Happy Halloween

Baby Peanut Update

Well, I am in month 8 already!! I can't believe it!! Baby Peanut is now the size of a honeydew. And let me tell you this.....she feels like the size of a honeydew or even a watermelon.

Things are going great here, and I am now seeing my doctor weekly to monitor my progress. I headed in on Tuesday for my appointment and a scheduled non-stress test. For those of you who don't know much about a non-stress test, it is a test to check on fetal movement and heart rate for 20-30 minutes. They stick two monitors on your belly and give you a little button to push everytime the baby moves. I laid there for about 7 or 8 minutes and she never moved. Little Peanut was sound asleep, therefore the nurse practitioner came in stuck this loud vibrating instrument on my stomach and woke her up.......actually she scared her to death. Her heart rate jumped from about 135 to 175. Poor baby!!!

The machine prints out this pretty little report. The top line is baby movement and the bottom line is uterine activity. It was pretty interesting to watch while I laid there, having horrible heartburn, for 25 minutes. The great news is that Baby Peanut is doing really welll!!!! They said she "looks fabulous"!

So as I was there, I signed all my paperwork for my c-section. We are scheduled for November 30th. At that point I will be 39 weeks and 2 days, so I am very nervous that I am going to go into labor before that!! We would do it the week before, but it is Thanksgiving and my doctor is out of town.

When signing all my paperwork, I was informed of all the new hospital policies that are now in place due to the H1N1 virus. No children under the age of 15 are allowed to visit any of the patients. Yes, that means Macy. I almost started crying right there on the spot. Jeremy and I had already told her that she would be the first to see the baby. We were planning on really making her a part of sister's first few days. Also, they advised keeping visitors to a minimum for the sake of our newborn baby, other newborn babies, and all of the recovering mothers.

Therefore, we are requesting that visitors wait until we are at home and out of the hospital setting before coming to visit. We understand that it is difficult to not visit a cuddly little newborn right away, but we would rather not risk the health of her or the other babies. The good thing is, we will be at our home in 2-3 days following her birth, and will have all the hand sanitizer needed for visitors. Don't worry, we will post pictures as soon as she comes!!!

What A Post!!!

MckMama's post was very strong tonight. Take some time to read it!

http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/10/marriage-submitting-forgiveness-and.html

Such A Fall Kind Of Day!!!!

Other than waiting in line for 3 hours for the H1N1 shot, we had a fabulous weekend! Today was a day full of fall festivities....well as much as my 35 week pregnant body could handle. A few weeks ago, we headed to the pumpkin patch for a wagon ride and pumpkin picking....we finally carved the pumpkin today! Macy had a great time choosing the shapes and sized of her pumpkin's features. It turned out really cute!



We also made some cut-out Halloween cookies and decorated them with sprinkles. I think Macy ate more sprinkles than she added to the cookies!

To our surprise, we also had a cute fuzzy visitor today, who kept us outside for a goood 30 minutes watching! This fox has been traveling around our neighborhood for weeks now. About 2 weeks ago, I caught it running down the center of our road, turned and headed down the center of another road. Today I first discovered it in a neighbors yard who lives on the other side of the pond from us. It was so cute!!!

Oh yeah......Macy picked me a flower! She loves her Mama!!!

Jobs You Could Never Do

Numerous times when we are riding in the car, Jeremy and I find ourselves talking about the weirdest things. One of our topics...."jobs you could never do". For fun, we started brainstorming some jobs that those closest to us could never do. Here is what we came up with:

My mother-in-law, Lisa, could never be a bus driver. Restroom stops every "15 minutes" don't come in the job description.

My dad, Dick, could never do any job that entails using heavy machinery. How many severed limbs can a person have in one lifetime?????

My sister-in-law, Jessica, could never be a zookeeper. She would too quickly add to her collection of animals that she has had over the past few years.....like her skunk, bearded dragon, cat, dog, chinchilla, snakes, etc.

I could never be a circus performer. Have I ever mentioned my childish fear of clowns?

My father-in-law, Mark, could never be a lifeguard. Let's just say a job that requires someone to take their socks off just isn't going to work for him. I wonder....does he sleep in his socks???

My brother, Corey, could never be a manicurist...nor would he want to. Corey has this thing about long nails and nail files. I used to love tormenting him by using my nail file!

My mom, Kelli, could never be a professional basketball player. Seriously, this tiny little lady has got to be 4'10" and shrinking. She, of course, would say otherwise.

Jeremy could never be a treasure hunter. Honestly, I don't think he could find a treasure (or the tuna in the cabinet) if it had a flashing light and horn on it!

And last but not least is our adorable little Macy. Now, bless her heart and her scratchy "trach" voice, but this little beauty could NEVER be a contestant on American Idol. If you don't believe us, see for yourself!

Baby Kind of Weekend!

Well, we dedicated our weekend to getting ready for this baby! Not only is her room almost completely finished, but we have also been getting all of her baby equipment ready to go and finishing up on some last minute details.

We thought that one thing that would help Macy with the transition into big sisterhood would be for her to make something for her little sister. Therefore we took her to our favorite Pottery Shop and let her paint a switch plate for her sister's bedroom. She had tons of fun!!!!

On Saturday, Peaunt's proud Mamaw, Papaw, and Aunt Jessica held a "sprinkle" shower for her. A "sprinkle" shower replenishes the small things that were all used up by Macy. It was a lot of fun attending a baby shower for one of my babies....this was my first. Yes, I never was able to attend any of my showers for Macy due to being on bed rest. Jeremy was the lucky one who got to go get his belly measured :)

Anyway, we not only got to spend time with friends and family that we love, but we also got a lot of nice things! We then spent most of yesterday washing all of her new things, like hats, washclothes, towels, clothes, etc.

What a great weekend!!!

We Have One Big Baby!

Toward the end of my pregnancy, the specialist wanted to see me again to check fetal movement and see just how well the baby was doing. Therefore I headed to Dr. Platt on Wednesday. I had no idea that I was going to be having an ultrasound and get to see my little angel! So needless to say, I was very excited when they said I was having one.

They did a biophysical profile. A biophysical profile checks the baby's breathing, gross motor movements, fine motor movements, and my fluid level. During the ultrasound, I asked how big they thought she might be since I have been measuring around 2 weeks ahead. She did all the measurements (head, belly, femurs, etc). Are you ready for this???? This little girl is 4lbs 10 oz!!! That is 1 lb larger than Macy was at birth!!!! She is the size that Macy was when we brought Macy home from the hospital at 39 days old! Best of all, my fluid and her movements were perfect!

So, not only did we get a picture to verify that she is, in fact, a girl, but we also got 3 other pictures of her. I decided to spare her the embarrassment of showing her hoo hoo on the internet, and decided just to put the other 3 pics for your viewing pleasure. Is it just me, or does her face look chubby already????

Safety 101

Today Macy and I headed to Riley Hospital for some lab work. I like to have her labs drawn before our appointments so that I can discuss the results when the doctor during the appointment....therefore, we will be back there tomorrow for our metabolism appointment with Dr. Hainline.

Macy was such a trooper. She was telling the nurse all about her baby sister....until they stuck her with the needle. That is when the tears came. Luckily, she calmed down before the blood test was over. I was really proud of her considering it's been 6 months since our last set of labs! To be honest, I was picturing a thrashing, screaming 3 year old....and me with my large baby belly trying to hold on to her. Not a pretty picture! I am so happy she proved me wrong.

Anyway, after the lab work, I promised her a "shake milk" if she was brave. So we headed to the McDonald's in the hospital lobby area. That is when I saw it! The greatest store on earth! For those of you who don't know....I am a safety freak!

Honestly, there are people who are probably worse than me, but I can get pretty bad. I refuse to use bumper pads in the crib. I refuse to allow my babies sleep with a blanket until they are at least 2 1/2 years old. I will not use a bassinet in my home unless it has breathable sides. I am never without my baby monitor during nap time. I have childproof handles on my household doors. You get the point.

Okay...back to the "greatest store on earth".......Riley Hospital Safety Store. It is full of all of the safety equipment you could want. They have cabinet locks, applicance locks, tub spout covers, safety gates, window cord wraps, etc. I was so excited because I have been searching for a childproof lock for my sliding glass door. The door is opened quite a bit in order to let Tucker out, so I don't want anything that is hassle. I just want something Macy can't figure out, reach, or that her little hands won't let her unlock. With all the stuff they had in this magnificient store, they had NOTHING for a sliding glass door. Any ideas?????

Anyway, here are some pictures from this fantastic store. If you live in the Indy area, stop by and check it out. Not only do they have lots of items in the store, but they have workers who specialize in safety!

New Poll!

Check out the new poll on the side bar!!!

When will Baby Girl Peanut arrive?????? Wouldn't we all like to know! I am hoping later than sooner!

Here is some background from my first pregnancy. At 28 weeks, I started swelling. I was hospitalized at 31 weeks due to pre-ecplampsia (extremely high blood pressure). I remained on bed rest at the hospital until I gave birth to Macy at 34 weeks. Macy weighed in at 3 lbs 11 ounces and was 15 1/4 inches long.

I have currently completed 31 weeks and am starting my 32nd week with this pregnancy. If I do not go into labor prior to 39 weeks, my doctor will be scheduling a c-section for that next week (the week after Thanksgiving).

So, that leaves a very big question.....when will Baby Girl Peanut arrive??????

Macy and the Nurse

Jeremy took Macy to the doctor's office last Friday to have them check her ears, once again, for an ear infection. I swear this child has been continually sick since mid August!! Anyway, as the nurse was check them in she said.....

Nurse: "So Macy, I hear you are going to have a baby sister. Are you excited?"

Macy: "Yes", with a nod.

Nurse: "What are you going to do with your baby sister?"

Macy: "My baby sister is going to drink milk from my mom's boobs."

What an unexpected conversation....it left the nurse laughing in shock, and Dad embarrassed and stuttering!

Well, I guess Macy got the whole breastfeeding concept I explained to her! I'm happy to know she learns quickly!