For those of you tracking Me and Owen on here, and in our photo gallery - to simplify our lives, we’ve moved over to http://www.andthatmakesthree.shutterfly.com
This site is going to be going away by the end of the year, so please move on over to the new site and get your baby fix! If you need the password to the site, send me an email and I’ll get it to you. If you don’t have my email, you can leave a comment on this message with your email address and I’ll make sure to get you in the loop.
Posted on May 20th, 2009 by deek7997
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Well, mommy has been busy taking care of me, so I thought I’d help her out and take over writing in her blog for her. It has been a very busy eight weeks since I came along. I’ve been doing all sorts of learning and growing - not to mention eating, sleeping and pooping. Mommy and Daddy keep saying that I’m a big boy and that I love to eat, and its true. All I have to do to get some nice grub is cry a certain cry and they come along with my dinner. I drink about five or six ounces at a time, then get burped. Sometimes I’ll stay awake and play after eating, but sometimes all that eating makes me tired, so I lay down and take a nap. I like naps because mommy or daddy cuddle me close and talk and sing to me while I drift off.
I am learning a lot. I know what mommy looks like, and I know what daddy looks like, and they both make me smile when I see them. They have a game they like to play with my lips. They wiggle their fingers on them and sing songs or make beep and boop noises. I think its silly and have to laugh when they do it. That’s one of my favorite silly things they do. I also have an activity mat with bright colors that I get down and play on and a swing that has animals over it that I can swing in and look around while in there. Oh, and my blue cow is a very comfy place to lay down and take naps on. Another thing that I’ve learned is that bath time is fun! I get to take a bath every other day or so, and the water is warm and there are lots of bubbles. Daddy likes to pile the bubbles on my head and giggle while Mommy holds me and lets me splash her with the water. The last bath I had I got to lay on Mommy’s leg and kick my legs and slap the water with my hands. Mommy calls me a frog, but I keep reminding her that I’m a baby.
Last week there were a lot of changes. Mommy had to go back to a place called work and took me to a new place she calls Daycare. To me it seems like a new place with more people to cuddle and coo over me. My teacher, Miss Joanie loves me and thinks I am soft and cuddly. They told Mommy I was an easy baby and am so content. I’m not sure what that means, but it made Mommy smile and she stopped crying everyday when she took me there. So I get to play with my friends and sleep during the day, then Mommy picks me up and cuddles me some more before we go home and Daddy takes me and cuddles me and gives me my dinner. We play after that and I get a bath, then its time for bed.
Well, it’s time for me to have another bottle, so I’m going to go ahead and go now, I’ll tell you all about more things I learn soon. Just wait till I tell you about all the bright lights that I get to look at!
Posted on January 10th, 2009 by deek7997
Filed under: Life in General | 1 Comment »
Yes, that’s right, I am alive after giving birth to that wonderful and beautiful baby boy pictured down below. And before I go any further and people think I am not a good mommy taking pictures at every juncture, we have a photo gallery linked on the side of the page that has pictures of Owen and Chris and I.
Now, on with the story.
Monday November 17th started out very early for me. At about 4 am I woke up thinking that it was just a routine potty break and I’d be heading back to bed. I started to get back in bed and felt achy. It let up, and I crawled back in bed and tossed and turned for about 5 or 10 minutes, slightly drifting off at one point to wake up again. At about 4:30 I decided to get up again and pace. Pacing didn’t help, neither did the spoonful of peanut butter I grabbed on one of my many trips around the downstairs. 5 am came and I figured that I might be feeling the starting of labor, so I did the only logical thing… I took a shower and got dressed.
About half way through the shower I decided that it was contractions since they were regular and getting more intense. After the shower I debated a bit more about how long I needed to wait, and at 5:45 I woke Chris up by saying, “Hon, I believe that I’m in labor, and if you want to clean up, you might want to go ahead and get up and do so.” He woke up pretty instantly at that statement, asked me what I was feeling, how far apart, how intense - the answer to the last part of the question was me growling out hold on as I experienced another contraction. He hopped out of bed and I paced the house some more and packed up some things I wanted to take to the hospital.
At 6am I called my mom and dad and woke them up telling them that we were probably heading to the hospital because I thought I was in labor. Mom asked me what I was feeling, and I explained it, and she said yep, that’s labor. She asked me how far apart the contractions were, and I had to confess to not owning a watch and not having a clock that wasn’t digital. She got hers out and I told her when one started and when it ended, and then when the next one started. They were about 2 minutes apart. She asked me what the doctor said, and I fessed up that I hadn’t called the doctor yet - they weren’t open. She told me to get off the phone and call, and she and Daddy would pack up and head towards Alabama.
I called the doctor’s line, and the call service said the doctor on call would call me back. When I told him how far along I was, and the contraction times, he said to go to the hospital. I told Chris everything and then we started packing up the car to go, looking for one item that seems to have disappeared, when I finally looked over at Chris and said “Okay, we need to go. Now.” I wasn’t able to walk off the contractions anymore and only Hoover leaning up next to me on the ottoman gave any relief.
The ride to the hospital was uneventful, and when we got up to the labor and delivery floor, things got interesting. The pain was getting progressively more intense, and there was a family out in the waiting room with several young kids waiting for their baby brother to be born. So there I am with kids watching me as I go through a labor pain - and I do my best not to let on that it is painful, but when Chris turns me around I tell him I’ve got to get some sort of relief. I had been in the waiting room for 20 minutes at this point and I was near the point of tears. For distractions, I was sending text messages to people to tell them I was in labor. We talked to the desk lady, and there was some confusion on her part… she thought I was there for an induction. She called the nurse again, and that’s when I finally got put into a room. They couldn’t give me anything till forms were signed, and I was checked. My OB came walking in when the nurse was getting ready to check me and I think thought I was reacting to braxton hicks contractions since when she checked on Friday, I was only 1 cm dilated. She checked, said I was 6 cm, and fully effaced, and I was going to have this boy today. Then she said I could have drugs.
I wanted to wait to just the epidural, but there was no telling how long it was going to be, so I got a narcotic shot and something for the nausea. Once we got the paperwork done, the epi wasn’t long in coming, and I wished I had waited on the pain relief… course that could have just been my memory at that time. It was about 9ish at this time and when the epidural got put in, I was able to enjoy life again. Chris had called his mom and told her that we were at the hospital and we were going to be parents before the end of the day. Jane got a sub and headed over to the hospital and I called my parents to give them a status update as well. Chris talked to my sister and told her, and then it was time to wait. GG came to the hospital with Connor and they kept us company until my doctor came in and checked me again and said that I was ready to start pushing. We hung out a bit more, called my parents again and they were in Decatur. We all thought they’d just miss it… boy were we wrong.
My sister had both her boys very easy, light on the pushing and poof, pretty baby. GG had 4 sets of contractions and Connor was in her arms. Well, once again I have to do things my own way… after an hour and a half of pushing, I had a beautiful son placed in my arms. We got to say hi and I love you, and they wisked him over to get cleaned up and to get me fixed up. They told me they were calling down a NICU nurse to check Owen since his breathing seemed a bit labored. They took him up to the NICU area where Mom, Dad, Beth - who had all got in from Arkansas, and Jane and Chris all got to go up there and visit him. I was stuck in the bed recovering. They moved us up to the Mother and Baby ward and an hour or so later I was holding my sweet boy. He is the most precious thing in the world… not that I’m biased or anything.
Tuesday had more time staring at our beautiful son and Chris and I getting used to being just the three of us when my dad called and asked to talk to Chris. That is usually Dad’s way of getting news to me that I am going to take hard, so I was worried about what had happened immediately. Turned out my mom had slipped off one of the steep steps and broke her ankle in 2 places and knocked it out of place. The ambulance was called and mom was taken to the hospital where they x-rayed and told her the bad news… she’d have to go back to Jonesboro and have surgery. This devistated mom and me a bit since we were looking forward to spending a week and some change together with Owen and her helping around the house and taking a night shift occasionally.
So how has life been in the week and some change since we’ve been home? Well, it’s been some sleeply nights, crying, laughing, and I think only one snap of temper. I’ve lost count of how many diapers we’ve changed, but each poot makes us laugh - as do the faces that accompany them - and how many times I’ve been feeding him just to feel the warm sensation of pee make contact with my side. Right now as I try and finish this post up - which its taken me three days to write - I am watching Chris and Owen make faces at each other. I have to say, I didn’t know that we were missing anything in our lives until Owen came in and made it even better than it was before.
So for Thanksgiving, I don’t think there could be any doubt in the world what my husband and I were thankful for.
Posted on November 28th, 2008 by deek7997
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Now, they do take a bit of looking at to figure out what you’re looking at, but here’s several pictures of Owen. He liked his hands, and he likes talking to his hands. So, these are profile shots of his face and his hands. There are more of them, and I am working on getting them up in a photo gallery so that they can be viewed as much as possible.
My sugars were great and the doctor told me that there shouldn’t be any reason why I can’t nurse, so that made me feel a lot better about things. We are starting today to clear out my office to make room for baby… no, I’m not moving the desk - that’ll be left to Chris and his friends to do. What I’m doing is a mental walk-thru of the house to decide what pieces I am stealing from where to put in the baby’s room. So far I think I have the dresser and bookshelf from the guest room, the rocker from down stairs (not the glider, an old rocker I have) the changing table and baby bed. The only thing I’ll need to go out and find is a little ottoman since the one mom and I recovered has died a long time ago. Enjoy the pictures, and more from us soon!
Posted on September 24th, 2008 by deek7997
Filed under: Life in General | 5 Comments »
This is just a quicky update since I’ve had several people ask me. We did get a few images from the 3D ultrasound on Friday, but the little bugger was just not cooperating right, so my doctor, since she has to see me again on Tuesday, said we’ll take some more at that appointment. Most of the pictures we got were of Owen’s hands and some of his mouth - which was open, so Chris said he’s already taking after his momma.
Other news, my doctor didn’t like the progress of my sugar numbers, so she decided to put me on Metiformin. I’d been fighting against being put on Metiformin since even before I was pregnant, so I’m not sure if they’ll allow me to try and come off it or not. Which if that’s the case, then Owen will more than likely be a formula baby… good in the fact that Daddy will be able to take turns with the feeding, bad in the fact that I really wanted to breastfeed him for as long as I could. Well, I’m trying to think optimistically, maybe this will go away as soon as I deliver, and after a day or two - when the Metiformin gets out of my system - I’ll be able to nurse. Well, that’s all in better hands than mine anyway.
Still other news, I heard back from my first writing assignment, and on the whole, my mentor likes my writing, but has warned me about changing Points of View in the story. She told me that writing for a younger audience means being able to switch viewpoints less. She told me that my PoV shifts were more for adult writing. I got my second assignment, which I am excited about, and is due no later than October 26, but I’m hoping to have it in earlier than that. I get to use my imagination this time instead of writing on a topic of their choosing. So, that will be fun!
The bed has its last coat of paint on it! So pictures will be coming soon, and then we’ll get to assembling on October 13 when my parents bring the hardware. We’ve got several things planned for the house coming up, moving around the bedroom downstairs, moving my office out of being my office upstairs - and transforming that to Owen’s room. He won’t live in it for a while, but it’ll be there ready for when he’s (mommy’s) ready for him to be out of the room.
So, look back in tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning for pictures of the boy, hopefully he’ll not be so camera shy this time around!
Posted on September 22nd, 2008 by deek7997
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Okay, to sort of pick up from where I was last post…
My sister while she was here ran in the Rocketman Triathlon. She took third in her division and got a pretty nifty little trophy! I still can’t believe she swam in the Tennessee River. She’s always been a great swimmer and runner, and now she’s added biking to that mix, so I think she’s found her nitch when it comes to athletic events. I’m proud of her and think I bragged to several people here in the office about her time and her third place trophy.
Me and my sis with a last minute jump in from the nephew
It’s hard to believe that I am already in my seventh month while I am writing this email. It seems like it has both gone by so fast, and yet dragged on at the same time. We did get a bit of irksome news at our last doctor’s visit. It wasn’t totally unexpected, but I was hoping that me continuing to work out would have lessened my chance. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. Pretty much what that means is I have to keep a watch on my blood sugar - yes, got the monitor and test strips and all, follow a fairly restrictive diet, and keep active. We’ll be going to the doctor weekly instead of every two weeks, and there’s a chance that we’ll be meeting our Wee Bit a bit sooner than we’d expected.
The diet in and of its self isn’t anything that I’m not used to. Being someone that has PCOS (refer back to “I believe in Miracles” if you’re fuzzy) I was also diagnosed as someone who is Insulin Resistant. Basically what that means is my body still produces insulin, but the cells, liver, and muscles can’t process it correctly. To them its the square peg for a round hole. My numbers for sugar have never been horrible, until now. My body is demanding more insulin, and that’s more than my body can handle, so there’s now glucose and insulin running pellmell in my blood stream. What does this mean for Wee Bit? He might not be born so Wee. One risk with having a baby when you’re diagnosed with gestational diabetes is that since they are getting all the sugar that can’t be processed by the mommy, they tend to be big babies. The reason I am going to the doctor every week is so they can keep an eye on how big he’s getting. If they feel that he’s getting too big, they’ll decide to induce early or do a C-section. He’ll also run a higher risk of being Jaundice or having a slight case of Hypoglycemia after birth as well.
This isn’t something that has me freaked out and wringing my hands; it’s something that I am sort of kicking myself for not insisting on getting checked sooner. When I first got pregnant I was still working out with a personal trainer three times a week and sticking hard and fast to the diet plan he and I had worked up for me which is very similar to the diet I am on now with several major exceptions on the carbs. As time went on I let myself get a bit more lax with my diet because I was still working out with my trainer. Once I stopped working out with my trainer and just jogging and later walking on my own, I was still careful about how much sugary foods I was eating, but not really watching Carbs too much. Well, now I am back to being as sugar free as possible and staying with an average of 210 Carbs a day. This is something that I’ll probably continue for a bit after we deliver just so I can try and minimize the risk of making Diabetes a perminate addition to my life. I don’t mind the finger sticks, but they aren’t the most joyous of things.
I’m a bit irritated at all of this because I just had class yesterday and am following their diet very strict - in fact, today I went straight from page two of their menu plan - and my numbers are still high. Not as high as they were, but still high. I’m hoping that my next set of numbers are in range so I can sort of get content that I am doing things right. Well, so much for that hope. I’m still coming up high in the numbers. I’m going to have to go back and review again what all I ate - and I am reading lables and checking things. This is just really getting irritating to me since I don’t like to fail when I am actually trying.
Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day for us - we’re going for our 4D ultrasound to really get a good look at Owen. Yes, its a bit of a luxury, but one that we really wanted to do - and Chris is really excited about this. There will be pictures and a blog after this, so have no fear, you will see the lil guy in 3D as well! Until then, have fun looking at this big ole baby belly!
Sis, Mom, and me
Side view of the belly
Three women and one cool dude!
Posted on September 18th, 2008 by deek7997
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So, a friend of mine sent me a comment asking me how my schedule was going… and I had to laugh. Here it is just shy of a month later, and I am finally updating my blog. Thanks, Glo for the gentle reminder.
So, why haven’t I been updating this every week which was my goal? Because the weeks are just not long enough these days for everything that’s been going on. Work has been busy with the audit winding down, but with me prepping to be off on maternity leave, I’m having to document to the finest detail what my duties are and how I do them. Meetings have been picking up again and we all know how much I love those pesky things! Then there’s the fun thing that’s taking up a lot of my time, Baby boy!
Several things have arrived at the house for our wee fella over the last month. The first of which came from my friends Rowan and Zeff (names changed to protect the insanity). I’m not sure, but I think they bought out the whole sage and chocolate section of the store - and I LOVE it! Yes, I was actually a good girl and took pictures… Actually, I had dad take pictures with his new camera. What is not in the picture, because we had to put them up and away from our two year old visitor, were the army men that came in the box with all these goodies. We have them up in the baby’s future room to play with when he’s older.
Aren’t they just cute! I can’t wait to get him in these.
You would not believe how soft this blanket is!
The collection of blankets, sleep sack and crib sheets
The crib bumpers and sheets up close
And I’m sure this is going to be used a TON!
As I mentioned, we had house guests the week before Labor Day weekend. Mom, Dad, sis and my two year old nephew came down to visit with us - to go shopping, and for my sister to run in a triathalon. They were loaded with all sorts of goodies for us - including a changing table and baby bed! I’m going to get yelled at for this, but I don’t have pics of the baby bed just yet, its in the process of being painted - two coats down, one more to go! Along with the baby bed and changing table, I also got hand me downs, and customized gifts for Wee Bit. Then on Saturday, we went shopping!
Presents to Wee Bit from Grammy and Granddaddy - Yes, Razorback stuff!
Pig SUEY!! And my mom did the embroadery herself
Yep, hand me downs, 4 storrage tubs!
Sizes 6 months to 2T… I love hand me downs!
Sorting through the piles - I just woke up…
Talking and sorting before the shopping trip
Now, let me explain something real quick. When God was passing out the shopping gene, he hit mom and my sister full force, and skipped me. I’ve gotten better now that the shopping isn’t for me, but I still get tired way before these two do - and mom gets shopped out even before sis does. We went to Bridgestreet - a new and exciting place to shop in the area. We went to Gymboree and hit some really good sales! After we finished buying out that store we met my husband and dad for lunch - they skipped the shopping trip in favor of picking up the new glider.
LOVE my glider - just have to keep hubby and hoover out
Our haul from Gymboree
Got several outfits that could be made into many more
These little brown pants started it all
The little truck on one of the outfits, on the back it has some “exhaust” on the rump
Hehehe…
If he’s anything like his momma, he’ll be a monkey
Football onsie and a nice hoodie sweatshirt
Another Spots onsie I got for the lil fella
Future Quarterback… maybe!
Okay, I am going to stop this post for now because it has gotten very long, but yes, there is more to tell - and Owen has also received a new little outfit an LSU outfit.
Posted on September 10th, 2008 by deek7997
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Sooo… apparently people want me to keep on a schedule on this thing… oops. I’ll be better, I promise!
Yesterday was my 24 week check up, which equals the start of my sixth month. It was pretty much a go in, hear the heart, get measurements, ask questions and go sort of visit. Best news, well, besides Nubbin’s heart beating at 145 bpm and him kicking the Doppler, I can take Pepcid!! Yes, I have been having serious heartburn with this little fella - and I know my mom is sitting there going, “Yes! Paybacks!” but now there is relief in sight. Or so the box says any way. I’ve been trying to fix my jaw issues as well. I have TMJ, and if I sleep with my teeth clenched from something like pain of heartburn while sleeping, it’ll flare up. So, what do you do for something like that? Tylonel, ice and heat and try and stop the heartburn before you go to bed. Okay, enough medical stuff, on to fun stories.
First of, the husband finally got to feel the baby moving around - granted it was at about 1 am and I woke him up to feel it, but he says he felt “something.” The animals have definitely felt the little guy a whole lot more. The cat was laying across my stomach watching TV when Nubbin decided to get feisty and kick at the heat source on the belly. The cat looks down and starts patting my stomach thinking this is some new game, and of course, the little guy knocks back. This went on for a bit till my laughing got too much for Topaz and she ran off. She alone has not felt the wrath of the little guy’s punch. He caught Hoover square across the nose as well. I was sitting up in bed petting Hoover pup who had his head on my stomach. Hubby walked in, looked at the dog said, “You’re gonna get kicked” and walked off. Sure enough, Nubbin delivered one sharp blow to Hoover’s nose. Hoover sat up, looked down at the covers, tried to figure out what was below. Well, I guess Owen thought it was the cat again and he punched back. Hoover let out his “I’m to old for this” growl and hopped off to sulk beside the bed. Again I had to giggle and then curled up to go to sleep.
I have to say its a bit odd to see a personality forming without having held him yet. This kid is going to be sassy as can be if the animal boxing is any indication. He also has already proven to be a mover - playing the drums in utero has to be some clue that the kid is going to be a mess. I can’t wait to meet him.
Other news not of a baby nature. I have decided to chase a dream of sorts. I’ve always wanted to be a published author, but as of yet, I have just wished for it, and haven’t taken many steps to actually see it through. Earlier this year I decided to take one. I’ve stared on some classes to work on my writing, but most of all to force me to set down a time every day to write and hopefully complete a story. I have notebooks, folders and hard drives full of stories I’ve started, gotten very far into and then…
Yeah, those of you who got that last line, I salute you. It has often been something I struggle with. Maybe because once I finish something I have to do something with it. I don’t know. Maybe it’s that old fear of failure and rejection rearing its ugly head. But one thing that getting pregnant has taught me, no matter the dream or how impossible it seems, it can come true.
Posted on August 13th, 2008 by deek7997
Filed under: Life in General | 2 Comments »
Come they told me Ba rump ba bum bum…
I hope I didn’t raise the false expectation that this blog would always be serious or give deep insightful looks at all times to various things. I find that by keeping the profound down to a minimum, that makes it stand out more… or so they say - or I say anyway.
I know, now you’re sitting there going “She’s got a Christmas song stuck in my head, and it’s JULY!!” Well, the purpose is two fold. One, the lil’ guy is due during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas, so the first songs he’s going to hear outside the womb (Yes, Momma, I’m singing to him) are Christmas Carols. I have to say I’m not too unhappy about that since I love Christmas music - save for a few that I just scratch my head on and wonder… why? Apparently Nubbin has already decided he’s going to be a little drummer boy. During the last ultrasound we have, where we found out he was a he, Nubbin was in there doing drum solos to the best of our figuring.
His little hands were above his head just drumming away. The doctor commented no fewer than 8 times that he was very active. And no, that is not a hint for a well meaning aunt that has a lot to pay back this well meaning aunt for, and get a drum kit for him! Turns out my theory on get the loud presents to send home with the nephews might come back to haunt me.
Second reason for the Christmas song title is on July 25th I was peacefully asleep when a strange dream started. I was trying to decide where to put the Christmas tree in the Sims game that I play. Where to put the Christmas tree, what lights to put up, should we do a winter scene beyond just the winter wonderland we already have set up… All of this while hearing things like Jingle Bell Rock, O Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy and several other Christmas classics. I woke up confused and shaking my head, but got up and went about the morning. Finally the radio broke in through the routine when they announced that it was “Christmas in July” and were playing Christmas songs all day long. After work I made my hubby go in there and listen and asked if he heard anything strange… it took a minute and he clued in and said, “They’re playing Christmas songs in July!” I told him about the dream and he laughed and shook his head and wandered back out to watch DIY.
Other than that, nothing much is going on. I’m working on some knitting as well as some writing, but for the most part work is keeping me busy even when I go home. I’d say I’d be glad when things slow down, but that’ll probably be when I go out for maternity leave, and I doubt things will be very slow at that point in time. I need to start working on the nursery, but right now, since the baby’s bedroom is upstairs, and the master bedroom is downstairs, he’ll be down with us. Sort of makes me think I could keep a guest room for a bit longer… hmm… Too many things to think about, I think I need to make a list.
Determine colors for the nursery - DONE. The nursery is going to be sage and chocolateGet all necessary nursery furniture - DONE. We have Chris’ childhood chest of drawers, my childhood dresser, ordered the glider from Posh Mommy that should be in around 4 weeks from now, and the baby bed that Daddy built for when my oldest nephew on that side of the family was born- Get a newborn car seat
- Decorate the baby’s room
- Find a panoramic picture/poster of the LSU and Arkansas stadiums or their respective endzones
- Get an outfit for Nubbin to come home from the hospital in
- Get an actual album to start a baby book
And I’m sure that list is gonna grow, but for now, that’s a start.
Posted on July 30th, 2008 by deek7997
Filed under: Life in General | 1 Comment »
