Monday, November 8, 2010

No title

Should be basking in my late pregnancy glow.. surrounded by baby shower gifts, maternity ward tours and final nursery details.. but instead I’m heading toward the holiday season and my impending due date trying to figure out how to get my body to cooperate and get pregnant again. Just isnt fair!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Anniversary and Sports Weekend

I know that I haven’t blogged in awhile and that’s mostly because I haven’t had much to say. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to London and it was a great experience, both professionally and personally. It actually allowed me to gain a lot of perspective about how very blessed and lucky I am.


Today, however, I am in mourning over a very terrible sports day yesterday. I started the day thinking how awesome it was that both the Rangers and the Cowboys were actually competing for viewership on the tvs all across the D/FW metroplex, but the day ended horribly when they BOTH LOST. The Rangers have one more game to close this out with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and they must do this so as not to fall victim to the curse of the “potential sweep”.

Lastly, and most importantly I must say Happy Anniversary to my husband. Two years ago I stood in front of our closest family and friends on a beautiful beach and pledged to love you forever, through the good times and the bad. Most recently the times have definitely been more bad than good but I can promise you that I love you more today than the day I married you. You are my everything. You make it hard to leave in the morning and you make it easy to come home at night. Thank you for being my best friend as well as my husband. I love you Jason with all my heart!!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Scentsy Catalog Party

I’m sure most everybody has heard, seen or even purchased some Scentsy products. Many months ago my best friend, Catherine, became an Independent Consultant for the Scentsy line of products and I have been promising her since the beginning that I would host a party. However, with everything that has gone on as of late I just haven’t been able to make it a priority so I thought that I would help her out by doing the next best thing, hosting a Scentsy catalog party. Please access my catalog party by going to the following link- https://catherineyates.scentsy.us/Home and selecting my party link from the lower left side of the webpage. I’d appreciate any purchase, big or small. Thanks and let me know if you have any questions.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Headed over the pond

Hi there! I have been swamped this week preparing to head over to London, but I have only been swamped with the work side of this trip. It is Friday morning and I still don’t have a single thing packed. In fact I actually don’t even have my suitcase out yet either. I guess I’ll get to that tonight or tomorrow morning. In fact, I still have a fairly lengthy list of things that I need to buy before I can even start to pack. I’ll get there. I’ll be leaving Dallas Saturday evening around 7:30pm and arriving in London Sunday morning, about 10:30am. I am going to try and fit some tourist activities into the trip; however my primary focus will be work. I am going to see the Tower of London on Sunday and I am also going to check out Buckingham Palace and a few other palaces while I am there. I contemplated going to Stonehenge and I still might; however it is approximately 1 ½ hours from London. I return to Texas the following Saturday afternoon. I ask all of you to say a little prayer that I have safe travels.

There are still many of you that inquire daily as to how I am doing and I am very grateful for your concern. I still think about Ethan many times each day and I still mourn the fact that we will never get to know him here on Earth, but each day brings me a bit more peace that this just simply is the plan for us, the perfect plan for us. I know that the time will come when I can look back on this time and everything that happened and know that we are better off for this. My chief concern right now is getting me physically healthy again so that Jason and I can start trying to conceive again.

On to other things… anybody that knows me really well knows that I am a blog-oholic. I have many, many blogs that I follow and read weekly; however I have taken a serious break from all those blogs lately as most of the blogs I follow were about pregnant women or women with young babies. I did take a minute last night though and catch up on a few of my favorite blogs and I came across a story that touched me more than anything I have heard in a long time. It is about a young woman that after many miscarriages, including a loss at 21 weeks (exactly how far along I was when we lost Ethan), who finally delivered a healthy baby boy in early September. ONE VERY SHORT WEEK after birthing her baby boy Matthew, she passed away in her sleep from some unknown heart issue. The really touching part of the story is that a campaign has now been mobilized to provide this Dad and his baby boy Matthew with breast milk for the next year. It was this mother’s dream to be able to breastfeed her child someday and although she is no longer here, young mothers across the nation are spending time pumping, storing and shipping their breast milk across the country so that this young mother’s dream is realized, even if she isn’t here. Here are a few links to the stories- http://mycharmingkids.net/2010/09/the-post-in-which-i-ask-you-for-your-breastmilk/, http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/blogger-helps-with-breast-milk-sept-16-2010. I know that most of us do not have any breast milk to provide; however if everyone could take just a few minutes and lift this little family up in prayer. I CAN NOT imagine what that would be like to go through something so terrible and even with everything that has happened to us over the last 6-8 weeks at least I still have Jason here with me and I am very thankful for that. This new Dad finally has realized his dream of having a baby, but it is without his partner and best friend next to him.

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and hopefully the next post will be full of some pictures of London. Chow!

Friday, September 10, 2010

John 8:12

"He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Thursday, September 9, 2010

It's been a week

It’s been about a week so I thought I would post an update. I’m starting to feel better, although I still have my moments. Once such moment came yesterday when the funeral home called to say that Ethan’s ashes would be ready to pick up in the next day or so. When a man and wife dream of the days they’ll spend with their children, this particular activity isn’t something you ever hope you have to face. But here we are. I’ve really spent a lot of time over the last two weeks thinking of all the wonderful blessings that I DO have in my life. Focusing on these things helps me to stay grounded and thankful, rather than sad and bitter. From the moment that all this started I have fervently prayed that my heart wouldn’t become bitter because I have always prided myself on the fact that I’m a “glass half-full” kind of person. I won’t pretend or suggest that hearing about pregnant women around me doesn’t leave me momentarily sad or jealous, because of course it does. And I probably even allow myself a quick question of why? Why did they deserve to have their baby grow whole in their bellies, while my baby wasn’t allowed such favor? But I quickly remind myself that Ethan is whole, healthy and happy. He just happens to not be here with us anymore.

Anyway, on to happier subjects. Who is ready for some football? I know I am. It is a valuable distraction for me right now, because hands down, it is my most favorite time of the year. High school, College or NFL.. I don’t care, just as long as it is football, I am happy. The camaraderie and pageantry is exponentially better with college football, especially Aggie football, but over the last 4-5 years I can’t discount the enjoyment I get when the Cowboys win!!! Today, with it being the first day of the NFL season, I am even thrilled to be watching the New Orleans/Minnesota game.

I leave for London in just over a week and I am not prepared yet at all. I did order a new coat for the trip though, so that is a good thing. I also purchased some warm “business casual” attire because I have gotten spoiled over the last year since I can practically wear my PJs to work every day if I wanted to. Several people have asked if I am excited about the trip and the resounding answer right now is NO! I am not excited about leaving my husband for that long. We aren’t the type of couple that spends all that much time apart (insert gagging sound here!). The fact is that when we discussed it we couldn’t recount a time over the last 5-6 years when we have been apart for this long, but I know that professionally it is a great opportunity for me so I know that when the time is upon me I will indeed be excited.

Till next time! Go Cowboys and Ags Beat the Hell out of Louisiana Tech!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Absurdity of it all

I got a new cell phone last Friday before I went into the hospital. My other one had broken in 3 places, including a piece off the bottom that I lost completely, which exposed the inner-workings of my phone. The final kicker was that I am leaving for London in about 2 weeks for work and my phone would not work overseas. With everything that I was going through, the thought that I could be over there with no easy or convenient way to talk or text Jason made me break out in cold sweats, so it was time I upgraded my phone. I went into the AT&T store and luckily I had an upgrade available to me; however when you start talking “world” phones, your options become a bit limited. My options were the new Blackberry Torch, iPhone or the Samsung Captivate Galaxy S. All three are smart phones and all three have touch screens. Up to this point I have vehemently been against touch screens because I have fingernails and they make that whole touch screen thing much more difficult but I was sad and really didn’t care much about the phone I was choosing. I simply had to have a phone that would work in London. It basically came down to my husband. He told me that the BB Torch was getting horrible reviews and he detests iPhones, so I went with the Samsung Captivate Galaxy S. Upon setting up my new phone I turned my text to predictive text which means that over time it will “learn” my most commonly used words and prompt me with these when I start typing in an attempt to make my message creation much more efficient. I just went to create a text message to a friend and in the course of ONE text message I got prompted with the three following words: cremate, placenta and headstone. The absurdity that these three words would even be typed into my phone EVER, much less be deemed as “common” by my phone’s operating system is so morose and depressing that I had to chuckle a bit. Here’s to hoping that next week is a lot better than the previous week has been. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend!

-“If God brings you to it- He will bring you through it!”

Poem

Thought of you and closed my eyes
And prayed to God today
I asked "What makes a Mother?"
And I know I heard Him say.

"A Mother has a baby"
This we know is true
"But God can you be a Mother,
When your baby's not with you?"

"Yes, you can," He replied
With confidence in His voice
"I give many women babies,
When they leave is not their choice.


Some I send for a lifetime,
And others for the day.
And some I send to feel your womb,
But there's no need to stay."

"I just don't understand this God
I want my baby to be here."
He took a deep breath and cleared His throat,
And then I saw the tear.

"I wish I could show you,
What your child is doing today.
If you could see your child's smile,
With all the other children and say...

'We go to Earth to learn our lessons,
Of love and life and fear.
My Mommy loved me oh so much,
I got to come strait here.

I feel so lucky to have a Mom,
Who had so much love for me.
I learned my lessons very quickly,
My Mommy set me free.

I miss my Mommy oh so much,
But I visit her every day.
When she goes to sleep,
On her pillow's where I lay

I stroke her hair and kiss her cheek,
And whisper in her ear.
Mommy don't be sad today,
I'm your baby and I'm here.'

"So you see my dear sweet ones,
your children are okay.
Your babies are born here in My home,
And this is where they'll stay.
They'll wait for you with Me,
Until your lesson's through.
And on the day that you come home
they'll be at the gates for you.

So now you see what makes a Mother,
It's the feeling in your heart
it's the love you had so much of
Right from the very start

Though some on earth may not realize,
you are a Mother.
Until their time is done.
They'll be up here with Me one day
and know that you are the best one!"

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Update on Jason and I

I won’t be sending anymore emails alerting anyone that I’ve updated my blog, so if you wish to continue checking on Jason and I then you’ll just need to periodically come back and visit our blog. I do plan to continue to blog, even though it’s original intended purpose, my pregnancy, doesn’t exist anymore. I’m sure that most of you know what transpired over the last weekend and I really have no desire to rehash any of the specifics, but suffice it to say that it sucked and that is putting it mildly. Physically, I guess that it went as well as can be expected. I am recovering as expected and although not pleasant, it could be worse I suppose. Emotionally, I would say that it isn’t even a day by day thing, but really a minute by minute situation. I might feel ok one minute and 5 minutes later I might be full of despair. I suppose this is normal, but I hope and pray that each day it gets a bit easier. That is the only thing I can hold on to right now. It’s certainly the hardest and most difficult thing that Jason and I have ever had to endure. We hope that someday soon we can look back and find some positives or silver lining from all this pain we feel right now. I promise my blogs from now on won’t be completely dark and gloomy, but unfortunately that’s all I feel right now. Hopefully, there are sunnier days ahead. Jason and I are determined to forge ahead and find happiness again. Thank you to all of you that have sent us emails, flowers, text messages, phone calls, thoughts and prayers over the last month or so. They are all greatly appreciated and we are so thankful that we have such loving and supportive friends and family.

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." -Mother Teresa

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Another quick update

Another quick update: I know, two posts in one day, but I had to tell everybody about something that just happened. I can’t even convey in words what a miracle yesterday was but to truly exemplify this I have to tell everybody that Dr Seligman just called me this morning. Yes, you heard me right, the Dr, MY Dr personally called me. He started out the conversation by saying that he hoped I was able to sleep a bit better last night. He went on to say that he had received my medical records from Dr Magee’s office and that he reviewed them last night and found nothing there that alarmed him or wasn’t something other than what we had already discussed yesterday. He finished up by saying that he would get tomorrow’s MRI results, review them with Dr Goldaber and called me as soon as possible.

Update on Baby Ethan

I’ve been meaning to update my blog; however every time I go to do so I think that I’ll wait a few days longer in the hopes I’ll have more information. At this rate, sticking to that logic, I quite possibly might not have been able to update this blog again until Ethan is at least 18 years old. I say that in jest but it has been a very frustrating time of hurry up and wait. Let me rewind a few days and give you an update on the MRI we had last Wednesday. Everything with the MRI went smoothly. Dr Magee’s office called me Thursday afternoon and told me that they wouldn’t have the results until Friday at the earliest. I was obviously very anxious so late in the day I called the Baylor radiology film lab and they told me that they would have a copy of my report ready first thing Friday morning. Jason and I go over there together Friday around 11am to pick up the report and attempting to decipher all the medical jargon was a bit harder than I expected; however the last line was the most important- “Dandy Walker not strongly suggested”. This is important because DW is certainly the worst case scenario. The incidence of babies that are born with DW is 1:25,000- that puts it at about only .004% of babies born in the US every year are born with Dandy Walker. This is primarily due to the fact that a large portion of babies with this affliction either pass away in utero or are terminated by the parents because of the tragic prognosis it presents for the unborn baby. So anyway, Dr Magee’s office calls me late Friday afternoon, not knowing that I now have a copy of this report myself, and tell me that yes, it appears that it isnt DW, sure this is good, but we still want you to do this follow up MRI with Dr Rollins on Sept 2nd. That is basically all his nurse told me. I was obviously still relieved that this apparently wasn’t DW so I didn’t think about their response much. As the weekend wore on I gradually got more and more upset. By the time that this next Fetal MRI rolled around on September 2nd, it will have been almost 4 WEEKS since I have seen or spoken to my doctor. This, from a doctor that just two weeks ago was working with such a sense of urgency. I became very frustrated with the lack of communication so I decided on Sunday that I would call around first thing Monday morning and search for a doctor that would be willing to give me a second opinion. This too, proved to be more difficult than I expected. The first issue is that in the entire D/FW metroplex there appears to be less than 25 doctors that specialize in Maternal & Fetal Medicine (perinatologists) and none of them will bring you in for an appointment without a referral from your OB. I repeatedly called my OBs office Monday to try and get that referral for a second opinion; however they weren’t willing to comply with my request. They felt like Dr Magee was doing what was expected of him and that I was getting the best care possible. I was incensed that any doctor thought it was acceptable to let 4 weeks pass before talking to a patient that was carrying a baby with a potentially fatal condition. I have heard nothing from either doctor and even the nurses are not responsive. Everything seems to require 2 or 3 calls to their office before they respond. They aren’t telling me what this all could be, if not DW, but they weren’t telling me that I could kick back and relax either. My biggest issue is that they weren’t telling me ANYTHING. I felt like my hands were tied but I still felt strongly that I needed a second opinion so I decided that I would call another OB that I have used in the past to at least get his opinion on what is going on. He is in the Arlington area and is an older gentlemen with a huge practice , meaning he has TONS of experience. In the limited times that I had to visit with him in my earlier non-child bearing years he also came across as very much an arrogant, straight shooter. That is exactly what I needed and wanted right now. I will mention really quickly that he is also a die-hard Aggie. Anyway, so Jason and I had this appt with Dr Seligman yesterday. It didn’t start off well when our original appointment was at 11am and at 12:30pm they told us that they would have to push all our appointments back because he got pulled into an emergency at the hospital. Anybody that knows Jason knows that after sitting there in the lobby for the first 1 ½ hours he wasn’t starting off with a great first impression of Dr Seligman. Let me tell you that that all changed once we started our visit with him. I told him what had been going on and what we had been put through. He immediately got us back in to see his sonographer who did an ultrasound. The fluid in the back of Ethan’s brain is still there, but the good news is that it doesn’t seem to be getting worse. Then Dr Seligman got on the phone and tracked down the perinatologist (Dr Goldaber) that he refers his patients to. He ran down our history and the earlier MRI findings to him and asked him how he would have Dr Seligman proceed if I opted to change the remainder of my maternity care to him. Dr Goldaber suggested that I go to UT Southwestern to get a follow MRI done. He gave Dr Seligman the phone number and name of the person to call at UTSW to get it scheduled and suggested Dr Seligman use his name to get me in more quickly. Dr Seligman immediately sat me down with his Office Coordinator and had her call and get the appointment scheduled. They didn’t send me home and tell me that they’ll call me later once the appointment is scheduled, which seems to be the process for other doctors. In fact, Dr Seligman told me that I could not leave until Debbie had the appointment scheduled and I had everything I needed. The MRI appointment at UTSW is scheduled for Thursday morning at 9am. Dr Seligman also scheduled me for a follow up appointment with him next Wednesday; however he assured me that I would hear from him before then. In fact, he said that if the doctors at UTSW told me that they could give my doctor a verbal review of the MRI ahead of the written report that I should call his office and let them know. He said he would call over to UTSW and get the verbal results and call me as soon as possible. Considering the day that he had already had, he was attentive and listened to all my concerns and questions. I can’t tell you what a blessing it was yesterday to have someone in the medical profession listen to Jason and I and understand the hell that we have been through. I know without a doubt that this is the where the rest of my maternity care should reside. Dr Seligman said that its likely I would have to meet with Dr Goldaber through the remainder of the pregnancy and he warned me that he is a typical “pain in the ass”, academic doctor. LOL! But he also told me don’t worry, we will use Dr Goldaber only for what he has between his ears and that he would be responsible for all the warm and fuzzy stuff. Dr Seligman said that he hopes within the next week we are able to collect all of this information and allow me to kick my feet up and enjoy some of this pregnancy. This too, is what we are praying for, but right now I am so thankful for the events that transpired yesterday. It truly was nothing short of a miracle in of itself. Dr Seligman’s office called me yesterday evening and told me that my insurance company was putting our request for another MRI through a review that takes 48-72 hours and unfortunately that might require that Thursday’s MRI appointment be rescheduled; however just two minutes ago I received a call from the doctor’s office that the insurance has called back and that I don’t require a pre-certification after all. We are all clear. So I guess that is all the information I have at this time. I apologize for the long update; however there has been a LOT going on. I ask for your continued prayers for our family and Baby Ethan’s brain. I really feel confident that within the next week, possibly sooner, we will have a clear understanding of what is going on and what the plan for the remainder of the pregnancy is. This is the first time in a few weeks that I feel confident of where we are and hopeful for what is to come.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Now we wait

MRI was done this morning at 11am. The MRI tech said that my verbal results would be available for my doctor immediately as the Dr/Radiologist read them as the images were being taken; however my guess is that my Dr will not call me until he receives the written report. The Radiologist will dictate the report this afternoon, review it and then send it over to my doctor. I am hoping that we hear something tomorrow, but Friday at the latest.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Update on Baby Ethan

I know there are a lot of people that have been following what is going on with us so I wanted to do a new post on my blog to provide everyone an update. We got the results of the amnio today and they were all clean. Basically this means that Jason and I together are not producing some genetic abnormality that is causing this excess fluid they saw in Baby Ethan’s brain. This is good news because this ensures that any future baby will have no increased risk of having this happen again. This is very good news. In addition to giving me the amnio results they were also calling me to inform me that our appointment for our Fetal MRI had been set for September 2nd. I immediately freaked out and became very upset. Jason freaked out. I pleaded with her and even asked her to understand what this is like for me, to have my baby’s future hang in the balance of the results of this test. This meant that we still had more than 2 weeks of pure torture ahead of us before we had any idea where the situation currently stood. We called back and basically demanded that they find us someplace else that could get us in sooner. The nurse insisted that my Dr really wanted me to use this specific radiologist; however she was on vacation until Sept 2nd. There was just no way that I could put my life and my pregnancy on hold for another 2 weeks. The nurse called back after speaking to Dr Magee and said “well if you really can’t wait until Sept 2nd, then I’ll see if I can get you in at Baylor because we can easily share films with them”. She called me back not 30 minutes later with an appointment for 11am tomorrow. Valerie, Dr. Magee’s nurse told me that it will still take a few days for us to get the results, but it will be a lot sooner than the original September 2nd date. Apparently the radiologist will do the scan, write their report and then send that report over to Dr. Magee’s office and Valerie will call me with the results. My sincere hope is that we get a final diagnosis by the close of business on Friday. That gives the radiologist and my dr’s office 2 ½ days to get everything done. All along I have felt as if I can handle any diagnosis, even the worst diagnosis, better than the despair that I feel right now in our current state of complete unknown. We are still praying for a miracle in Baby Ethan’s little brain and I thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. I feel blessed to know that we have such a loving and supportive group of family and friends. I ask that you continue those prayers for a few more days as we await the results of our MRI. I will update my blog again as soon as we know something from the scan.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Update on me

A friend asked me how I was doing today....
I think Im doing pretty well considering the news we got this week. Its hard to refocus my energy because all the blogs I read, all the plans Ive been making, all my projects and ideas over the last 4 months have been about this baby and right now I cant do any of those things. Instead of doing all of those things Im really trying to do anything and everything to forget Im pregnant, not embrace it. I hate the thought of wearing maternity clothes right now but this morning I couldn’t resist the urge to listen to his little heartbeat. Im doing all these things I think as my own preparation for the worst possible news. I have moments and let me tell you they are fleeting, but there are moments that I think maybe his brain will turn out to be perfect on this next MRI, but I don’t allow myself to go there much. Don’t get me wrong, I pray every day, multiple times a day for that very thing, but mostly right now I’m praying for strength, faith, hope, and acceptance of whatever it is to come. Hopefully, next week will start to bring us closer to a resolution. We should get the amnio results sometime next week and also get our MRI appt set up. Both of those things will really help me to see there is an end in sight.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

No Title

I don’t think that it is a coincidence that just a few hours before I went to the doctor Monday morning, when everything still was seemingly perfect, I posted that biblical verse below that is now something I grasp on to as my life line. Certainly the last 4 days have been the darkest days of my life, and even though there is nothing even close to a resolution or conclusion, I am at least starting to feel some since of light at the end of the tunnel. Every day I will start to feel a bit better. I still have lots of moments ahead of me where I want to do nothing but lie in bed and cry, but I have to get up and forge ahead. Even though this is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with, I am still so blessed. My husband has been amazing and I love him even more now and I didn’t even think that was possible. I have a wonderful, supporting circle of friends and family that love Jason and I so much that they are praying as hard as we are that there is somehow a miracle in baby Ethan’s little brain. I have a wonderful job that I love, which right now provides the best distraction I could ask for. This job provides a good life for Jason, myself and Ally. It means that we are able to have a nice home and we never have to wonder if there is food to eat or want for any of the other necessities. Even if the absolute worst scenario related to this comes to fruition, then there are still so many things for me to be thankful for. God has a plan for me, for us and everything we are going through is exactly what he has deemed is correct and perfect for us even though right now it feels like the worst hell that we could imagine. Jason and I are strong and we will get through this. Two weeks seems like a very long time right now, but in the scheme of things, it’s just a blip on the radar. One way or another, this “should” all be over in two weeks. Two weeks…. that’s all! Counting down the hours and minutes as each day that passes!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Hope!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~ Roman 15:13

Friday, August 6, 2010

Meet Brutis!

We have a bit of a role reversal in our house in doggie land. We have Toby, our 7 lb yorkie that you would expect to be our lap dog and then we have Brutis, which is our 45lb Blue Lacy that you would expect would be our independent, self reliant, active puppy dog. Instead we have Toby that goes in and out the doggie door at least 500 times during the day, loves his scratch time but isnt a cuddler and PREFERS to sleep at the end of the bed far away from us. Then you have Brutis, who would rather lye on our bed ALL day long and insists that not only does he have to sleep very close to Jason and I but also has to be sleeping ON one of us. Most mornings Jason and I wake up and Brutis is wedged in between us, laying vertically as if he is a human, with his head on the pillow right up on Jason or I’s shoulder. The other morning I went in the bedroom and Brutis had his head wedged completely underneath Jason’s chin and then this morning I woke up and my back was killing me because I spent all night sleeping on my back. Brutis had draped his entire body over me during the night so it was impossible for me to move after that. Now, it all works out fine right now because I have a small belly; however Brutis will likely get booted from the bed when my belly starts to invade the space that he usually sleeps. He is such a sweet guy though that I can’t bear to kick him out until it’s completely necessary. Blogworld, meet Brutis, our 45lb lap dog!!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

18 Weeks!!

How Far Along? 18weeks

Size of baby: The size of a sweet potato

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 1 lbs

Maternity Clothes: My non-maternity pants no longer fit, but all my non-maternity tops are still fine.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Nope, nothing yet!

What I miss: Nothing at this point, Im loving being pregnant! But I will say that this might be changing soon as my feet are getting a bit more difficult to get to! LOL!

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: I am getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom at least once!

What I am looking forward to: Drs appointment on Monday, August 9th- I'll get to see baby Ethan one more time!

Baby Ramey’s Progress

You're gaining weight and your baby is too, weighing over 5 ounces (.14 kg), and measuring more than 5 inches (13 cm) in length. What an adorable pair you are! Baby's rapid growth period is beginning to slow down, but his or her facial features are starting to form. Your baby can now yawn, frown, smile, and make other facial expressions. Taste buds have developed, and your baby can sense bitter from sweet, and swallowing reflexes are now present. He or she may even start getting the hiccups! Because baby's eyes are still developing, they're very sensitive. If a light is shined onto your belly, your baby might flinch and try to cover his or her face.

Your Body This Week

Now that your uterus is about the size of a cantaloupe, you may begin to experience backaches. A shift in your center of gravity (upward and outward), along with increased hormone production, can cause some joints to loosen. As a result, you're more prone to twisting your ankles or wrists, so take care when exercising. Your heart is working about 50% harder now, so don't be surprised if you feel a bit out of breath.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

London!!!

Oh and there was a bit of news that I forgot all about… I’m going to London for work in September. I’m leaving September 18th and I will be gone a week. I’ll be 24-25 weeks pregnant but my OB is ok with me traveling at that point. I’ve never been so I’m very excited about the trip.

Major Catch Up Post!

Whew! So much has happened since I last blogged, I don’t even know where to start. We went on vacation to Crystal Beach and although the weather didn’t cooperate with us 100% of the time we still had a great time. We walked on the beach, sunned on the beach, went to the Big Store (pretty much the only store on the island), cooked yummy meals, ate out once, slept in, took naps. It was awesome. We loved our beach house and would love to return again with another couple or two. It’s a perfect set up for that.



I also became an Aunt since I’ve last blogged, which is very exciting. Baby Bryson was born on July 29, 2010 at 5:07pm and he weighed 8lbs 8oz and is 21 inches long. He is super cute and I can’t wait to spend more time with him. Everybody says he looks like my brother. Right now he just looks like a baby to me. LOL!


And regarding OUR baby, since I have last blogged we have received confirmation that he is a boy. Baby Ethan seemed to be doing well and had a great heartbeat around 146bpm. We are super excited to be having a little boy. Now all the baby shopping can begin! I really haven’t bought much. Jason and I did pick out and buy our stroller system yesterday, but I haven’t bought anything else. No clothes, no blankets, no burp cloths, nothing! It’s surprising for the people that know me the best. I think Jason just wanted to get the stroller system purchase out of the way so that he didn’t have to hear about it anymore from me! LOL! He is a smart man then because he saved himself at least 100 conversations between now and December if we had waited that long to purchase it. Hehe! We also got the swing we wanted! I found a great deal on the one that we wanted and so Ethan’s Grandma Jo (Jason’s mom) graciously gifted that to us! We are so thankful and I just love it! Of course Ally and I had to put it together as soon as we got it!! I included pictures below of both the big items we have gotten lately! In other baby news, or should I say Baby Mama news, I feel like Im carrying around fat suit on my body all of a sudden. You’ll have to wait until Thursday for that though. Ill post my 18wk update and belly picture then. Whew! I think we’re all caught up now!!!



Thursday, July 22, 2010

16 Weeks- 4 Months!


How Far Along? 16 weeks

Size of baby: The size of an avocado

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +/- 1 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I did start wearing a pair of maternity jeans last week, Ive only worn them twice, but I will say they are far, far more comfortable than my regular ones!!

Gender: Hopefully we find out Saturday, July 24th!

Movement: Nope, nothing yet!

What I miss: Nothing at this point, Im loving being pregnant!

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: I am getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom at least once!

What I am looking forward to: Gender ultrasound in 2 days!

Baby Ramey’s Progress

Your baby is on the move, and you may start to feel it! Your baby weighs almost three ounces (.08 kg) and is close to 5 inches (13 cm) in length. As this week begins your baby has fingernails, and the hair on his or her head is starting to grow. Although baby's brain is still tiny, it is beginning to send signals to muscles that allow arms and legs to begin moving. The motion, called "quickening" can be slight or more robust, but don't be alarmed if you don't feel it this week--you will soon enough.

Your Body This Week

Your uterus has grown significantly by now, weighing close to 9 ounces (.25 kg). If you're starting to experience what feels like flutters or butterflies in your stomach, relax--it's just your baby moving. Around this time, you may experience some nosebleeds or bulging veins in your legs. This is because the volume of blood in your body has been increasing, which stresses your small capillaries and other vessels. How about some good news? Your uterus has shifted a bit so you may no longer feel the need to urinate as often.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Thursday, July 15, 2010

15 Weeks!


How Far Along? 15 weeks

Size of baby: The size of an orange

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +/- 1 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet, but my pants are getting a bit more snug!

Gender: Still too early, I’m certainly still thinking boy! August 9th is the big day, less than a month.

Movement: Still too early!

What I miss: Wine!

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: Very Tired!

What I am looking forward to: Going home to visit my Mom this weekend and August 9th when we will get confirmation that Im right, and we are Team BLUE!

Baby Ramey’s Progress
Your baby is growing, and it's just starting to show on you! By the end of this week your baby will be about the size of a grapefruit--but SO much sweeter! While baby's little ears are almost in place, the eyes are still far apart. Baby's tiny body is also covered in a fine coating of hair known as lanugo. Most of this "peach fuzz" will be shed around the time of birth. The growth spurt continues and your baby's skeleton is staring to really take shape. The bones are hardening and beginning to retain calcium, so it's vital that you continue to eat low-fat dairy products. Your baby will thank you!

Your Body This Week
You should begin to feel a bit of a tummy bulge now, about 3 to 4 inches below your belly button, but other people probably won't notice unless you are wearing a swimsuit. If you're not already a side-sleeper, this is a good time to begin. Lying on your back can create pressure on blood vessels and block circulation to your baby, while stomach sleeping can compress your uterus. Side sleeping is optimal for baby-and probably more comfortable for you, too!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Crazy Pregnant Lady! Enter hormonal mood swing here!

Everybody that knows me knows that I am a fairly conscientious eater. You might not look at me and think so but trust me, TRUST ME, if I ate everything I really wanted to on this 5 ft 2in frame, I would be as round as a beach ball. That being said, I generally just prefer foods that are good for me. I don’t eat cheeseburgers, fried chicken, mashed potatoes or heavy pastas. I’d rather have black beans, brown rice and veggies. However, I could eat my body weight in pizza, French fries, my Mom’s chicken fried steak and oatmeal raisin cookies. The point is that I simply refrain most of the time. When we have to go through McD’s and Jason orders a Big Mac, I order a grilled chicken wrap. When we go to IHOP and Jason orders a French Toast slam, I order turkey bacon, wheat toast and fruit. When Jason insists that we go to our favorite hibachi place, Jason has steak and fried rice, while I have shrimp, no rice and veggies. I say all this because here I am almost 15 weeks pregnant (14wk 6d) and even pregnant I have been conscientious. I’ve been exercising, drinking tons of water, eating my normal diet of black beans, brown rice and veggies and it has paid off. I have only gained 1lb up to this point. I haven’t bought into the idea that I’m eating for two. However, (enter high pitched, loud voice here) after saying all this, if being pregnant means I can let go, even just a little bit and eat a few things that are normally off limits to me, then damnit, I’m going to do that! That just MIGHT mean that I have an oatmeal raisin cookie every few days and holy cow (GASP!) I might even have a bowl of ice cream. Furthermore, it *might* mean that I throw caution to the wind this weekend and have at LEAST 2 PIG IN THE BLANKETS!!!! I DON’T CARE! I am allowing myself to do that, because I have at least 5 months of fatigue, aches, pains, and sleep-less nights ahead of me.. so Im going to take the liberty to a few things that are completely off limits to me normally and I feel just fine about that!!!! By the way: I wrote this entire email while I was snacking on a sugar cookie from the Nestle Tollhouse stand in the mall that I have NEVER visited before…. AND I got an oatmeal raisin cookie for later too!!! Bahahahahahaha!

Monday, July 12, 2010

3rd Doctor's Appt!

Quick update on the doctor’s appointment. There isn’t much to say as I was literally in the office for only about 20 mins; however I have to get all the notables put down while they’re fresh in my mind. I’m using this blog to store all the facts about my pregnancy that I will surely forget the further into I get. I also ordered a book that hopefully I can use to document some of this info as well. Anyway, they first checked my weight and I’ve gained a total of 1lb at this point in the pregnancy (Woohoo!) and the baby’s heartbeat was 143bpm. That is significantly slower than it was last time. Dr. Ehmer said that sounded like a boy’s heartbeat, but he always says those things in jest because he puts absolutely no stock in the old wives’ tale that heartbeat can predict gender. I originally had a private ultrasound scheduled to find out whether our little peanut was a little girl or little boy before my regular 18wk doctor’s appointment, but I think I’ve decided now that I’m going to cancel it. August 9th, will be my next doctor’s appointment and they have scheduled me for a sonogram so I think I’ll just wait for that. It’s just that when I say August 9th, that still seems very close so I have decided to just wait. I’ll save the private ultrasound appt for when the baby is 25-30wks along and I can get a really cool 3d/4d sono done. This weekend I am headed home to attend a baby shower on Friday night and to see my Mom. Looking forward to it! I hope my family can survive a few days without me. LOL!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

14 Weeks!


How Far Along? 14 weeks


Size of baby: 4 inches long, the size of a lemon

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +/- 0 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet, but my pants are getting a bit more snug!

Gender: Still too early, I’m certainly still thinking boy!

Movement: Still too early!

What I miss: Wine!

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: Very Tired!

What I am looking forward to: Next Drs appointment, Monday, July 12th

Baby Ramey’s Progress
Your baby is hitting a real growth spurt now, growing to between 3.25 inches and 4 inches (10 cm) in length and weighing easily one ounce. There's no more hiding your pregnancy now--you're definitely showing!

Your Body This Week
During this week your baby's ears will move higher up the side of the head into a more normal position, while the eyes will begin centering on the middle of the face. Your baby's chin is no longer resting on his or her chest, as neck muscles continue to grow and support the head. The genitals also continue to develop, although there is still a good chance of mistaking the sex of your baby

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

July 4th Weekend and Exciting Things to Come!

We had a great weekend. I got lots done and we spent some quality time with some friends. We spent the 4th at Lone Star Park, which made Jason very happy, because he loves their fireworks display. It worked out really well actually because although we didn’t have Ally that evening, her Mom and Grandma ended coming out on their own for the fireworks so we saw them as well. Yesterday Jason and I got to spend some quality time together doing very little except watching almost a whole season of Californication on dvd. It was great. I needed the rest. Our beach vacation is less than 3 weeks away and we are both already counting down the days until we leave. We both are very much looking forward to the rest and relaxation. There are so many exciting things going on. The time is also approaching when Baby Bryson will be here. I can’t believe it and I can’t wait to meet the little guy. His aunt is very excited to meet him.

Nursery Post!

’ve said this before, I know, but I have finally found what I was looking for in regards to a baby’s room. I am not creative at all, which is a little surprising considering my mom is so creative, very crafty and just overall much more talented.. ME? That gene skipped right over me. I’m a neurotic, Type A, planner type of person. Creativity and I don’t even belong in the same sentence; however I’ve had in my head what I wanted the room to look like. I knew that I really, really wanted green walls. Boy or girl, I wanted green walls. I never used to think green was my favorite color, but it must be because I am attracted to all things green, including clothes and house wares. Anyway, so I knew that I had to keep looking on these nursery design websites until I found my vision laid out in someone else’s house or at least something that would get me half way there. Then my Mom could carry me the rest of the way. But lo and behold, just an hour before I was leaving work on Friday I found what I was looking for. Pictures below.





The really amazing thing is that the website I found this on included details.. LOTS of details.. paint BRAND AND COLORS.. websites for the artwork.. even the bedding website. It couldn’t have worked out better actually. Oh wait, it could, the nursery I found was listed under the “Budget” section!! Cha ching! I hit the jackpot, so to speak. The whole room, including furniture was done for $1k. That is something that sings to this penny pinching, cheap, coupon cutter’s heart.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

13 Weeks!

I let it go a week before posting again and I didn’t intend to; however I have been super busy and really, really tired. We had a great weekend last weekend and I got to have lunch with some great girls and their daughters. It was awesome! This weekend is going to be just as great, because it’s a LONG weekend and we all love that. It sounds like Jason, myself and some friends will be out baking for the 4th at Lone Star Park. They have a great fireworks show and Im going to set myself up with a shade tent, blankets and a cooler full of cold beverages to keep me hydrated!! I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend as well. Onto the 13 week update!


How Far Along? 13 weeks

Size of baby: 3 inches long, the size of a peach

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +/- 0 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet

Gender: Still too early, Im certainly still thinking boy!

Movement: Still too early, but I have to start watching for it because I hear that I could start feeling it anytime now!

What I miss: Diet coke and Coors Light

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: Very Tired!

What I am looking forward to: Gender ultrasound- July 24th!

Baby Ramey's Progress
The growth of your baby's head will slow down now as body growth accelerates, allowing for more proportional development. The eyes will move from the side of the head towards the middle of the face, while the ears will lie flat against the skull. And finally, your baby's secret is revealed! Genitals are developing and an ultrasound may be able to tell you if it's a boy or a girl, but most women don't have an ultrasound until 20 weeks. Your baby's intestines will also begin to move up from the umbilical cord into the abdomen. If it doesn't the condition (called omphalocele), which occurs in 1 in 10,000 babies, is usually correctable via surgery after birth.

Your Body This Week
Your weight gain will definitely begin to show, but your tummy may only be bulging a little bit, resembling a soft, smooth ball. Your breasts continue to grow and may also feel "lumpy" as glands and milk ducts begin to form. Veins frequently become visible just under the skin as the weight of your breasts increases. Before pregnancy your breasts weigh about 7 ounces each. At the end of pregnancy, they can weigh as much as 28 ounces each.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

12 Weeks!



How Far Along? 12 weeks


Size of baby: 2.5 inches long, the size of a plum

Total Weight Gain/Loss: - 2 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet

Gender: Still too early, Im certainly still thinking boy!

Movement: Still too early, but I have to start watching for it because I hear that I could
start feeling it anytime now!

What I miss: Diet coke and Coors Light
Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: Very Tired!

What I am looking forward to: Gender ultrasound- August 9th!

Baby Ramey's Progress
The growth spurt continues! Baby's weight is between .01 and .015 kg (0.33 and 0.5 ounces) and he or she is at least 2.5 inches (6 cm) long. At this point, length is a better indication of growth development than weight, so that's the measurement you need to pay attention to.
Most basic body structures are already formed, so from this point forward it's a matter of growth. By now, your baby's heart is beating and you can hear it via an ultra-sensitive Doppler ultrasound. Bones are starting to form, fingers and toes are separating, and nails are continuing to grow. Tufts of hair may even be starting to form! Your baby's brain is also at work, with the pituitary gland churning out hormones as the nervous system continues to develop. The amount of amniotic fluid is also on the rise, increasing to about 1.5 ounces. Your baby continues to move, but you still can't feel it.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Baby Bedding Again!


I hosted a baby shower a couple of weeks ago and the nice lady that allowed us to have it at her house had just purchased her own baby bedding and I fell in love with it! It isnt "themed", which I LOVE and it fits my green requirement as well! You can click on the picture to get a better view! They also have one in pink and green paisley should this be a girl, but I know that wont be the case!!! LOL! What do you guys think?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

2nd Ultrasound!!


I had my much awaited 2nd ultrasound appointment yesterday and I am happy to report that everything went perfect. The baby is measuring about 5.5cm and is looking to be around 12wks. The heartbeat was 160bpm. It (He!) was moving all around and I even saw the 5 fingers and toes. It was really quite awesome! Ill post again Thursday when I will hit the 12wk mark!!!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

11 weeks today!



How Far Along? 11 weeks

Size of baby: 2 inches long, the size of a lime

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 1.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet

Gender: Still too early, Im certainly still thinking boy!

Movement: Still too early

What I miss: Diet coke and Coors Light

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: Very Tired!

What I am looking forward to: next ultrasound on June 21st- just 3 days away!!!

Update on Baby Ramey’s Progress


Baby's now the size of a lime!
Your little one's heart has been beating furiously for weeks, but it's only just become loud enough for your health care provider to hear with a special listening device called a Doppler. You'll be able to hear it too! A fetus's heart beats twice as fast as yours, anywhere between 120 to 140 beats per minute. (Don't worry if your provider can't pick up the beat yet. Your fetus may be lying in a position that muffles the sound.) If you're like many women, hearing the rapid thump-thump of your little one's heart will be your favorite part of the prenatal visits. In addition to perfecting its beat, the heart has become a proper four-chambered structure over the past month, although some of the dividing walls won't be complete until after birth.

Skin is in. A fine layer of skin has been forming over the fetus's body during the past few weeks. Now, a specialized layer develops into what will become the fingernails and toenails.
Measuring up. Your little one has grown quite a bit since last week—the crown-to-rump length is just over 2 inches. The fetus's head alone is nearly half the length of the body, which shows you how rapidly the brain is growing. Genius in the making!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Catching up

Hi there blog world. Sorry it’s been so long since a post but we were gone for quite a few days to St. Louis and then when we got back it was mass chaos trying to get caught up both at home and at work. Then the very next weekend after we returned I threw a shower for my friend, Michele. Whew! It was a lot of fun, but glad it is over!!!

Had my 2nd Drs appointment yesterday and as expected, it was very uneventful. They weighed me, took my urine, took my blood pressure and did a heartbeat check using a fetal Doppler. He was able to find the baby’s heartbeat pretty quickly and it was 164bpm, which the old wives’ tale says is a girl, but I’m still completely convinced it is a boy. Next appointment is next Monday where I will actually go to a different doctor and they will do a Level II ultrasound to perform the NT test. I’m excited to see the little peanut again.

I’ll be 11 weeks on Thursday and I’ll do another update post, maybe even an updated belly picture. I haven’t decided how often I’ll do those!
Thankfully, this weekend we don’t have a bunch of plans and I’d like to keep it that way.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

10wks Today... made it to the double digits!!

I can't believe Im doing this, but Im even going to add a 10wk belly picture! Yikes!


How Far Along? 10 weeks
Size of baby: 1 ½ inches long, the size of a prune

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +/- 0 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not yet

Gender: Still too early, Im certainly still thinking boy!

Movement: Still too early

What I miss: Diet coke and Coors Light

Sleep: Sleep VERY WELL!

Symptoms: very, very bloated, tired all the time and hungry!!!

What I am looking forward to: next ultrasound on June 21st!!!


Update on Baby Ramey’s Progress
Baby's now the size of a prune!
With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will start working too.)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

By the way!

By the way, grape jelly is still tops on my list when it comes to food choices!! Yummy! I've had it every morning for the last two weeks or so on an english muffin with a piece of turkey bacon!!!

Long weekend, short week!

We had a long, fun-filled holiday weekend, only to be followed by this short, extra- short week that is quite harried. It is a bit chaotic because we leave tomorrow, TOMORROW, to head to St. Louis. I’m definitely thrilled about my upcoming 5 DAYS off from work, but it is coming WAY too fast and I have way too much to do!!! I have to make lists for my brother so that my doggies are well taken care of, have to wash one load of clothes, have to pack Jason and I’s clothes and can’t forget to pack my snack bag. This pregnant lady needs snacks!! Very important!

Back to this pregnancy thing- as of right now I’m almost 9 weeks pregnant and still very anxious to get to 10 weeks. I have my next doctor’s appointment June 14th and I anticipate it will be pretty uneventful, but 10 weeks marks several things. First, it means that I could “possibly” hear the baby’s heartbeat on a Doppler and second, it means that I could take the Intelligender test. Jason will not be happy about either of these things. He has already told me no on both accounts, but I haven’t really been too interested in convincing him yet. When I do that, I’m confident he will understand my need (lunacy!)!!! LOL!

No doubt our trip to St. Louis will be complete with lots of activities. It seems we don’t slow down very much while we’re there, but I am determined to get at least a bit of R&R while we’re there. I definitely won’t go hungry. Jason has lists of eateries that he can’t wait to have- White Castle and Imo’s are tops on the list. For me, the likely highlight, outside of seeing the famil will be that this trip will likely signify the first time I'll buy anything for this little baby. I see red, St. Louis Cardinals onesies in our future! I probably wont be back with more updates until we get back from Missouri, which won’t be until next Tuesday but when I return, Ill be almost 10 weeks!!! Yeah! Until then!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

A Little Early? I Dont Care.. Im a Planner!

Baby Bedding that I LOVE.. yes, its Boy baby bedding, but Im pretty certain thats what this little peanut is.. so Im going with that. Good thing Jason likes boats!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

One Month Ago Today...

Today is one month from the day I took and received my first positive HPT! One month down, many, many more to go. It’s really quite amazing though how quickly my life has changed in that month. My diet has shifted drastically as I’ve had to say Adios to my limitless supply of Diet Cokes, Coors Light, Chardonnay, lunch meat, GOAT CHEESE, salt, did I say Coors Light already? Oh yeah, guess I did. I’ve also had to give up running and my Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred workout DVD. Anyway, now my focus is on eating well-balanced (i.e. BORING) meals, getting lots of rest and figuring out how to get in meaningful, but low impact exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, or at least not complaining very much! I am beyond excited and happily will make any and all lifestyle adjustments to ensure that we get a happy, healthy baby Boy here in the next 7 or so months. I can’t forget to mention that one of the biggest changes in my life is that my husband has now taken up gaming. Yes, you’ve heard it right. He sits in our game room with a headset on talking smack to 12 yr old boys and babbling about what a “bad ass” kill that was. I don’t EVEN know what that all means, I am simply repeating. You see, we used to spend a lot of time away from home when I was not with child and could partake in adult beverages but now we are home more often so it was necessary for him to find another outlet for his time. I guess talking crap to 12 yr old boys isn’t as bad as other alternatives. Hehe!

On another note, I’m headed out with a bunch of girls on Thursday night (GASP!, I know, alert the presses, Pregnant Woman is going out on a “school night”) to see the premiere of Sex In the City and although it might not be the Eclipse premiere, I am still quite excited. I actually am also a closet 80’s horror movie fanatic too so I really want to see the remake of the Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Jason doesn’t seem to be all that interested. Guess I’ll have to wait until it comes out on NetFlix.
Ok, that’s all for now! 9 more days until vacation!!!!!

Monday, May 24, 2010

I am very GRATEFUL the weekend is over!!

Who thought I would ever say that, but it is true. This weekend WORE me out. Saturday I was running and gunning from 7:00am until late, late Saturday night. Sunday I woke up with a really sore back and I felt like I hadn’t slept in weeks. I was so tired all day Sunday but I still had things to get done so I had to go to the grocery store and wash clothes. The shower Saturday went well. One down, two to go. Michele’s shower will be Saturday, June 12th. That also happens to the weekend immediately following our trip to St. Louis so it will be a busy couple of weeks. That’s ok by me though, because I’m just really anxious to get past the 12 week marker. Sheesh, I’m still even really tired today too and tomorrow I have to attend a happy hour for work. The upcoming long weekend and my days off for our trip to STL can NOT come soon enough. One kinda cool thing to note this week though is that I think I am having my first pregnancy-related cravings. When I went to the store yesterday my two purchases that were priority #1 were grape jelly and pimento cheese. Weird, huh? I had an English muffin just a bit ago with all-fruit grape jelly and it was AMAZING!

Hope everyone have a great weekend. Hopefully later this week I’ll have a bit more energy and can write about some baby items that I’ve started looking (er, obsessing) over.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Busy, busy weekend!

Today I’m 7 weeks along and only 5 more weeks to go until I’m onto my second trimester. I’ll be happy when that comes around as the risk of miscarriage dramatically decreases after that time. At 7 weeks our baby is the size of a blueberry and is beginning to develop his arms and legs. Amazing that something the size of a blueberry could wreak this much havoc on me. Still no major morning sickness to speak of, but I am hungry ALL THE TIME! I also wear out much quicker. Speaking of…

I have so much to do today and tomorrow. I have family coming in because tomorrow is Bryson’s baby shower. That’s my brother and Ashley’s impending bundle of joy. So much to do, so little time but it’ll be a good time for everyone. I hope she gets some cool baby stuff for me to ooooh and ahhh over since Jason won’t let me buy any baby stuff of our own!

So I’ll have about a week to recover from all the excitement of this weekend and then I’ll have to start planning next weekend for our trip to STL to see Jason’s family. We’re leaving Thursday after work and driving through the night, so hopefully Ally and I will get to sleep most of the way. I am a little nervous about riding in the car for that long of a period of time and the prospect that right now I have to go the ladies room a bit (meaning a LOT) more than I did in my pre-pregnancy state.

Well I’m hungry again so I have to go rummage up some breakfast. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Brutis has been saved!

Brutis, our beautiful, but destructive Blue Lacy decided that he thought it was a good idea to tear up about 6-12 inches of our new carpet…… new carpet that isn’t EVEN 2 WEEKS OLD! Needless to say this resulted in my first pregnancy meltdown. As I bent down to start cleaning up his mess of carpet pieces and carpet padding I start to bawl. I don’t mean just a slow trickle of tears, I mean, sobbing! I proceeded to cry most of the rest of the night. I should say that I’m not a big crier and I don’t cry that often. I’m not even sure what I was crying about… the carpet, the prospect of Jason sending Brutis to the pound, something completely unrelated or maybe I was crying for no reason at all! But nonetheless I spent the whole evening crying. Jason really did want to send Brutis to the pound. In his defense he did at least want to send him to a no-kill shelter. PETA would approve of that! Anyway, I did manage to spare Brutis and convince Jason to let us keep him so I saved the shelter from having to feed another dog, I saved Brutis from a life spent eating ‘Ol Roy, (GOD Forbid!) and I earned myself a whole lot more difficult doggie walks. Oh well! He’s a sweet dog, he’ll get better, one of these day! I hope!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

First Dr's Appointment!

I’m warning you, this just might be a long post. First things first, we went to the doctor on Monday and everything went great. I was measuring 6wks3d on Monday. We got to see and hear the heartbeat, that was really, really cool. The heartbeat was normal at around 127bpm, but the sonographer said that was on the slower side so she is already predicting a BOY. Well let me tell you, Jason immediately groaned and told me that we were giving it back if it’s a BOY. Not sure who he thinks we would give it “back” to, but that’s what he said. Im thinking the sonographer is right and I am officially putting my guess in as Boy. Hey, I figure it would be cool to at least carry on the Ramey name; this is probably the last chance. But ok, here comes the part where you will pity me. If we had a Boy, Jason’s name choices are Raymond or Calvin. Seriously? Ray Ramey? Gross, sounds like a pedophile or a greasy truck mechanic. Jason is convinced it sounds like a professional baseball player but whatever. Calvin Ramey? Cal Ramey? Uuugghh NO! Paw paw and I’s pick is Jackson. Jason hates it. Anyway, since we have seen the heartbeat I am feeling a teensy, weensy bit anxious to buy something for this baby, ANYTHING, I don’t care! Jason, not so much. He thinks I’m crazy, which I’m sure is not the last time he will think that during this pregnancy. Let’s see, people ask me how I feel. Jason will tell you that I am hungry and tired all the time and I guess he is right. I’m usually asleep by 9:30 and I wake up about 5:00am STARVING! Right now I’m craving a grilled cheese with ketchup! Yummy!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010





Yes! As I had to explain to my dear husband, that little blue stick that says PREGNANT, does mean I’m Pregnant and yes, I suppose that does mean you have Michael Phelps like swimmers because this trying to make a baby thing only took about 4 months. Either way, that little test is what brings us here. As I told my Mom I’m not sure that I have much to contribute to the blogging world but at the insistence of my Mother-in-law and her desire to know ALL about this pregnancy, I figure a blog will be the easiest way to keep everyone updated. I actually should really let Jason author this blog as he is far wittier than I am.


Today seems to be as good of a time as any considering that today marks the beginning of Week 6.





I’m a neurotic planning busy body that can only sit still when Jason absolutely makes me, usually because he wants me to scratch him or something. Yes, he is inordinately pre-occupied with having his head scratched. Anyway, I digress. Being the neurotic planning busy body that I am I already have visions of baby nurseries, strollers, baby items, furniture, etc that I think I will need or want, mostly want, so Ill use this blog to post all my ideas here. Maybe Ill even post a few polls on the gender or potential names. Some of the naming game has already been done by Jason and I but a lot of that depends on whether this is a Boy or Girl so we shall see.

 Next Monday is my first Drs appointment and I will not be comfortable or entirely excited until that day comes. I’ll be almost 7 weeks by then so if everything is ok I should be able to see the gestational sac and the heartbeat. After seeing that is when this will all really start to sink in! I can’t wait to show the first pictures of her baby brother or baby sister to Ally! She will be thrilled. Needless to say she is only interested in having a little sister at the moment so I told her Id do what I could for her, but considering the luck her Daddy has, we better start preparing for a little boy!


Until next time!