I'll be searching the mail box everday...

Okay, off to find food! lol

Mandy

26 wks 5 days

So I went to Babies R Us today!! Woo hoo!! I swear I could live in that store... LOOOOOOVVE IT!

I got one package of 96 Pampers Swaddlers diapers, one package of 420 Pamper Sensitive wipes and the closet organizer... And this one was clean!!! That last one I bought had stains on it so it had to go back, but this ones spick-n-span lol...



Isn't it pretty?!!? lol... That's the old one tho, but the new one looks the same!! I'll have to get new pictures.

And I also got a couple outfits for Jacob for Christmas... I had a total brain freeze while I was trying to pick out Jacobs outfits.

Thank goodness I called Paul. I called him and said "I'm getting some outfits for Jacob for Christmas but I don't know what size. Should I get 24 or 36 months?"

Paul paused for a second and said "He's only 12 months" lol...

Well that answered that question. So I got 18 month clothes. I figured he may be a little big (He was the last time we saw him) and if not he can grow into them.

The baby moved up today. I felt the kicks a little below my ribs instead of even with my belly button... Its such a different sensation and feels so cool lol. I still feel the kicks around my belly button, but sometimes feel it a lil below my ribs... So amazing!!

After Paul got home we went to PetCo, Ulta, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Meijers...

My back is hurting tonight cause I did so much standing and walking today.

We're supposed to get a ton of snow tomorrow... but they've been saying that for 3 weeks now and we've gotten NOTHING. However, we're right on the border of 4-8 inches and 6-12 inches, so I have to believe we'll get SOMETHING... We better damnit! I've been waiting for snow since April!! lol... I wanna take Pebbles out to play in it! And possibly build a snowman!!! I love the snow!!!

Well, I'm gonna go... Paul's pacing and I'm sure he'll say he's ready for bed any minute... lol..

xoxoxo

Amanda

Pediatricians....

Man who knew it would be so difficult to find a pediatrician?!!? I never really thought about it until a couple weeks ago and it hit me like a brick wall... "We can't wait until AFTER the baby is born to have a pedi, we need to start searching now, otherwise we could end up with the Pedi from hell because we didn't do our research..."

So today I started our search... But it's a little tricky for us. Here's why -

The hospital we are giving birth at is around 20 miles from our house. That's a 30-40 minute drive. I'm already having to drive that far every time I go to my mid wives. We don't want to have to continue driving that far after the baby is born for Pedi appointments. But we need a Pedi that is affiliated with the hospital I am giving birth at, otherwise we'll end up with the "house pedi" while we are still in the hospital...

So I found a couple Pedis that aren't TOO far from our house and are affiliated with my birthing hospital. They are still around 20 miles away though. I made an interview for January 11th with one of them. And am going to call tomorrow and set up a couple more interviews.

I also found several Pedis much closer to home (within 5 miles) and they are affiliated with a hospital that is closer, but I am not giving birth at the hospital.

So I'm thinking I'll go ahead and set up an interview with a couple close Pedi's and a couple far Pedi's.

Now you may be wondering why we aren't giving birth at the closer hospital... Simple, because the midwives we are currently seeing came highly recommended and after meeting them once we fell totally head-over-heels in love with them. So much so that we are willing to drive that far for all my appointments and when I go into labor.

If we happen to fall in love with the Pedi that's farther away then so be it... We will stick with her, if not we will continue our search and try to find one closer to home.

I'm thinking in the month of January we'll interview the Beaumont (far away) Pedi's and pick one. Then in February we'll interview the Henry Ford Macomb (closer) Pedi's and pick one. Then we'll decide between the two which one we like the best after the baby is born and stick with that one... How does that sound?? Does it make sense?! lol

I'm sure I've totally confused everyone that is reading this right now. But it makes sense to me. Lol...

We also have to find a pedi that will respect our decision not to vaccinate. I know we may not find a Pedi that is FOR us not vaccinating, but we want one that can respect our decision as parents not to. And of course there's other issues. Such as - do they support breast feeding, how do they feel about boys not being circumcised, are they okay with alternative medical care, etc. Which is why I'm trying to find a DO not MD... But I'm finding that is a little difficult with Pedis. It's not so hard with General Practioners, but it is with Pedis... atleast in our area.

And me being the organizational freak that I am (I have to have something to obsess about!) I typed up a list of questions to aske Pedis and have it all organized... I'll post it here for other soon-to-be-moms that are going thro what we are.

Here's what I have so far -


Background, credintials, and experience

How/Why did you decide on pediatrics?
How long have you been in practice?
Where did you complete undergradute school?
Did you recieve honors?
When and where did you complete medical school and residency?
Did you serve as Cheif Resident? (If so that shows that they were at the top of their class and good with people)
Are you board certified?
What are you doing to continue training?
Are you a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics or any other organization?
How long have you been in practice?
Do you have any areas of specialty?
What hospital are you affiliated with?
Are you a solo practice? Partner? Or group?
Who covers for you when you're on vacation?
Do you stay current with medical trends?

Office and Policies

What are the office hours?
How long in advance must we book appointments?
Does the office mail out reminders for scheduled appointments?
Are there any diagnostic facilities on site?
What lab work can be perfomed in the office?
Is there a Pediactric Nurse Practitioner?
Is there a Pediatric Physicians Assistant?
How are phone calls handled? Is there a call hour? Call back system? Nurse call system?
Can we email questions in?
If there's a call back system, how long does it usually take for a call to be returned?
Is there a 24 hour call service? If so, whom will we talk to? A nurse, another doctor from a different practice, you, a different doctor from this pracitce?
How do you feel about us calling over "little things"?
Can I schedule an appointment with the pediatrician of my choice?
How are emergencies handled?
Does the office take same-day appointment for sick children?
Does the office accept drop-ins for sick children? If so how long is the average wait?
How does the office handle after hours emergencies?
Do you accept Blue Cross Blue Sheild?
How are insurance claims handled and will the office bill my insurance company directly?
Do you accept checks and credit cards?
Is payment due at time of visit, or will I be billed?
Are payment plans accepted?
What happens if we miss a scheduled appointment? And can we easily reschedule?

Philosophies and extras

Breastfeeding?
Early release from hospital?
Circumcision?
Good nutrition?
Imminization?
Antibiotics?
Alternative medical care?
What tests are routine after the baby is born?
How do you feel about eye prophylaxis?
How is jaundice handled?
Can I immediately breast feed?
Can you tell the hospital staff not to give our baby bottles or formula?
Will you come to the hospital when the baby is born? Or will we see you at our first well baby check up?
How soon after the baby is born will you come to visit? Will you come or another doctor?
Do you have an recommendations for health supplies? Aceteminophene? Thermometer? Diaper rash cream?
Do you have a suggested reading list?

Questions to ask yourself

Is the staff courteous, friendly, and helpful?
Is the staff responsive and patient with young children?
Were we kept waiting long?
Ask the receptionist what the average wait time is. If she is vague or noncommital, ask some parents that are waiting.
A long average wait can mean a disorgnized office, overbooking, or more paitents then the doctor can handle. But doesn't tell you much about the quality of care.
Is there a clean, comfortable play area in the waiting room?
Is there a seperate waiting room for sick and well children?
Are there bold colors and intriguing patterns on the walls?
Are there bright colorful pictures on the walls?
Are there clean, well maintained toys in the waiting area?
Are there age appropriate books?
Do we feel comfortable with the doctor?
Do we feel we can ask any questions without embarassment?
Did they take time to talk to us?
Did we feel rushed?
Did they answer all our questions?

Not much is going on here today. I shopped at Kohls a little today, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to stand in line for 2 hours to pay... There was only 2 people in front of me! It wasn't bad.

I got a new bra (pebbles chewed my old one), a long sleeve shirt (I love it), a 2008 calendar (which I have filled out and hung up), and I got Aunt Capri something for Christmas... I finally got her something. I don't know if she'll like it or not, but I do. It's a big fleece lap throw for the couch... Soooo soft!!! lol I spent $35.00!!! Woo hoo!!!

Tomorrow (well I guess it's today not since it's 1 a.m.) I am going to Babies R Us to get the diapers and wipes. I'll get two things of diapers and two things of wipes. So woo hoo!!! lol

So nothing new here - I'm gonno surf the net a bit and watch Golden Girls until I fall asleep! lol... I haven't been sleeping well... I stay up till 2-3 a.m. and then wake up every hour or so. I try to sleep late but I get so restless I'm up by 11... It totally stinks!!! lol... And I have the weirdest dreams too.

xoxoxo

Amanda

Glucose Test - 26 wks 3 days

I called the Mid Wives office today to get the results of my glucose test.

I PASSED!!! YAY!

She said that everything came back normal. So I shouldn't have to take another test through out the pregnant. I'm so happy.

I was a little nervous because diabetes runs so high in my family. But everything turned out fine.

WOOT WOOT!!!

I'm so excited that I'm almost in my third trimester!! How freakin crazy is that!! Seems like yesterday I found out I was pregnant, and now I'm almost in the home stretch. I'm so excited about it!! It's crazy!!!

YAY!!!

So tomorrow I'm going to Kohls. I have a 15% off total purchase coupon and I wanna get a couple long sleeve shirts to wear on our car ride. I wanna make sure I'm comfy and my velour pants are my most comfy ones, but I don't have any regular shirts that go with it. So I'm gonna get some. And since Pebbles chewed my bra a little I'm going to get a new one. Kohls has maternity bras for like 15 bucks. They looked really comfy too... and NO UNDERWIRE!!! Yay!!! I'll give it a try. I'm excited... I get to get out of the house.

And then on Friday I'm going to Babies R Us to get diapers and wipes. I atleast get to use my $5.00 off Pampers coupon and my $2.00 off wipes coupone. My limit is $60-$100 (I'm not sure yet) for baby this period. And I'm including my shirt and bra in that.

Shirt - $9.00
Bra - $16.00
Diapers - $37.00
Wipes - $22.00

This total is $84.00...

If I can use $100 then I'll get the closet organizer too. With my 15% off coupon the organizer is $22.50... Not bad!!! I'll be just a few bucks over.

Well, I'm gonna go read some of Gentle Birth Choices.... I love that book!!

xoxoxo

Amanda!!!

Dr. Wayne Dyer

So on Monday night I went to yoga at Sallys. We had a blast and relaxed for a few hours. Love those girls!! Cindy was there as well. I haven't seen her in over a year. It was great to see her. She said she's going to try to come back to our Monday meetings, I hope she does. I really enjoyed having her there and have missed her presence for the past year or so.

Laura got me the next book we are doing. It's a Wayne Dyer book. I'm so excited about this book. It's called Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao. I've read the prefact and the first verse and am practicing the first verse adamently. It's making such a huge difference.

I was so stuck there for a while on my self improvement and this has given me a new light. I've stopped "wanting" things and started "allowing" things into my life (the first verse). I've stopped wanting money for the baby and am working on allowing wealth into my life. I've also stopped wanting a big pregnant belly and am working on allowing it to happen... I swear I woke up this morning bigger then I was yesterday!!!

It's making a big difference just letting things happen. And it takes the pressure off as well. It's great. I'm truly enjoying it.

Sincerly,

The self-loving Amanda!!

I'm sure it's hormones....

I'm not doing so well today!!! I'm sure it's just hormones, but still...

I hate being at home all day long with nothing to do. I feel like such a disgusting blob. I just sit on the couch all day and do nothing but surf the net. It's horrible. I am so bored and feel terrible about it all the time. I feel like I do nothing.

I slept till 1 today!!! Why not, I have nothing better to do today. I've started staying up really late again... I didn't go to bed until after 2 a.m. And then didn't sleep that well... I woke up every hour, and had very weird dreams...

I just don't get it!!! Why don't I have anything to do? I feel like I should have a ton of things to do, I mean we do have a baby on the way, but I don't. Paul's always telling me we don't have money, so I can't go buy stuff for the baby to prepare the room.

He's telling me now that I shouldn't buy baby stuff on the 15th. I've been looking foward to this for 3 weeks!!! It's a chance to get me out of the house! I get to go to Babies R Us and actually DO something. I have all these great coupons that expire on Dec 16th. I have two $5.00 off Pampers coupons... two $2.00 off pampers wipes coupons... and four 15% off coupons. We have the money for our trip to AR. I am just looking foward to getting out of the house!!!

I'm getting really frustrated right now. I wanted to get online at the bank account and just see how much money we have right now... and I can't fucking sign on. Paul has all these security questions set up and the one it keeps giving me is "What's your favorite teacher" I know the answer, but obviously I'm spelling it wrong or something because it's not letting me in. And now I'm getting even more upset. Okay I finally got it.

We have $86 to get us till Friday. I'm just so mad that I can't work. And I feel like I'm not contributing anything to the house. If I was working then we'd have the money... It's so stupid that I can't work. I mean, I really don't want to work, but I want the extra money. I was bringing in pretty good money when I was working... and now nothing...

That's how I feel.... Nothing... I feel like a big nothing right now. There's nothing I can do to help, there's nothing I can do period. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I just don't know what to do with myself.

I'm feeling so sad about not taking Pebbles to AR with us. I'm going to be away from her for 12 days. What if she runs away from Beth and Mike (like she's been doing lately with me)? Or what if she pees in Beths house? Beth is such a neat freak, I would feel terrible if that happened. And I just have a feeling that it will. Pebbles hasn't been holding it all night lately. And at our house she goes in our bathroom and pees on the puppy pad... She can't do that at Beths house. Pebbles will be in their bedroom with them at night, and they don't have an attached bathroom. And what if they have a lot of company (which I know they will for New Years atleast). Pebbles doesn't like loud noises or a lot of people. And what about while they are gone? What about Pebbles then? We haven't been crating her lately... she hasn't been crated in a long time. Beth is probably going to want to crate her. I hope she doesn't cause I don't want her crated for 7 hours. I'm just so worried about her...

But we really can't take her with us. She'll be in the hotel room by herself sometimes (granted for just short periods of time, but still). What if while we are gone the cleaning people come by? And she runs out the door? I can not have Pebbles locked in the garage at Aunt Capris house either. It's way to cold for that, and Pebbles has never been locked away from us when we are there. It's not fair to do that to her.

I know leaving her at Beth's is the best thing, it's just tearing me apart.

I just want this week to go by fast. I was Friday to be here, so I can do some shopping... SOMETHING!!!

Next week will be pretty busy. I have to get the oil changed in the Pacifica and the 16 point check up for the car trip. I wanna get Pebbles groomed. Clean the house from top to bottom before we leave. Shop for snacks. Make sure Mister is okay (another thing I worry about). Pack everything up...

Why can't I find something to do today?!!? I looked online for some mom groups in the area. I found one for pregnant women and inquired about that. Hopefully I'll hear something back soon. I also looked in to water aerobics close by, and there's nothing. There is a rec center in Macomb (not far at all) but of course there's a fee... I don't know what the fee is though. Maybe I'll go there one day this week and check it out. I don't know......

I just feel like nothing... and big blob of nothing. I just feel like crying all day today....

Maybe I'll get dressed and take Pebbles for a walk. I still have to go ask our neighbor if she'll watch Mister while we are gone. Guess I should do that today. It'll give me something to do...

Another thing, I have to buy a new bra... Which I feel guilty about because that's me spending money again...

I just keep feeling like if we didn't go to AR we'd have like $1000 to spend on the baby... But we have to go to AR to see my family. I haven't been there is so long. And I really want to go... but it's getting harder and harder to deal with... I keep feeling guilty for wanting to go. I don't want to waste money, and I feel like we could spend that money on baby stuff... We could get sooo much baby stuff with that money.

I get so mad at Paul for being such a dumb ass with his money for all those years, and having so much debt.... It's stressing me so much... And it affects me so much. He thinks it doesn't because I don't pay the bills... But when I can't do anything all day, and have to sit at home because I don't even have gas money to go to the library or something, it affects me... Pisses me off is what it does. I get so mad at him for that.

I just want to get like 5,000 credit cards and go nuts one day... But I can't even do that since I don't really have credit... Hell we didn't even get approved for a fucking Babies R Us card... Now that one pissed me off...

We should have never gotten the basment finished... I knew it wasn't a good idea at the time, but Paul really wanted to, so I went with him... It was such a bad idea... We would have an extra 300 bucks a month, and I wouldn't have a $29,000 loan on my credit report... PISSES ME OFF!!!

I just don't know what else to say. I am so done today.... Just sad and feel like nothing... I'm useless and there's no point to my life at this moment. I just want to have something to do. Somewhere to go. People to see and hang out with... I don't have any of that. It's so frustrating.

I am going to Sallys tonight for Yoga... I am so looking foward to that. I haven't really been out of the house since Friday. And that was for grocery shopping....

I just feel like crying. I sit here an feel sorry for myself... when in reality I don't have anything to feel bad about.

My dreams are coming true. I'm married to an amazing man and we are expecting a baby!!! It's everything I've always wanted. It's a dream come true. We have an amazing house, amazing pets, and amazing love....

Okay the UPS guy just came and brought my Kohls package... That's the highlight of my day so far!!! And it's just granny panties!!! And a baby outfit. But still... So sad....

Well, I'm gonna wash my new panties and take Pebbles for a walk. Go to the neighbors house and talk to her about watching Mister while we are gone....

I just need to get out of the house and feel better... It's crazy!!!

I do love Paul! And I do love my life. I wouldn't change anything for all the money in the world...

xoxoxox

Mandy

25 WEEKS 3 DAYS

I had a midwife appointment today... YAY!! Got to hear the babies heart beat again. I love that. It's great. Plus the baby always kicks the thing and it's great. We hear this loud thump and everything. She said Cooper was the most active baby she's seen in a while... That made me happy! lol..

She said I'm measuring perfectly and baby is doing great. I asked if I was gonna get another ultrasound and of course she said not unless something is wrong. And as of now everything is going perfectly.

Pauls drinking a beer right now, and I want a sip soooo bad!!! lol... Of course I won't. But I wanna!!!

I asked the midwife about driving to AR in a couple weeks, and she said that would be fine. As long as I drank tons of water and stopped to walk around every hour. She said the drinking of the water would remind us to stop every hour cause I'll have to pee! lol... So that shouldn't be a problem. I just feel better knowing that she okayed us taking the trip.

I asked about my itchy nipples and she said to start using lanolin. I have a free sample that I got from Babies R Us. So when I got home I thought I'd give it a try. I opened it and it's this REALLY thick yellowy brownish waxy looking stuff... Really gross looking... I thought "Oh god no". But decided to try it cause my nipples were just killing and I know scratching them is not good. So I put a little on my finger and was like "gross" but rubbed in on and it felt sooo good!! lol... I didn't think it was going to absorb into my skin, but it did after a minute or so... and man it feels good!!! I am totally recommending this to anyone with itchy nipples! lol...

I also asked about my discharge and horrible vaginal itching. Of course she said "well lets take a look" which is not what I wanted to hear... Ugh... I hate having internals now, they are so uncomfy. But she did what she needed to do and said I have a yeast infection. So she gave me a couple prescriptions. One for the yeast infection, I guess it's like Monistat 7. And the other is for the itching, Nystatin, I think is what it's called. I have to do the Monistat thing for 7 nights, and I can use the Nystatin twice a day for itching. It's gonna be so icky, but it'll feel great to not have the itching down there. So no sex for 7 days.... Not that sex went well last time we attempted it...

So on Sunday we tried to have sex for the first time in 3 weeks and found it to be extremely difficult with the expanding belly! Lol... I don't think we've ever laughed so hard. We laughed for about 45 minutes. It was so difficult to find a position that was comfortable. Of course Paul couldn't be on top cause my belly felt crushed. And when I was on top it was pretty uncomfy, I guess cause my cervix is more tender and we can't go as deep. In the end we both got what we wanted, but it wasn't easy to get there... LOL!!! It was pretty comical. We tried all sorts of positions, some where quite funny, and some just flat out didn't work. lol... Very interesting.

So here is my 24 week picture.



We've decided to not take Pebbles to AR with us. Which makes me really sad. But I know it's for the best. Aunt Capri doesn't want Pebbles in the house, and said that Pebbles could stay in the garage. I think it's way to cold for Pebbles to be in the garage for a week. Plus it'll be akward having her in the hotel with us. What if we want to run out to eat or go to the store? We don't want to leave her there by herself, so we would drive all the way to Mommas, back to town, and then back out to pick up Pebbles for the night. It'll be too much. So we're going to leave her with Beth... This makes me very sad though, having to be away from her for so long. :( But it'll be for the best.

As far as Mister goes, we're going to get an automatic feeder and set that for him. And ask the neighbor lady to come by and check on him everyday, maybe give him some wet cat food if she wants. Just spend a little time with him... he likes attention.

I feel so sad leaving my babies for 12 days. It makes me sad... But it's for the best. And I know they will both be very well taken care of, so that's not a problem. I'm just going to have issues leaving Pebbles at Beth's and leaving Mister... It's so sad!

I have an ortho appointment tomorrow. They are going to put rubber bands in going from the top to the bottom to try to close a gap... ugh... i'm not looking foward to that. It's going to be such a pain in the ass to deal with something else in my mouth. Seems like they've done so much to me over the past 8 months... wow I can't believe I've had braces for 8 months. Doesn't seem like it's that long.

Well, I'm gonna go find me something to snack on. I'm always hungry!!! Seems like all i do is eat!! lol... But that's fine... I'm slowly (very slowly) gaining weight. I've gained a total of 9 lbs. and that's counting the 4 that I lost right after I found out I was pregnant. So it's really only been 5 lbs... Lol... If that makes any sense...

xoxoxo

Amanda!!

Ready to cause permanent scars!!!!

I was going to title this post "ready to shoot Paul", but I thought someone might see it and think I'm serious and call the cops... Don't want that...

I'm so upset!!! I told Paul that I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to take the hypnobirthing classes. And of course the first thing he says is "How much is it"... Who the FUCK cares how much it is, if this is going to help me give birth, and keep me comfortable I want it. I'm just so mad that everytime I tell him I want something to help me thro labor he says "how much is it".... everytime I tell him we need something for the baby "how much is it"... it just pisses me off... Why is everything money with him?! I just don't get it. I'm just so mad at him right now. I don't even want to look at him! lol... UGH!!!! He's not the one giving birth... you can be damn well reassured that if he had to push out an 8 lb baby he'd take whatever classes, hire whomever he needed, and did whatever he needed to do to be comfortable, and he wouldn't think twice about how much it is.

I know money doesn't grow on trees, and we dont have an endless supply of money. But we can afford it... He's pretty much telling me that if I want to take the hypnobirthing classes then we can't go to AR for Christmas. It just makes me so mad that he's asking me to choose between the two. Do I want to see my family (whom I haven't seen in over a year -almost two years) or do I want to be as comfortable as possible when I give birth? I just don't see how he can ask me to choose between the two. It makes me so upset.

He thinks that because we hired the Doula we don't need to do anything else. Don't need to take any birthing classes or anything like that... It just upsets me so much.

I want to be so comfortable giving birth and I think taking the hypnobirthing classes will help. I just get so upset because if this was him he would be taking every birthing class available to him, hire 12 doulas, and do whatever he wanted... but I don't get to do that.

Don't get me wrong, I love my husband, and for the most part he is supportive. But sometimes he drives me crazy. Everything is money with him, and I just don't get it. I've never been all about money. And never will be. But that's all he thinks about.... "how much is this going to cost? how much is that going to cost? can we afford that?"....

This is something we're going to live with for the rest of our lives, and this is a HUGE decision (how to birth our baby). He agreed to help me go all natural and whatever I wanted. But now he's not letting me do everything I want. I just don't get that.


UUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Pregnancy freak outs...

Okay, I'm going to try to write up all the things I worry about with this pregnancy. And the worries that I have after the baby is born. So here they are -


I worry about losing the baby. If I don't feel a kick for several hours I get nervous.

I worry about how the pictures are going to look right after I have the baby. I worry that I'm going to look freaked out in all the pictures and not know what to do.

I worry that I can't breast feed or that it's going to hurt so bad that I can't breast feed. And then we'll have to spend money on formula (another huge expense! lol)

I'm really freaked out about post-partum depression. Even Paul has asked about this. He's a little nervous that this will happen to me because I let him see my freak outs sometimes. And of course it freaks him out.

I worry that Paul is going to totally freak out on me in the delivery room. He hates it when I stub my toe and am in pain... what the hell is he going to think when I'm pushing an 8 lb baby out?!?! This is part of the reason we've hired a doula. To try to help keep him calm during all the commotion, and if he can't handle it I'll still have someone with me. Someone who is trained and knows what's going on.

I worry about when I'm going to shower after the baby is born. I already sometimes get so busy and forget to shower. I can't imagine finding time to shower when I have the baby. And I worry that if I do shower while the baby is sleeping something will happen and I won't know it cause I'm in the shower LOL!

I worry that something will happent to Paul. Paul is much older then I am and I hate to say this, but financially I am completely dependent on him. We have talked extensively about how much his insurance policies and such are. They are just enough to cover the house, debt, and funeral. I would have to work to pay the normal bills. And that I won't be able to afford day care if I do have to work... lol So then I'll have to move in with my mom or something.

I worry about going days without speaking to Paul because I'm so busy with the baby. I worry that he won't help with the baby any (which I know isnt' true). I worry that he'll just come home from work, lock himself in his office, and stay there.... even go as far as sleeping on the couch in there...

I've also had thoughts of what if this is all just a dream? Am I really pregnant? What if it's just really bad gas I feel? And something else is seriously wrong and that why i haven't gotten a period since June. And then i hear the heart beat at the doctors and I'm okay for a couple weeks on those thoughts. lol

I worry that hubby won't get the sleep he needs. He's such a light sleeper already that I know he's going to hear the baby cry at night. Of course there's nothing I can do about this. Which brings me back to him sleeping in his office... His office is on a different floor of our house and he would still hear the baby, but it would so much quieter.

I worry that the cat will suffocate the baby. Or that the dog won't like the baby and try to bite Cooper. I worry that the baby will be allergic to pets and I will have to get rid of my "first born babies"... i love my pets like they are my babies, and would hate to get rid of them... This is a big worry for me.

I actually worry that I'll never get to watch Greys Anatomy again becuase I either wont' have the time or will be sleeping.

I worry that I'll never cook again, which is something that I love doing. We're going to live off pizza for the rest of our lives and gain 400 lbs.

I worry that i won't be able to lose any baby weight after the baby is born. And I'll be 200+ lbs for the rest of my life.

I worry about getting our baby christened. We want to christen baby catholic but I am not catholic and have never been christened or baptised myself. So I worry that the church (that we don't go to) won't christen our baby.

I worry about not having clothes for the baby. Since we currenly only have about 5 outfits. I worry that the baby will have to wear the same outfit over and over again.

I worry that our baby isn't going to have anything!!! Diapers, wipes, nothing... Scary though. That we aren't going to be able to afford anything. This is a big worry I'm having at the moment. I had a huge freak out about this over the weekend.

I worry that the nursery won't be done in time. And we'll have to rush around after the baby is born and finish it.

I worry that the baby will be early. And we won't be prepared at home for the baby yet.

I worry that our doula won't be able to make it to the birth.

I worry that something will go wrong during labor and we won't be able to have the natural, intervention free birth we want. Or the baby will be sick, or die.

I worry that something is going to be wrong with the baby. Down Syndrome, MS, anything...

I worry that we wont be able to take birthing classes because they are too expensive.

I worry that my mother is going to try to bust her way into the delivery room, even though she knows we don't want her in there for atleast 3 hours AFTER the baby is born.

I worry that my mother is going to take over raising my baby since she will be staying with us for a few weeks after the baby is born. I worry that my mother won't be as supportive as she says she will be. I worry that my mother will try to take my baby back home with her.

I worry that I'm going to lose the baby. Forget about it and leave it in the cart at a store or something. lol

WHEW!!! Okay I think that's it for now...

And then of course I hear Sally saying that everything works out in the end as it is supposed to. I should enjoy my pregnancy while I can and try not to worry...

Something that p!sses me off real quick - When other mothers ask how my pregnancy is going and I say "It's great"... because it is. I have had a very easy pregnancy. I tell them that I feel the baby move all the time and I love it. I HATE it when they say "oh just wait, you won't love it so much in a couple months. you'll be begging the baby to stop moving, etc". For some reason that one little statement alone p!sses me off!!! I can't imagine not loving feeling my baby move. But even if this is true, why can't people just let me enjoy the stage of pregnancy that I am at now?!?! Why dont they understand that everyone, and every pregnancy is different. I would think mothers with kids already would know that too.

Another thing - When people say "you don't look THAT pregnant"... So what, You saying I look fat?!!? lol Or telling me I'm not doing something right with this pregnancy?

Wow, I really went off there didn't i?! lol.. It felt good to write all that down.

xoxoxo

Amanda!

Baby Stuff 24 wks 3 days!

Everything is going good here... Baby Cooper (cause we don't like "it") seems to be doing great in there... Moving around tons. But then again, who wouldn't like it?! It's 98 degrees all the time, all you can eat buffet, and a nice comfy, squishy bed... Sounds good to me! lol

I'm starting to panic about the fact that we don't have much for the baby yet. lol... It's just my pregnant brain, but I actually said on Saturday that the states gonna take our baby away!!! lol... Of course, I've calmed down now! Paul suggested I make a list of everything we NEED for the baby and break it up into his pay periods and when we will get what. So I spent about 4 hours on Saturday making a spread sheet with everything we need and when we'll get it. lol.. I like to make lists, and work better with visual aids! lol..

So I went and bought a few baby things the other day. I got some burp cloths, recieving blankets, onesies, and no scratch mittens. I also got a couple new outfits... that gives us 7-8 outfits I think. I got a closet organizer as well, and love it, but it was stained so I had Paul return it today. He said the store only had one other one, and it was even dirtier then the on I bought. So on Saturday we'll probably go to a different Babies R Us and check it out. Otherwise I could just order it online... May even find it on ebay...hmmm

It just makes me feel better knowing we have SOMETHING! lol... I've made sure that everything we buy is things that are off our registry. I'm trying to stick to the small things, that way people still have things to buy us if they want. I don't think I'm having a baby shower, but I've told everyone we only want things off our registry (or for the baby) for Christmas.

So for now my panic is over... we'll see how long that lasts!!! LOL..

I'm still a little nervous about not getting our furniture until Febraury. We've decided to wait until Paul gets his bonus to get the furniture, since we were both denied the babies r us card. Pauls going to call and dispute his though because they said he was denied because of overdue credit, which is NOT true!! lol

I called and signed us up for CPR classes today. Wanna be safe!! And we have our hospital tour on Feb 17th. So I'm glad I got that stuff done.

I wanted to take the hypnobirthing classes but they don't have one close enough to our house. They have one that is starting Jan 3rd but it's like an hour drive... And we really don't want to drive that far, let alone in Jan and Feb, not in MI anyways. So now we're looking for another class. Thinking of maybe taking just a regular class since we've hired the doula for the relaxation techniques. I just don't want to go into this with NO preparation.

I have my next Midwife appointment on Dec 5th... Can't wait!! I love hearing the heart beat!!! It's amazing! lol... Paul always has an amazed look when he hears it too. Last time Cooper was kicking the doplar (as usual) and Paul asked what that thumping was. When she told him it was the baby kicking he was like "wow" lol... I'm going to ask the midwife if we get another ultrasound or not... I'm hoping for another chance to find out the sex! lol...

We haven't had sex in a while... maybe 3-4 weeks... I hate it!!! It's all Paul's fault!! lol... I was even thinking that since he had a long weekend last weekend I'd get some, but nope!! Nada, zilch, zero!! lol

I took Pebbles for a walk today... It was like 34 degrees outside, but we bundled up really warm. I had my long johns on and 2 long sleeve shirts, gloves, scarf, etc... It wasn't bad. And then I took a nice warm bath today.

Ugh, I just called transunion to get a copy of my credit report... that's a pain in the ass...

Well, I'm gonna go. I'm surfing ebay to see what kind of baby stuff that have. I have become addicted to ebay!!! It's great!!!

xoxoxo

Amanda!

Pebbles Ran Away....

You're never going to believe what Pebbles did last night. SHE RAN AWAY! I haven't been that scared in such a long time. It was like 1245 at night and we were getting ready for bed. So Paul took her out to pee and I went to bed. Paul was gone for a few minutes (longer then usual) and then I heard him come in the house and start banging around. Then he ran upstairs and said "I can't find Pebbles. She was in the back yard and took off running and I can't find her".

Of course I jumped out of bed and ran straight outside. It was about 20 degrees with snow and ice on the grass and I was in jammies and house slippers. I didn't even stop for a jacket. I asked him which way she went and I took off in that direction. I

was so scared because the direction she went in she's never been before. And there are woods right there with a creek in them... I don't know how far back the creek is and neither does she. I had all these visions running thro my head of her falling in the creek and freezing. I was so scared.

I ran thro people back yards, along the woods, hollering her name (not too loud tho cause it was 1 a.m. and all the houses were dark). I was just so scared that if we didn't find her soon we never would and it was so cold last night she would freeze.

So I get to the end of houses (about 15-20 houses away from mine) and am standing at the woods crying. I get to the sidewalk and start running back to the house to get my jacket and a flash light. I'm looking down all the streets thinking maybe she's just walking down the sidewalk cause she doesn't like walking in the grass. I guess she doesn't like the way it feels on her paws.

Pauls standing on the sidewalk in front of our house and my first thought is "What the hell is he doing? Go look for her". Well he tells me he found her and she's inside. Of course I start crying harder (happy tears) and run inside.

When I make it inside I collapse on the stairs and sob. Pebbles comes walking down stairs like "what going on?"... i was so pissed at her, but so happy to see her too. lol.

At this point I can't breath from all the running, yelling, and breathing in the freezing air so fast for so long. My throat was so raw cause it was so cold. Oddly enough I wasn't cold though. I guess the adrenaline and everything kept me warm.

So then Paul tells me that he was worried about me. He apparently found Pebbles just a couple minutes after I took off looking for her. She had cut thro someones back yard and was standing on a side street across the street from our house. I often take her there when we walk.

Anyways, Paul got scared cause he couldn't find me.. He thought I ran into the woods looking for her and was ready to call 911 to get them to search for me. I was ready to call 911 to get them to search for Pebbles! lol

This all took place in 15-20 minutes. This was the fastest 20 minutes of my life. All I did was run, cry, and freak out. It was just so scary.

So now we don't take Pebbles outside without her leash anymore. She can't be trusted. Paul thinks she took off after something (a squirrel or something like that). He heard a rustle and then she ran.

Pebbles looks so sad today. It's probably because she knows she scared us and feels bad. But my pregnant brain keeps saying that she's sad cause she had to come back home. I keep thinking that she wanted to run away from us and was just waiting for the right time to do it. I know this isn't right, but my pregnant brain says it is... And it makes me sad.

23 weeks 2 days!! Christmas Shopping

There's a lot to say today. I don't even know where to start lol...

Pregnancy is going amazingly well. I'm feeling Coopers kicks and punches get stronger by the day. It's amazing to feel. I love it. It's just great to know that everythings going good in there and he's getting bigger. Woo hoo!!!

It seems like my belly popped out over night. I swear I'm bigger then I was yesterday... It's great tho and so far I'm not minding. I've just started putting on weight. I'm only 4-5 lbs heavier then I was when I found out I was pregnant... So that's not bad.

We have our first pre natal with the doula this Saturday. I'm so excited about this and can't wait. I love her to death!!!! She's going to help us have the most amazing birth possible. And it's going to be such a special moment for us.

I've bought a few baby outfits for Cooper... They are so cute. And all green of course lol.
We wanted to get the baby furniture on last Saturday and went to Babies R Us and applied for the credit card so we can get the furniture. Of course it came back and said that our entry was pending and it could take up to 30 days for us to get an answer. Paul applied and so did I. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm sure one of us will get approved and then we'll get the furniture. I'm hoping we'll even have the nursery painted and finished before we get the furniture... I think we will.

I ordered some maternity clothes online from OldNavy.com and they came today. They are so great. I love them. Got them all washed and hung up. I wanna make sure I'm pretty for the turkey on Thursday... I should be all done buying maternity clothes. I now have 4 pairs of pants (3 that are totally comfy) and like 5 shirts. So I think I'm set! lol

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in a couple days. It totally snuck up on us this year. We're going to Beth's for Thanksgiving this year. Cause they are having Mikes family over too, but much later (like 5-6). We're having ours at 1. And will prolly just hang out and eat again with Mikes family LOL!! I'm trying to figure out if we should put the tree up before we got to their place or wait until we get back. I don't know when we'll be back. I can't imagine it being later then 11-12. And that will give us plenty of time to put the tree up before bed. So I'm thinking we may just wait until we get back. hmmmmmm.... we'll see.

I'm pretty much done with our Christmas shopping... YAY!!! Done before Thanksgiving. All I have left to get is something for Uncle Glenn and Aunt Capri. I'm thinking we may just send them something from Hickory Farms. And then we're gonna get Jen a gift card from Ulta... And we'll be all done!! YAY!!! Oh yea, and we gotta figure out what to get Jacob. And Paul's gonna get me something... which he'll do Christmas Eve afternoon LOL!

So here's our Christmas list -

Paul - Jeans, shirt for work, and The Secret DVD. I also want to get him "You Staying Young" by Dr. Oz. Prolly get that on Dec 15th.
Jen - Ulta gift card.
Fay and Jerry - Money
My Dad - Pocket watch.
Carolyn - Gift basket from Bath and Body Works.
Grandma and Grandpa - Uncle Buck on DVD and a calendar.
Granny - Calendar, spoon, and angel.
Gloria - Bath and Body Works gift basket.
Trista - Ulta make up kit.
Momma - Unicorn and calendar.
Andy - Harley Davidson clock.
Uncle Glenn - Calendar and fishing sign.
Aunt Capri - ?????
Sally - Bath and Body Works gift basket.
Jesse Lee - Probably cigarettes. He can't get the kind he likes in Iraq.

I'm thinking I'm forgetting someone. But I have a written list in the dining room so I know I didn't forget buying for anyone.

For our Christmas cards this year we're going to do a picture and put it in the card. I want to do one of Mister, one of Pebbles, and then one of Paul and I. Put them all on the same card and put those in our cards this year. I can do this thro Walgreens.com... Yay!! I got Pebbles and Santa costume and she looks so cute in it. And I got Mister some reindeer antlers. Paul and I will stand in front of the Christmas tree. And I'll make sure that I'm sideways so everyone can see my belly sticking out. hehe

I put all our Christmas decorations up last week. Lol.. Paul thinks it looks like Bronners threw up in here. lol... I like it though. Can't wait to get the tree up though.. only a few more days tho!!! YAY!!!

Hmmm I know there's more...

Oh yea, Paul is redoing our side door landing. I will definitly have to post pictures when he's all done. It's looking great. He should be done by Sunday!!! He put a slate looking floor in, and is putting wooden panels on the walls. They go about 2.5 feet up and look amazing. It's great. I just wish it didn't take him so long to finish these lil projects... remember the stairs? It took him 2 months to purgo EIGHT stairs!!! I'm really pushing him to finish this project though becuase the next one is the nursery!!! YAY!!!

This time next month we're going to be getting ready to go to AR. That's just so crazy to think. Christmas isn't that far off... YAY!!! lol... I can't wait.

Well, I can't think of anything else to say.

Pregnancys going good, life is going good, everything great!! lol

love my pooky!!!

xoxox

Amanda!!

(I was feeling colorful today!!! lol)

22 weeks 1 day... Midwife!!

Last Wednesday we met with the midwife for the first time. Paul and I both LOVED the midwife. Of course there are 4 midwives and I will rotate between them, but they all have the same philosophy. We are so excited about this.

I didn't really have time to ask all my questions because I had to meet Tom for lunch, but she answered most of them for me. Saying that they don't do episiotomies, pitocin, water breakage, etc. unless absolutely necessary. She did say that if I am at 3 cm for 7 hours and in active labor they may do pitocin (but I guess I can understand that). Oh yea, she said they don't even do IVs!!!! I was thrilled about that. They do require EFM for the first 20 minutes and then intermitten if you want (insurance reasons of course!). But I can labor in the shower or jacuzzi. Beaumont hasn't approved waterbirths yet, but they are currently trying to get them to.

It was really nice to have someone come in and speak to ME about ME. Paul and I walked out going "wow that was great". I've never had such a great doctors appointment before! It's definitly worth the drive in my opinion. Like I said, I didn't really ask many questions... she offered all the information as soon as she came in and started talking to us. It was great.

I'm going to call Beaumont for a hospital tour. And she gave us some info on birthing classes... We're thinking of maybe taking the Hypnobirthing. And of course we want to take the CPR classes available. It's been a couple years since I was certified and things change all the time, so I want to make sure we are up to date on that. Also the breastfeeding class as well.

My next appointment is on December 5th and I can't wait! lol... I'm just so excited about this! I have my glucose test next appointment. She gave me the orange stuff to drink before I get to my appointment on December 5th... Yummy! lol...

The Doula recommended some books and I am loving Gentle Birth Choices, The Thinking Womans Guide to Childbirth, and Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth. I just started Ina Mays book, but am loving the stories. Paul and I watched the Gentle Birth DVD and he started understanding more of what I am looking for.

I am feeling the baby move all the time (not so much the past couple of days though, I guess he's sleeping or resting!!). And have noticed that when I lay on my back that we can see my belly move. Paul doesn't have the patience to see it all the time, but he sees it sometimes. And says that he can't feel it from the outside yet. But I would think if you can see it move that you can feel it! But not according to him. Like I said though, he doesn't have the patience. He's like "There will be plenty of times when I feel it after it gets bigger" lol...

I am putting up some of our Christmas decorations today... It's totally time to do it. I had Paul bring all the tubs and bags up from the basement yesterday... All 4 tubs and 3 bags!!! lol.. He stood in the foyer and looking at it all shaking his head!! It was funny... I can't wait!!

Paul gets paid on Thursday and I'm going to do some major shopping. We are totally running our of everything... Lol!! It's gonna be a few hundred bucks, but we need it...

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week... that's so crazy. I am doing the ham, mac n cheese (homemade of course), a pumpking pie, and I found a recipe for a pumpkin cake... It sounds really yummy.. So I'm gonna be busy cooking Wednesday night and Thursday morning next week.

In a little over a month we'll be driving to Arkansas.. I feel so sorry for Paul... He's going to have to be in a car with me and stop everyone hour so I can stretch or pee... And we'll have Pebbles as well. Lol... We're still trying to figure out what to do with Mister while we're gone. We want to take him over to Beths but they are worried that Bronson will eat him (or he'll eat Bronson, that's the more believable option lol) or something LOL!!! I think they'll be fine together...

I can't believe I'm half way thro the pregnancy.. Even if the baby is two weeks late I only have 20 weeks left... It's crazy... It seems like it was just yesterday we found out we're pregnant... It's great. It's been such an easy pregnancy!!!

Sex has become akward... With the belly popping out and everything. I can't seem to find a position where I don't feel like we're squashing the baby... lol...

I've been having some hips problems... They get tingly on me and go numb, but it hurts almost... It's like a dull pain though. But totally sucks... My hips are always tingly... it's so weird... lol

But I love feeling the baby move.. It's so great to feel... Amazing really!!!

Well, I wrote a lot, and can't think of anything else to write. I wanna do a load of laundry, clean the kitchen, and get atleast one tub (or bag) of decorations out before Paul gets home.

(leaving with a pretty fall color for my text!!!)

Hired Doula and Fired Doctor!!! lol

Paul and I hired our Doula last night. We absolutely love her!!!! Paul is really happy we decided to hire her as well. I am so happy we decided to go with a Doula. This is going to be an amazing experience and I'm going to love experiencing it. She gave me a list of natural birth books I can read. I'm going to the library tomorrow to check some of them out.

The Doula gave me a list of questions to ask my doctor (Since we are planning to go all natural with NO interventions) to make sure she was on the same page as we are... and the doctor's NOT!!! Man is she not... I was so disappointed when i walked out of the doctors office Thursday. I'll post the questions the doula gave me (stars are questions I did ask) for ladies who want to ask their doctors. And I'll post my doctors answers...


If I write a birth plan, will it be honored? *
What is your cesarean rate? The hospitals cesarean rate? **
Does he/she require an IV? *
Does he/she require continuous fetal monitoring? *
Does he/she do rountine episiotomy? What is your episiotomy rate? **
What is his/her policy on using pitocin? What is your rate? **
What is his/her practice on stripping the membranes? *
How often and under what circumstances is forceps/vacuum delivery done?
Am I allowed to eat and drink in labor? *
Am I allowed to labor in the shower and/or tub? Have a water delivery? *
Is my partner and Doula allowed with me at all times? Including epidural placement and c-section? **
Is my parnter allowed to catch the baby? Cut the cord?
Does he/she perform Breech vaginal deliveries?
How does he/she handle long labor?
Does he/she support natural child birth? *
Is he/she open to mom's choices of position when it is time to push? *
Is it possible to wait awhile after birth before routine procedures are performed? *
can we wait for the cord to stop pulsating before we cut it?
Will I be able to breastfeed immediately? *
What is his/her view on circumcision?

Now here's my doctors answers to the questions I did ask her.

1.) If I write a birth plan will it be honored? She kinda hesitated at first and said "As much as possible".

2.) What is your C-Section rate? 25%

3.) Is an IV required? YES... she didn't even hesitate on this. I don't agree with this at all. When I asked why she said because if something goes wrong they don't want to be fumbling around to put in an IV...

4.) Do you require continuous fetal monitoring? As long as my water hasn't broken I won't need fetal monitoring and am free to walk around. But once my water breaks it is required.

5.) Episiotomy rate - 50% - 60% of first time moms (WHAAAAT?)

6.) Pitocin - As soon as I mentioned the word her eyes lit up and she was like "Yea I don't hesitate to use it if you're not progressing"... I got the feeling that she was pretty much saying "I'm ready to go home so give her some pitocin and get that kid out"... Wasn't happy.. I think she said about 85% to 90% of the time she uses pitocin!!!! No thank you!

6.) Stripping membranes - If I want it.

7.) I am not allowed to eat or drink anything other then water during labor.

8.) If the nurse says it's okay (and my water hasn't broken) I can labor in the tub or shower. But once my water breaks I can't.

9.) Doula and husband is allowed at all times except for C Sections. I would have to choose.

10.) Supporting natural child birth - As much as possible.

11.) Open to mothers choice of postions while pushing- Yes, unless one position isn't working after a while then she will move me to another position.

12.) Holding off on routine procedures for skin to skin contact and immediate breast feeding - She kinda danced around this one and ended up saying it was up to the pediatrician and if there weren't any complications. I don't think she was understand what I was asking though cause she made a comment on the nurses cleaning the baby. I tried to elaborate and she danced around and went back to pediatrician and nurses decision.

13.) Breastfeeding immediately - She danced around it, but in the end her answer was after the nurses do what they need to do then the nurse will hand me the baby.

I was not happy with ANY of her answers. Which is a shame because I really liked her personally. Plus she pretty much refused to another ultrasound until 32 weeks. And she said her partner has the same views and opinions as she does. So Paul called the insurance company to find out if mid wives are covered. AND THEY ARE!!! So we are going to start our search for a natural birth mid wife on Monday...

Wow this was such a downer!! Back to square one with finding a doctor. But that's fine, I have plenty of time!!

xoxoxo

Amanda!!

We registered on Oct. 20

On October 20 we registered at Babies R Us. It was so much fun!!! It took us like 2.5 hours but I had a blast, and Paul didn't seem to mind either. lol. He just followed me around and picked up things off the low shelves for me too look at (since I can't bend over).

I can't believe the amount of things we registered for. I think we had around 300 items and the lady that worked there said it was a small registry!

We bought a travel system!!! We got the Chicco Cortina Discovery. My one complaint that I'm going to have on it is the 5 point harness on the stroller... It's not an easy one. But I think I'll get used to it after a while, and it'll prolly "break in" as well. It took us about 10 minutes to get it out of the box and about 20 minutes to put it together... Instructions were pretty simple to see and read. Over all I LOOOOVEE it!!! Really easy to fold the stroller down and up one handed, easy to get the seat out of base and stroller and back in... It's great!! With tax it was around $300... lwhich is what you would spend buying a car seat and then a stroller...

We were going to go with Wendy Bellissimo's Honey Bee theme for the nursery (since we are going neutral cause SOMEONE wouldn't open their legs lol). But Paul saw a neutral one in the store that he really like and actually started getting excitd about it!!! When Paul gets excited about something I jump!! lol It's called Patchwork Pooh I think. I've always been a HUGE pooh fan, so this is perfect... but I was a lil sad to give up my honey bees!! But really like the pooh LOL... Oh the choices... See I had this all planned out when we thought we were going to know the sex!!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2546925

Oh, and we decided on furniture... And it's not Wendy Bellissimo like we originally thought, but we really like what we picked out. It's called the Ginger Ashford Collection by Simmons Juvenile Furniture. I just looked it up online and they dont have it... :(

Hmm let's see... what else... Oh we also registered for a Chicco Capri Stroller (umbrella stroller). Paul wanted a smaller stroller to keep in his car. It's bright red... But I figure if Paul's going to be seen with it in public okay!!! lol... I have mine and he has his! LOL..

Oh man, when they hand you that gun at the store to register... you feel this power surge go thro you!! lol.. It's great! lol

Well, I've come to terms with having a surprise... Actually Paul freaked a lil on me last weekend about not knowing the sex... I was kinda shocked!! lol.. It was cute, but I managed to calm him down!

I've got more to post but I'll do it in seperate posts cause it's so much. My next post is all about our Doula and my doctor.

Woo hoo!!! I'm 20 weeks today!! HALF WAY THERE!!!

Ultrasound 18 wks 6 days

Soooooooo we had would anatomy ultrasound yesterday mornin!!!

We went in so excited to find out the sex of the baby and after about 10 minutes of her looking she said that we would have to buy yellow because the babies ankles were crossed and she couldn't see anything.

She went on to do some of her measurements and then looked again. She still couldnt tell, so she told me to get up, walk around, pee and come back in. So I did. And this time the baby was sitting Indian Style and she still couldn't see!!!

Not only could she not see the gender, but the baby is positioned REALLLY low!!! To the point where babies head is behind my pelvic bone and hip bone... So she had a really hard time getting hear measurments and had to press really hard ON MY BONE to get her pictures and stuff... I am so sore today from all the pressure, and it was so painful...

So then I asked her "Should I stand on my head?!?!" lol... I was joking but she answered "I'm thinking about it"... Apparently the table I was on tilted, so she tilted it back to where I was almost standing on my head!!! lol.. That didn't work so she tilted the table the other way to where I was almost standing... Still didn't work. The baby wouldnt move out of my pelvis and wouldn't open its legs either!!! :(

When she looked to see the sex for the last time it's legs were completely closed at the knees!!! :(

I told Paul "If you ever had any doubts this kids yours, they were just shattered... This kid is so stubborn like you are and it's probably in there laughing at me, just like you are now" LOL!!!

I also told him "We're gonna have problems with this one" LOL
And the lady said "Well, I'm just glad it's living at your house and not mine" lol...

Paul says "What if it's a girl, and she's really pissed because we've been calling her a boy and Cooper for a while, so she decided to just keep her legs closed!!" (again that would be Paul - vengeful) lol

So now we are having a surprise!! lol...

We are thinking about going with the Wendy Belissimo Bumble Bee collection for the nursery.

http://www.wendybellissimo.com/products/product_detail.php?id=65

It's cute and pretty neutral... I like it...

We're thinking as far as clothes go, we'll get just the necessities to last us a week or two. And after the baby is born go on one helluva shopping spree!! lol.. Plus people will give us clothes for the baby as well.

The only way I could get another ultrasound (and insurance pay for it) is if there is a medical reason - the doctor thinks something is wrong. Or we could pay $300 for another ultrasound. Not going to do that!!! What if we pay the money and the kid still doesn't open it's legs?!!? I don't think so!! lol...

So my plan is to go into my doctors office next Friday crying, begging, pleading for another ultrasound... I've heard stories of the doctor saying "Okay we'll do another now, let's go" and the doctor looking really quickly to find out the sex... Hopefully that will be my doctor!!!

I have some questions for the doctor... Right now I'm worried about the baby being so low... I really want it to move up into my tummy for me. Cause it will get really painful with it's head in my pelvis...That's bones, they dont stretch!!! lol..

So I better get off here... I think that's everything that happened yesterday!!!

Let me do ups and downs real quick...

Downs -

1.) Not finding out the sex.... Stubborn ass baby... Gets that from his daddy (maybe a lil from me, but just a lil lol)

2.) Peeing - Becuase the baby is so low and still resting on my bladder, I'm still peeing every 45 minutes!!! Totally sucks!!

Ups -

1.) Feeling the baby move - I love the way that feels!!! Amazing!

2.) Food - I get to eat all the time!! lol and it's really yummy foods too!! lol...

Okay I'm off like a prom dress!!! More later!!!

Misters sore...

We found out on Saturday that Mister's "sore" turned out to be a tumor... Nothing serious from what I understand, but it would have kept growing if we hadn't removed it... Good thing we removed it!!!

Yay Mister!

18 weeks 1 day

I have the "big" ultrasound on Thursday!! Paul and I are so excited about this, and I've been having talks with the baby about opening it's legs so we can get a good look at what's in there!! lol...

Today I bought my first "baby thing" (other then wipes). I went into Childrens Place and bought these adorable newborn shoes... They are soooo cute!!!

I'm soooo excited... I think we found a Doula!! We have our interview set up next Tuesday... as far as I'm concerned it's just to sign the contract... In my opinion she already has the job. We talked on the phone for about 45 minutes today and I absolutely fell in love with her!!! YAY!!! It just makes it seem real... as if the growing bell and constipation weren't proof enough... This is the first time we've (DH and I) actually talked about the birth... It's soooo neat!! And so exciting!!

I started thinking about a Doula last week and thought it would be a great idea to have someone there who can support me and Paul... I know Paul will freak out a little and he really doesn't know what to do to help me so a Doula is a great way to help him as well...

Here's some Doula facts -


~Numerous clinical studies have found that a Doula's presence at a birth:

*Tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
*Reduces negative feelings about one's childbirth experience
*Reduces the need for pitocin (a labor inducing drug), forceps/vacuum extraction, and cesareans
*Reduces the mothers request for pain medication and/or epidurals

~Research shows parents who receive support can:

*Feel more secure and cared for
*Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics
*Have greater success with breastfeeding
*Have greater self-confidence
*Have less postpartum depression
*Have a lower incidence of abuse

I searched online today for over 3 hours, and made numerous phone calls trying to find a Doula. Jenny called me back about an hour after I called her. I immediately felt comfortable with her... and get this, she loves to talk just as much as I do!!! I had a hard time getting a word in edgewise... But I didn't mind... it wasn't annoying or anything... Shes very nice, personable, knowledgable, etc... So far I'm really happy with her, and all I've done is talk to her on the phone...

Right now the babies in there movin all around and kickin and stuff... It's such a neat thing...

Well, that's all I can think of for now... So I will write more when I think of it!!!

bye bye!!!

Poor Kitty :(

Our poor kitty has had a rough month....

It all started on a Sunday night when I noticed he had a sore on his belly about the size of a dime. I kinda forgot about the sore until Tuesday and then looked at it again. This time is was red, oozing, and very irritated. So first thing Wednesday morning I called the vet and they got him in that day (Sept 5th)

So the vet said it looked like a sore that he had licked and just rubbed raw. So they gave him a round of antibiotics and sent us home. That Friday the vet called to see how he was doing and I said he was still licking his sore. So they told me to bring him and they would put an E Collar on him. So I did. He had the collar on for a week. On Thursday night I took the collar off to see how he was doing (because the sore looked great) and of course he just opened it back up.

So on Friday back to the vet (Sept 21). At this point I noticed the sore almost 2 weeks ago. So the vet said that since he chewed it back open they would leave the collar on for 10 more days and do another check up (Oct 1st).

So on Oct 1st we took him back in. I thought the sore looked really good and was healing fine. The vet however disagreed and decided that they needed to cut the sore out. So Monday we left Mister at the vet and on Tuesday the 2nd the cut our his sore, nipple, and mammary gland (just to play it safe). They were originally going to just take the sore, but decided that if it was some kind of cancer it would go to the mammary gland and might as well take that too so they don't have to do another surgery if that's what it is.

Yesterday afternoon we got to pick the kitty up from the vet. I was so happy to see him and have him home. We've been keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't chew open his cut which is about 2.5 inches long. But so far he hasn't messed with it. They didn't put the collar on him because they don't thinkk he'll mess with it. But they gave me a collar just in case. So atleast I have something to put on him if necessary.

We're keeping an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't chew it open and so far so good. I'll take pictures and post them at another time.

Paul is on his way home... He's taking half a day today so he can work on the lawn some before they lay down the rest of the sod.

It was a nice suprise to know he was coming home early!!! Love him!!!

Poor kitty!!

Mandy

Baby Move 16wk1day

I think I felt the baby move this morning. I'm not sure if that's what it was though. It was like a little flutter on the left bellow my belly button. Felt a couple little (very faint) thumps. I've been laying really still trying to feel it again, and haven't had any luck. I know that it can take a few weeks to feel the baby move regularly. But now that I think I've felt it I don't want it to stop (if it's the baby I felt). I want to feel it all the time!!! lol...

I think I feel it again (every few minutes) but I dont know if that's "wishful thinking". Ya know, me making myself think I'm feeling something lol..

I just want to feel it allll the time!!!

I'm on too much of a baby high right now to do ups and downs... Will do later!!!

YAY!!!