Random Natalie Pictures

(I apologize if anyone is squeamish - I tried to keep the ick-level to a minimum)

All ready to catch Natalie

My baby-catching rockstar

Meeting her for the first time

In total shock as to what just happened ...

Napping with DaddyNatalie thinks she's Number One
(... and rightfully so)

Our "First Baby of 2009" gift from Baptist Hospital

She loved her first bath ... or, you know, not

Her tounge rarely stays in her mouth

The World is Now 7lbs and 10oz Sweeter

Hooray!

Natalie Jane Smith has finally arrived!

Lee and I are quite delirious from a wonderful combination of overwhelming love and sleep deprivation - so I'll have to keep this short.

Short story:

• First bad contraction happened at midnight on New Years Day - just as the pelican in Downtown Pensacola was dropping.
• Got to Baptist Hospital around 3am
• Labored until about 1:30pm
• Pushed for about two hours until she arrived at 3:43pm
• Lee delivered her! It was the sweetest, most wonderful thing ever. Just as Natalie was about to arrive, our midwife said "Lee, get over here and put on this gown and gloves and deliver your daughter!" He wasn't expecting to be able to do it (he and our midwife had been joking about him doing it for a few months), and I'm so glad he was. The look on his face was worth a billion hours of labor.
• She turned out to be the first baby born of 2009 at Baptist Hospital (a mom gave birth at Sacred Heart at around 1am on the 1st - that baby was the first '09 baby born in Pensacola). Baptist Hospital loaded us up with an amazing '1st Baby' present - a stroller, a carseat, diapers and wipes, some yummy bath stuff for me, a few toys (that just happen to be our exact crib bedding pattern), and some other fun baby stuff. 'Blessed' doesn't even begin to describe how we feel.
• Nursing is doubly hard when a baby inheirits her uncoordinated mother's coordination. Poor kiddo.

Stats:

• 1/1/09
• 3:43pm
• 7lbs, 10oz
• 20 inches long
• 14 inch head (Hooray!)
• Head full of dark hair
• Eyes exactly like her daddy
• Long toes exactly like her mommy
• The most beautiful lips God has ever put on a person
• Cuteness level: off the friggin' chart

Here are a few pictures:

Welcome to the world, angel baby.

Thank you, God.

GB Eviction Notice '08 (5 days overdue)

So here's the deal, GB ... you've got approximately 16 hours and 4 minutes to make your debut in order for Mommy and Daddy to be able to claim a nice tax deduction for 2008.

You're part of Team Smith, my dear. And being born in 2008 is how we do things around here. So let's be a team player, shall we?

Perhaps this will sweeten the deal ... Daddy said he'd buy you a pony if you were born today.

GB Eviction Notice '08 (4 days overdue)

My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to get checked at my appointment this morning. I am 90% effaced, dilated 1 cm, and GB is at -1 station. So all of these silly Braxton-Hicks contractions have actually been doing something all along!

I have another appointment in next Tuesday. I'll get an ultrasound so they can check on the level of amniotic fluid, how active GB is, and how her lungs (and other important parts) look. Our midwife said that they'll monitor me for about 20 minutes so they can get a good feel for how GB is doing.

Assuming everything looks fine on the ultrasound and assuming I don't go into labor before next Wednesday, I'll probably be induced that day (or perhaps next Thursday). Next Friday is my 42-week mark and that's when I would get turned over to an OB. I've heard very good things about the OB I'm assigned to, but I've never met him - so I'd rather be induced by my midwife than by someone Lee and I have never met.

Induction is definitely something I'm trying to avoid, but if that's the only way to have the outcome of a healthy baby and a healthy mom, then sign me up! But hopefully we won't get to that point. Our midwife doesn't seem to think so - she's still got her money on GB coming January 5th.

And so we wait ... semi-patiently and over-the-moon with excitement.

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Weight gain: +35 lbs. I lost 2 pounds since my last appointment ... it's weird, but I bet it has something to do with my last appoinment being in the afternoon and the one today was early in the morning.

And Lee shaved his mountain-man beard!! I'm ashamed to admit it, but I didn't hate the beard as much as I was thinking I would. He now knows that he is physically capable of growing a full and fairly nice-looking beard. But I'm so glad to have my strictly goatee'd husband back.

GB Eviction Notice '08 (3 days overdue)

So we were hoping to share some exciting news today.

From about 9pm-10:30pm last night, I had fairly regular contractions every 8 to 10 minutes. In our childbirth book, it said to eat, drink some water, take a walk, take a nap, take a shower and see if the contractions are still coming. Since it was so late, I decided not to eat or take a walk - but I did everything else.

I fell asleep pretty easily last night and I wasn't woken up by any contractions - I mean, I'm a champion sleeper, but I doubt even this champion sleeper could sleep her way through labor - and I haven't had any contractions this morning.

So it's nice (?) to meet you, Mr. False Labor. Now please go away and bring your real/active counterpart.

GB Eviction Notice '08 (2 days overdue)

Who's still in my belly and not in my arms?

GB.

Even though she's 2 days late (or 6 days early, if I would only remember what I learned about in birthing class and how the average length of first pregnancies is 41 1/7 week), the lack of baby and the Christmas holidays have allowed Lee and I to spend a lot of one-on-one time together. It's been really nice.

Know what ELSE would be nice?? (*ahem, GB*)

GB Eviction Notice '08 (1 day overdue)

Since GB seems to have inheirited her daddy's sense of being on time, I realize I have time to get some little things taken care of before she arrives - like posting nursery pictures! We're about 90% done (the crib needs a couple more coats of top-coat, the dresser needs knobs, the closet needs a bit more organizing, etc), but I'm really, really happy with the way it turned out.

We decided not to go with a themed nursery ... mainly because I'm cheap and didn't want to spend the kind of money that can go into having a themed room. There's definitely a springy-green-with-a-few-pink-accents thing going on, but I don't think it classifies as a theme.

wall decal above GB's closet, courtesy of her Auntie Karen

changing table (my first Craigslist purchase!)

(yes, that's a gazelle ... and yes, there's a story behind it)

GB's dresser, the super-cute heart pillow that my mom made,

and some super-cute prints that some crafty lady from Etsy made

Lee is so proud of how the dresser turned out after he stained it

It makes my heart happy to see so many books for GB

Love, love how this turned out -

the dandelion wall decal over her crib

(yes, it was a pain to do, but so worth it)

GB Countdown '08 (Due Date!)

EVICTION NOTICE

To: GB Smith

You are hereby given an eviction notice and notice to vacate, on December 26, 2008, the premises owned by Suzanne L. Smith of the state of Florida, which premises are now occupied by you.

The reason for your eviction notice is:

Tenant has occupied the aforementioned premises for 40 weeks and her presence is requested elsewhere.

Dated: December 26, 2008

GB Countdown '08 (1 day left)

Merry Christmas to our friends and family!!

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One of the names we really like is Natalie. It means "born at Christmas" ... but it looks like if we go with that name, we'll have to change it to "ShouldaBeen Natalie" because it doesn't appear that she's coming today.

Lee and I had a really nice, really relaxing day. We slept in a bit, had a really great breakfast (I made blueberry pancakes and Lee fixed eggs and sausage), and took a much needed post-breakfast nap.

I've felt really drowsy all day today, so I haven't been as productive as I was hoping. But it's been nice having such a relaxing and low-key day to spend with Lee.

And GB? Just an FYI: Your eviction notice is going up tomorrow. So I hope you're all packed up and ready to vacate the premises.

GB Countdown '08 (2 days left)

Suze = baby-full.

The past few days have definitely been the most uncomfortable. I'm able to sleep in short bursts (I'm grateful that I can even sleep, what with this massive belly I'm sporting), so the lack of sleep isn't too terrible. It's the hip/knee pain and the amount of energy required to do silly things (getting into/out of my car, getting off the couch, etc) that's wearing on me a little bit.

We're both pretty antsy and can't wait for GB to make her debut, but we're still very much enjoying these last few (hopefully) days as just the two of us.

We spent a lot of time working in GB's room yesterday. Lee finished the last coat of topcoat on the dresser yesterday evening and we loaded it into her room a couple of hours later. We hung some pictures and loaded up her bookshelf (which is full of books that I cannot WAIT to read to her!). I think Lee is putting on the first of three topcoats on the crib tonight.

Side note - I love that Publix employees take your groceries out to your car for you. I know they offer it to everyone, but it was so nice to shop in a clean, organized, quiet store (I'm looking at you, Walmart) and then get my groceries loaded into my car for me! I could have done it myself, but there's never been a time where I wanted someone else to do it for me more.

Merry Christmas Eve!

GB Countdown '08 (3 days left)

*looks down at my bulging belly*

Yep, there's still a baby in there.

We had another appointment today. Thankfully it seems that GB has indeed dropped. I didn't get checked, so I don't know if I've made any progress, but my midwife said that I was measuring (from the top of my pelvis to the top of my uterus) smaller than 39 weeks. Which means that GB has dropped lower into my pelvis. Which means ... hooray!

I was convinced that I was going to go into labor today - only because Lee had an endoscopy scheduled this morning, and I knew it'd be our luck that I would need to go to the hospital but Lee would still be doped up on his drugs from the procedure. So I'd have to drive myself to the hospital.

But thankfully GB held off - and thankfully Lee's endoscopy went well.

And hopefully GB can hold off from coming on Christmas morning since that's the only time that our midwife isn't available. Christmas morning = bad; Christmas afternoon and night = good.

It's hard to believe that it's already Christmas Eve Eve.

GB Countdown '08 (4 days left)

Whose name rhymes with 'snooze' and is still pregnant?

Me.

I spent the day with my mom running errands and shopping for last-minute baby things (washcloths, a crib mattress, a changing table pad). It was a great way to spend my first day of maternity leave.

I seriously love the look on people's faces when they ask me when I'm due and I reply "Friday". Often, it's a look that says "Aaaah! Please don't let your water break all over my shoes!"

Maybe it's weird for someone 4 days away from her due date to be out running errands and visiting with friends, but I felt really good today. It's pretty crazy to think that the next time Lee and I see them, I could very well be un-pregnant. I've almost forgotten what that feels like!

GB Countdown '08 (5 days left)

Raise your hand if you're still pregnant.

*raises hand*

My parents came over tonight and they think I might have dropped, too. Prove them right, GB!

GB Countdown '08 (6 days left)

Today's update: yep, still pregnant.

We had dinner with our cousins tonight and they both think I've dropped a lot since they last saw me. And it might be my imagination, but I think they're right ...

GB Countdown '08 (7 days left)

Now that I'm so close to my due date (how did that happen so quickly?!), I figured I should start writing daily entries to keep our out-of-town friends and family updated on our progress.

We saw our midwife yesterday (12/18/08). I decided to forgo getting checked for progress this time. I hadn't made any progress at our last appointment and got a little bummed out even though I know full well that making progress (or not making progress) really means diddly-squat. So instead of getting my hopes up or getting bummed out unnecessarily, I'll just revel in my ignorance. I'll wait until I go to the hospital to get checked again.

The baby's heartbeat still sounds strong. And even though she's pretty much maxed out the available real estate I've provided, she manages to find room to wiggle and poke. My ankles and feet are channeling Fred Flintstone more and more each day - it's so not cute. My maternity leave starts Monday so it'll be easier for me to keep my feet elevated now that I'll be home during the day.

Our midwife will be out of town this weekend, so GB isn't allowed to come until Monday. (Not that we think she'll be early, but it'll be just our luck that she comes this weekend).

We're working on finishing up the nursery and hope to post some pictures soon. (here's a mental picture: celery green walls, espresso-finished crib and dresser, heirloom rocking chair, general baby cuteness, etc)

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Weight gain: 34 lbs.

BabyHawk

I got a groovy BabyHawk baby carrier in the mail yesterday - it's quite cool, if I do say so myself. Of course I haven't the slightest idea how to use it without getting tangled up in the straps, but thankfully YouTube has several videos about it.

I had a hard time picking out a pattern, so I decided to go with a reversible one so Lee and I could each pick one out.

Thanks, Jess :)

(the cool, hip pattern that Lee chose)

(the cool, slightly girly pattern that I chose)

Good to Know

I learned something new at our appointment yesterday - the fact that I'm not sleeping very well isn't just due to my humongous belly or trips to the bathroom every two or three hours. Our midwife told me that there's some pregnancy hormone that literally changes your sleep cycle. My lovely REM sleep is a thing of the past, and I have that wonderful hormone to thank.

So thanks, hormone, for taking some of the blame off my belly and my bladder.

Hospital Tour

Last night, we went to the hospital orientation at Baptist. There were a bunch of moms who were due in March, April, and May - so perhaps I should have signed us up for it earlier than I did. Lee said it was a good idea for us to do it when we did, so that we won't forget anything (like where to park, where to register, etc). It makes sense.

She told us about a lot of the classes that the hospital offers (breastfeeding, infant care, infant CPR, etc). I think some of those will come in handy. We also got to tour the maternity ward. I really, really liked the look of the L&D rooms. They felt pretty homey (you know, for being a hospital room and all), and not all cold and impersonal like I've seen in other places. The recovery rooms are nice, too. They each have a pull-out sofa and there's room to put an air mattress if the pull-out couch isn't comfortable.

Two of the L&D rooms have Jacuzzi tubs, and they're given out on a first-come first-served basis. Though at our weekly appointment today, our midwife said that she's kicked out politely asked people to switch rooms if they aren't using the Jacuzzi. Since I'm hoping to do at least some of my laboring in the tub, I'm crossing my fingers that we can snag one of those rooms!

She also commented on how swollen my feet/ankles were (they're pretty bad - I'm glad it's cold so I can cover those puppies up in socks!). She told me to drink more water and rest more (she mentioned that I look more tired than I did at my last appointment - which is true). Resting sounds delightful ... the stack of laundry in our closet will just have to wait.

Nervous?

I've been asked quite a few times if I'm nervous ... and I'd be a loon (and a big fat liar) if I said no. I'm very nervous about a lot of things. But one thing I'm not too nervous about is the whole labor and delivery process. I think our Bradley Classes were tremendously helpful in getting both of us prepared for that. Of course, I'm a little nervous about it, but not nearly to the degree I was thinking I would be.

To be honest, I'm more worried about my water breaking while I'm at Walmart. Or work. Or my car. Or anywhere that's NOT home. I'm very happy with our choice to do this completely natural and unscheduled, but not knowing when it'll happen is driving me crazy. It's like knowing someone is going to punch me in the face sometime between now and January 9th, but that's all I know. So I start walking cautiously around corners and looking behind me in the hopes that I'm able to spot the face-puncher before he gets to me. Not that I'm equating going into labor with getting punched in the face, but you know what I mean.

And I'm also nervous about our first day home from the hospital. I'm sure we'll be ready to leave the hospital, but it'll also be scary being away from the 24/7 help of the nurses. Do they realize that Lee and I won't have a single idea of what we're doing? That GB will be left in the care of two amateurs? Poor GB ... I hope you don't mind being our guinea pig for child-rearing.

Unnecessary Worries

36 weeks, 6 days - We started our weekly appointments on 12/4/08 (our midwife told me that I'm now on the Frequent Flyer Program!). Lee had a meeting for work so he couldn't go with me, but our doula was able to come. She hadn't met our midwife before and wanted to introduce herself before we got to the hospital.

We had to wait a while to be seen because right before my appointment, our midwife got called to the hospital for a delivery. It wasn't a big deal, and it gave our doula and me a couple of hours to chat. I'm very glad she'll be there with us. I think her calm and easy-going personality will be a huge help to Lee and me.

I also found out that I don't have Group B Strep - woo hoo! It wouldn't have been a huge deal if I were positive for it, but it's nice to scratch that off my list of things to think/worry about. Now my list only has 599 things on it!

Our midwife also confirmed that GB is still head down. I told her that I swear it feels like she's sideways or completely turned around at times, but she assured me that it probably wasn't the case. At most, GB is probably just rolling from one side to the other (kind of like pivoting on her head). She said that gravity helped to get her head down, and it's not like gravity is suddenly going to stop. In other words, "Stop worrying about that, Suzanne."

She asked how the swelling in my left foot was, and I told her that it still gets pretty swollen at times. She checked to see how bad it was. Thankfully she said it was just normal 3rd trimester swelling and nothing to worry about. My blood pressure is also normal, so that helped to confirm the swelling shouldn't raise any red flags. (Worry List total = 597!)

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Weight gain: 31.2 lbs

Car Seats and Such

There's no turning back now - we are now the proud owners of a car seat and a stroller. At our last appointment, our midwife recommended we go ahead and get a car seat just in case GB decides to grace us with her presence earlier than we had planned. She didn't want Lee to have to make an emergency run to Target to pick up a random car seat just so we could leave the hospital.

So on Friday, we went to Storkland and made our financially-painful-but-so-worth-it-safety-wise purchases. The ladies who work there are so great. They took the car seat out to our car and showed us how to install it. We decided to go with a convertible car seat instead of an infant carrier, so it takes up a bit more room in my backseat. It's not terrible though; my parents were able to fit in the backseat without feeling too much like sardines.

My family and I have always been amused when we see someone pushing an empty stroller - we always want to go up to them and make sure that, yes, they know the stroller is empty and, yes, they know who has their baby ... and not, oh no! I must have left Junior at Starbucks! I wonder if anyone thinks of that when they see me driving around with my empty car seat.

I canNOT believe it's December already. In some ways, I feel super prepared for GB's arrival. In other ways, however, I feel woefully unprepared. I started organizing her clothes and diapers to make sure we have enough of each size (or at least enough of the newborn and 0-3 month sizes). I think we have enough onesies (says the woman with no experience of how often newborns end up needing an outfit change), and I think we're okay on diapers (says the woman with no experience of how often newborns end up needing a diaper change), but I might get a few more just to be sure.

I'm curious to see how this cloth diaper adventure will pan out. We've received plenty of disposal diapers from my baby showers, so we'll definitely have a backup. But hopefully we won't need them. Lee's been so sweet and supportive with my wanting to try cloth - and the diapers are so stinkin' cute - that I really hope we can get the hang of them.

Oh - and Lee's decided not to shave until the baby is born. He hardly ever shaves on Saturdays, but with our long Thanksgiving weekend, he didn't shave on Thursday or Friday either. And on Sunday he had a pretty good stubble going. I was convinced he'd shave before going to church, but he left it. And decided that he wants to take the month of December to see how long it'll grow. I'm not a huge fan of beards, but I'll do my best to support my scruffy, mountain man husband.

So Very Thankful

'Thankful' takes on a whole new meaning this year. We're thankful for the opportunity to be GB's parents ... we're thankful that God chose us to be GB's parents ... we're thankful for our wonderful friends and family who have shown us so much support and love .

I'm eternally thankful for having the most amazing husband ever - I have no doubt that he'll be the most amazing dad ever.

And I'm even thankful for the increasingly painful midnight belly kicks. No matter how bad a day I might be having, those kicks do wonders to snap me back into reality. It's hard to be grumpy when GB is having her own personal dancy party in my belly.

35!

35 weeks down, 35 days left! (And my joints feel like I'm 35x35 years old [give or take 1100 years])

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I'll eventually show this blog to GB (you know, after she can read and stuff) because I think it might be a cool memento for her. So GB, know this - your dad and I cannot WAIT meet you. Hmm ... let me rephrase that. We CAN wait to meet you (because I don't want you to come early if you're not ready to come), but we're so excited we can hardly stand it.

Appointment Update

I had another appointment yesterday (11/17/08). I got tested for Group B Strep and also got checked for any progress. I hadn't made any - which is fine since I'm only 34 weeks. And based on what I've learned from our birthing class and our midwife, knowing your progress (or lack thereof) can sometimes turn out to be a mind game. My midwife said she knew someone who was dilated at 3cm for 6 weeks ... and knows someone else who had made zero progress at her weekly appointment but had her baby that night.

Lee wasn't able to make this appointment with me (something about a job commitment - what nerve!). Our midwife walked in to the exam room and was distraught (not really) over the absense of her comic relief. She recommended that I start drinking red raspberry leaf tea and taking primrose oil - so it's off to Everman's for me!

I've almost made it the point in my pregnancy where my midwife will deliver me. She delivers babies from 35 weeks until 42 weeks. I assume anything before 35 weeks or after 42 weeks would be handled by an OB. It's nice to know that she's not automatically concerned if I go past 40 weeks - I don't want to be induced just because I went a few days past my due date. Though I'm perpetually early and Lee is perpetually late, so maybe it'll average out and she'll come on her due date.

I asked her what signals I should look for that will let us know when it's time to call her. She mentioned the normal stuff (contractions every five minutes which last for one minute that I have a hard time talking or walking through, and continues for one hour). Another clue she wants me to look for is how I respond to Lee. She said that Lee seems like the type to use humor to make me feel better or to ease a stressful situation (she's right). So she said I'll know something major is happening when I find Lee to be un-funny. I told this to Lee and he was highly offended, saying that I'll never be able to find him un-funny. That if me giving birth depends on me thinking he's not funny, I'll be pregnant forever.

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Weight gain: 29.4 lbs

They Did It Again!

To put it mildly, our wedding photographers, Wes and Rae Leytham, are phenomenal. They have an uncanny ability to make two goofballs (ie: Lee and me) look amazing. They must have a special goofball-to-good-looking filter on their camera or something.

Rae shot some maternity pictures for us last week and I think they turned out great. It's nice to know their talent extends to making a pregnant goofball look good.

Here are some favorites. Click on them for a bigger version (all images © Rae Leytham Photography)

I love this shirt. (It says "Pregnancy Support Team")

He's planning on wearing it to the hospital :)

He makes me laugh ...

A little daddy-daughter bonding time

I was only slightly worried about getting run over ...

(I LOVE how this one turned out, Rae!)

The Uncomfortableness

I feel very fortunate that I've had such an uneventful pregnancy. And while it's still uneventful, at around 31 or 32 weeks I finally hit the wall, otherwise known as The Stage of Constant Uncomfortableness (I know, I know - not a word).

I had read how uncomfortable women get in the 3rd trimester, but I guess I didn't know the magnitude of it until it happened to me. I'm not in the "get this kid out of me NOW" stage, but I'm definitely feeling the effects of my body slowly getting ready for the labor and delivery part.

Sleep? Ha! I simply don't think there are enough pillows in the world to help me sleep soundly. Though if I'd stop whining for a second, I'd remember reading that waking up every few hours to go to the bathroom or to rearrange my mass of pillows is really God's way of getting me prepared to wake up every few hours to feed GB. It's pretty amazing to think of it like that. But it's hard to remember that when my hips are yelling at me.

And it's hard when I look to my right and see Lee sleeping soundly. I've had fleeting thoughts of elbowing him in the back to wake him up so he could sympathize with me, but then I think that doing it would be cruel. It doesn't stop me from thinking about doing it, though. (And don't worry - I've mentioned this to him already, so it's not like I'm having these cruel thoughts in secret).

But there's only seven (!) more weeks left. I can totally suck it up and get through this final stretch. (But sometimes I just need to whine.)

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Weight gain: 27.4 lbs

Embracing the Waddle (and other notes to myself)

When I first got pregnant, I told myself "Self, you can certainly make it nine months without adopting the dreaded 'pregnancy waddle'". I naïvely thought the extra weight I would inevitably gain wouldn’t change the way I walk (and didn’t think for a second that it’d change the way I sit!). That I could gain 25+ lbs and somehow expect to be-bop down the road like I’d always done. Ha, I say.

Hey self, listen up! If/When you get pregnant with GB#2, embrace the waddle. Because if being pregnant with GB#2 is anything like being pregnant with GB#1, your hips will hurt like crazy. And adopting the pregnancy waddle makes them hurt a little less. Yes, you may look silly. But suck it up and waddle anyway.

And another thing, self: don’t feel bad about using the handicapped bathroom stalls. Non-handicapped stalls are not pregnant woman-friendly. You practically have to stand on the toilet to open the door so it doesn’t hit your stomach. (Whose dumb idea was it that bathroom stall doors open in instead of out?)

November

November 1st ... so it's very feasible that GB will be born next month. Next month. Next. Month.

(Aaaah!)

Pictures

So I know these aren't really good 'belly' pictures, but it gives a reasonable idea as to how I look now ...

Lee and me at our friend's wedding


My good friend Nicole and me

My sneak-attack kiss

It had to happen sooner or later ...

I was at Walmart trying to find some vitamins, when the guy next to me asks "So when are the twins due?". Ouch.

We ended up having a very pleasant conversation after that, but still. Major ouch.

Knobby Knees

31 weeks, 6 days - Today's really the first day that some of GB's movements have move past the "aww, how sweet" stage and entered the "hey kid, that kinda hurts" stage. Not that I'm complaining - nor do I want the movements to stop. I still love feeling her move around; it's just not quite as cute as it was a month or so ago.

Assuming she's still positioned head down, it's mainly been her incredibly knobby knees (sorry GB - you get that from me) that poke me the most. But knobby knees and all, I love this experience.

Appointment Update

We had another appointment yesterday (10/23/08). We got an ultrasound done - the ultrasound tech wanted to check the baby's lips and/or nose to check for evidence of a cleft palate, and she wanted to check on the baby's spine and head. Thankfully everything checked out fine. And also thankfully, it seems that GB has inherited her mother's head size and not her father's. Woo hoo!

Her heartbeat was a strong and healthy 152 bpm. And she’s already positioned with her head down, so that’s good. She still has room move around and switch positions, but she’ll soon get too big to do that. Hopefully she’ll stay where she is. And she’s face-up, or “sunny-side up”, which helps me to better identify which body parts are poking me at any particular time.

According to her measurements, she weighs 3lbs, 14oz. But our birthing class teacher said that weight estimates from an ultrasound can be off by as much as 4 lbs. So she can either weigh as little as
-2oz or as much as 7lbs, 14 oz. And she’s supposed to gain about ½ lb every week from now on.

I got to experience first-hand why pregnant women shouldn't lie on their backs during the 3rd trimester. During the ultrasound, something hit me like a ton of bricks – it was like a light switch turned on. I started sweating, got light-headed, and felt incredibly nauseous. It was one of the weirdest, most unpleasant feelings I’ve had in a long time. The ultrasound tech noticed that I was fidgeting around and breathing faster, so she quickly had me roll over to my side. And just like that, the light switched turned off. I was lying on my back so long that the weight of my belly was keeping oxygen from getting to all of my oxygen-requiring parts – and I’m sure GB wasn’t happy with it either.

Lee’s mom got to come to the ultrasound, so that was really special. GB just keeps looking cuter and cuter. And we got another confirmation that GB is indeed a “she”. So her closet full of pink and flowery clothes isn’t for naught.

Our midwife said that she'd call the lab where I was typed as having A- blood and explain to them that something isn't quite right over there. Mistyping a pregnant woman's blood is too significant to ignore. I'm just very thankful that I had dontated blood before and remembered that the Blood Center had told me what my type was. I hate to think what could have happened if I hadn't.

We’re meeting with a potential pediatrician next month and we’re meeting with a potential doula next week. She’s one birth away from receiving her doula certification and said she’d be our doula for free since we're helping her get certified. We want to meet with her ahead of time to see if our personalities mesh well. Because let’s be honest: Lee and I are a tad (ahem) wacky. And if someone is going to be in the delivery room with us, he/she needs to be accepting of our ever-present (but nonetheless endearing) wack.

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Weight gain: 23.6 lbs

Happy ...

... significant-birthday-that-shall-remain-nameless to my mom! (aka: Lu)

I love you!

Names

So GB doesn't have a name right now (you know, besides "GB"). Lee and I decided that we'll come to the hospital with a list of 5 or 6 names that we like, and wait until she's born to see what name best fits her.

Lee has joked (or "joked") that he wants to name her Leigh, so that when the first little punk calls and asks to speak to her, Lee will say "Yeah, this is Lee. What do you want? No, no - you've got the right Lee. What do you want?" He's already in full-fledged protective Daddy mode.

Naming a child is a huge decision! You have to take into account a lot of things (if the name rhymes with anything bad, if the initials spell out anything dirty, etc).

Here are the names that we're considering:

• Mallory Jane
• Natalie Jane
• Catherine/Katherine Leigh

I love the name Mallory (even though I'm sure people think of Family Ties or The Babysitter's Club books) - it's my favorite name we've talked about. But the bad part is that in French, it means "unfortunate" or "unlucky". I wonder how mean it would be for us to name our daughter something that means that. Though it does mean "Army counselor" (or something like that) in another language.

Natalie, coincidentally, means "child born at Christmas". But I think the name might be too popular and/or trendy - I don't want her to be one of six Natalies in her class.

Catherine is a great name, too. But I don't know if the "th" in Catherine is too much with the "th" in Smith. What if she has a lisp? [I would want to call her Cate, though]. Lee's concern is that people will call her "Kathy Lee", but I contend that in 10 years, kids won't know who (the famous) Kathy Lee is.

Those are the three that we know of. Then there are a few names that we're throwing around:

• Audrey Leigh
• Nora Jane
• Jillian Leigh
• Kara/Cara Jane

(Jane is Lee's mom's middle name and my aunt's first name - and it's also just a really cute name)

Then again, maybe we haven't even yet come up with what GB's name will be ...

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ps: Happy Birthday, Dad!! I love you :)

Tagged!

I got tagged by my friend Jessica, and I've been instructed to post seven random things about me (or The Adventures of Team Smith). So here goes:

1. Watching Lee with our friends' 2-year-old daughter melts my heart and just confirms that he's going to be an amazing father. I am the luckiest girl in the world.
   
2. I want to learn how to make biscuits ... the real kind - the ones made with shortening, butter, and everything else that's not healthy. I won't make them all the time, but I still want to know how to do it.
   
3. I really love our church. I'm glad Lee and I have found a place where we can grow individually and as a couple. God has done some really amazing things in our lives.
   
4. It upsets me when people tell me they feel sorry for our child because she'll have a birthday close to Christmas. Please don't feel sorry for her! She will be loved, well taken care of, and constantly told her how special she is to us. That's more important than any silly present.
   
5. I'm so glad the weather is cooling off. I'm far less cranky and my hair looks much nicer in the fall.
   
6. Taking off this semester turned out to be a great decision. I can't even imagine how stressed I would be if I had to deal with homework, papers, and tests on top of everything else.
   
7. I love www.etsy.com. So far I've purchased a keychain, a diaper, and three prints for the nursery ... and there's only 412 more things that I want to get.

A Plus!

Woo hoo! No Rhogam shot for me - I got retyped on Tuesday afternoon and my midwife's assistant called me this afternoon to let me know I'm A+. Whew!

I'm so A Plus.

Type Mismatch

I called the Northwest Florida Blood Center and they still maintain that my blood type is A+. The woman I spoke with said they type-check everyone's blood when they donate, so that means they've type-checked my blood type three times (yes, I'm a horrible person for only donating three times) and confirmed that I am A+.

I left a message with my midwife to see if I can re-typed with her to confirm her results. Her records say I'm A-; the Blood Center says I'm A+. I've done some research on the Rhogam shot and I'm not too impressed with the potential side effects or the lack of studies on the effects of Rhogam on a fetus, so I'm praying that my midwife's office's records are wrong. If they're wrong (and I am, in fact, A+), I don't have to worry about the whole Rhogam thing.

And besides, I've really, really liked saying that I'm "A plus". I'd hate to give that up.

Hiccups

It's not at ALL funny when I have the hiccups - but for some reason, it makes me smile to feel GB's hiccups. Is that bad??

Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/ makes me giggle. You type in a website, and it'll spit back out an image containing the most used words on that site. Apparently I say "like" lot. And apparently I say "apparently" a lot.


(click below to see it bigger)

Warm Kool-Aid

28 weeks, 4 days - I had my glucose test done today. I had heard horror stories about how awful the drink was, so I really wasn't looking forward to it. And while yes, it was a tad gnarly and did taste like warm, overly-sweetened orange Kool-Aid, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. The worst part was how I felt afterwards. I'm not used to drinking really sugary drinks, and I got pretty jittery and light-headed. I had to wait an hour and then got my blood drawn. If my levels are high, I'll get a more extensive test for gestational diabetes in two weeks.

I've gained 4 lbs since my appointment 3 weeks ago - grand total: 21.2 lbs.

I think today was 'Training Day' at my midwife's office. There were at least three or four nursing students from Pensacola Christian College (who wear the traditional nurse uniforms from years ago instead of scrubs - they looked so cute!).

One of the student nurses was in the room with us during my appointment. Our midwife spent a lot of time explaining procedures and medical terminology to the student, which was nice because I was able to learn some stuff too. Of course, though, in between being taught by our midwife, the student nurse was blushing and laughing at the comments that Lee was making. Learn a little - get embarrassed a little ... I'd say our student nurse's first day went rather well.

My belly is measuring 27.5cm which is right on track for my being 28 weeks along (1 cm/week). We got to hear GB's heart rate, too. Thanks to the sugar overdose courtesy of the glucose drink, GB's heartrate was really fast. And she was moving around like c-r-a-z-y.

Our midwife told me to start monitoring GB's kicks. I'm supposed to feel her move at least 5 times an hour, twice a day. That shouldn't be a problem - she's a very, very good mover. And shaker.

I also found out that my blood type isn't what I thought it was. I always thought it was A+ (or, "A plus", as I like to call it), but apparently it's A-, which means I'm Rh negative. Lee's blood type is O+, so he's Rh positive. And this has the potential to be a bad thing, so I have to get a shot of this stuff that will trick my body into thinking that the potential "positiveness" of the baby's blood isn't a foreign substance. If we were both positive or both negative, it wouldn't have been a problem. But because I'm one and he's the other, I have to get this shot. And I'll have to get it with every pregnancy. Interesting. (Here's a website that makes sense out of what I just said: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/rhfactor.html)

Our next job is to pick a pediatrician and set up a tour of Baptist Hospital. And our birthing class teacher mentioned that she has a friend who's trying to get certified as a doula - she just needs to attend one more birth to get her certification. A nice thing is that she wouldn't charge us anything. But I'm wondering if I'd get panicky with extra people in the delivery room. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a huge decision. But we'll still think about it and pray about it to see if it's a good choice for us.

I see our midwife every two weeks now! Way back in May, I thought that December would never get here. And now, here we are, going for a checkup every two weeks. Grow, baby, grow!

Farewell, Innie

Dear Innie Belly Button,

What can I say? It's been nice knowing you, and I do hope you'll eventually come back.

Over the past month or so, you've gotten progressively shallower and shallower. You spent a few weeks almost completely flattened out. Until now. Now it's like you have split into two separate beings, each with its own agenda.

The bottom half? You're still flat and have resisted the urge to turn into an outie. Thank you for that. Except you don't match your counterpart.

Because the top half? Yeah, we've got a problem. Apparently YOU think it's okay to break away from the pack and have a mind of your own. YOU think it's okay to poke out like a turkey timer. Do you two halves know how weird it is to sport a half-innie/half-outie? Very.

If I have to lose my cute innie belly button, couldn't it at least happen all at once? Is that too much to ask? Hey top-half, stop trying to be the hero. Slow down and let bottom-half catch up. And bottom-half, if you're eventually going to become an outie, just do it. Commit!

Kicking Grandparents

26 weeks, 4 days - my mom felt GB kick! My parents came over last night to drop off a batch of beef stew (when they cook something big like a soup or a stew, they always make extra and bring us a batch - they're so cute), and we were sitting around talking about all sorts of random-though-probably-baby-related stuff when GB started moving around like crazy. I grabbed Mom's hand and put it on my stomach and GB kicked!

Kicking grandparents will definitely be one of our rules once she's born, but for right now, it's totally okay.

Oh, and my mom decided she wants to be called Lu - I LOVE it! I asked her if she would spell it like "loo" and she said no, because she is neither British nor a bathroom in England. So "Lu" it is! (Granted, she might be called "Woo" for a while since I'm disovering that Ls are hard for some toddlers to pronounce. Thankfully, my mom thinks "Woo" is cute, too)

My dad has never really cared what he's called - his dad was always "Granddaddy" to my sister and me, and I think it'd be cute for GB to call my dad that.

Double Digits!

Today I'm 25 weeks, 6 days along - only 99 days left!!

Hurricane Ivan

• ... hit 4 years ago today - boo :(
• ... helped Lee know he wanted to marry me - yay :)

Doctor Swapping

We decided to switch doctors mid-pregnancy. I had no problems whatsoever with our original OB, but because she had worked the past two Christmases, this was her year to take off. GB's due date is December 26th so I was nervous that the doctor who would get to know us and our baby wouldn't be the one to be with us at the hospital. I know there's always a chance (and a good chance, from talking to a few people) that even if she had been in town, she still might not have delivered GB.

Despite that, I still wanted to switch. A woman we go to church with highly recommended a local midwife. As soon as I said the word "midwife" to Lee, I could tell what he was thinking - that the midwife's name was probably something like "Moonflower" or "Stardust" and that I wanted to give birth at home, surrounded by lots of friends and family. I quickly assured him that I wanted to deliver in a hospital (no offense to home birth moms - I'm just not completely sold on the idea), and that there would be a doctor available if something went wrong.

We had an initial visit with our midwife on September 4th. I immediately liked her. She's warm, friendly, and - most importantly - got my and Lee's sense of humor. She said she wholeheartedly supports the type of birthing class that Lee and I are taking, which was nice to hear (since I've heard rumors about medical professionals not particularly liking it). And she's totally on board with me wanting to have an unmedicated birth. She said that she has a very good track record at being at her patients' births - that if she is going to spend time getting to know us, she doesn't want someone else swooping in at the last minute.

The only time she's not at a birth is Christmas morning. She and her husband have two school-aged children, so she always spends Christmas morning with her family. She said that if GB comes on Christmas Day, just to hold off until Christmas Afternoon or Evening and she'll be there. Did you hear that, GB? Hold off at least until our midwife can open presents with her kiddos.

The first 'real' visit with our midwife was on 9/15. The office for my original OB still hadn't released my records to my midwife, so most of the appointment was spent answering health-related questions. We got to hear GB's heartbeat again - that never ceases to amaze me. I forgot to ask how fast it was, but in my expert medical opinion, I'm thinking it was 140ish bpm.

I didn't gain any weight between the 4th and the 15th (or at least her scales didn't show that I did - I beg to differ). So far, I'm up 16.5 pounds.

I start the 3rd trimester (!) on Friday, and Lee says that he's putting me into full Rocky mode: two raw eggs and a quart of milk for breakfast every morning. Ha! Although my goal is to eat 80g-100g of protein every day, I think I'll pass on the raw eggs and opt for cooked ones instead. And maybe not a quart of milk in the morning ... maybe just a big glass instead.

I can't believe we're almost to the 3rd trimester. In other words, non-pregnant people, Christmas isn't too far away!

Ahhh ...

Yes, it's a little awkward ... and yes, it makes for a weird barrier between Lee and me. But my hips and back are very happy with me right now.

This isn't the exact one I have - mine has a zippered insert that I can add to turn the pillow into a groovy little place for GB to hang out. But this is assuming the pillow ever makes it off my bed, which doesn't seem to be very likely. Sorry about that, GB ...

He's a Believer!

23 Weeks, 1 Day - Lee felt the baby kick! I had been trying to get him to feel her for a week or two now, but every time he'd put his hand on my stomach, she'd stop (the little stinker). We were in bed on Saturday morning and I guess I was in the right position to get her moving around.

I grabbed Lee's hand and put it on my stomach and didn't say anything - whenever I put my hand on my stomach and I feel her kick, I can't tell if I feel it on my hand or if I'm just feeling it because, well, she's inside me.

So when she kicked, I didn't want to say that she kicked - I wanted to know if Lee could feel it without me saying when she kicked. She cooperated like a champ and Lee was able to feel it! I was so excited. The look on his face was priceless ...

And now, he says, he finally believes me that I'm pregnant. I haven't just gained a beer gut :)

Note to Self

Self: just because a pair of shorts were fairly loose pre-pregnancy does not, I repeat does not, mean they will fit everywhere else but the waist mid-pregnancy. Unless you want to feel like a hippo, never ever try on pre-pregnancy clothes mid-pregnancy. It's not just your belly that has to expand. Other areas have to expand to accommodate growing a gorilla baby.

Ankles and Freckles

23 Weeks - Today is the first day I noticed that I now have cankles. I thought I was going to be able to longer without getting swollen, but no such luck. They don't hurt, but they look like they should. I've been good about propping my feet on a footrest while at work but maybe it's not high enough. I'll have to be sure to put my feet up when I'm at home, too. Hmm ... relegated to sitting on the couch with my feet propped up on pillows ... that sounds pretty great right about now!

This pregnancy has shown me that I have a freckle that has, until now, been hidden. Now that my belly button is getting shallower (by the minute, it seems), I'm able to see it in a whole new light. And just yesterday I discovered that I have a freckle smack dab in the middle of my belly button. I never would have known that had I not gotten pregnant.

My freckle total is now 12,001.

Color Scheme

I think we've decided on a color scheme for Gorilla Baby's room! The big green square will be the wall color and the dark green and pink will be accents throughout the room. (The wall color is a little more springy and a little less pea soupy in person)

I don't think I could have handled a pink room, but I definitely want there to be some pink accents - I want someone to know that it's a girl's room but I don't want to make them nauseous with pink-overload. This scheme seems like a good balance ...

First Kicks?

21 weeks, 4 days - I think I'm convinced that I've felt her kick! I haven't ever felt the 'flutters' that everyone talks about. These are more of a combination between bubbles and light pokes. I've felt them before but haven't been 100% sure that it's her and not something I ate.

But after lunch today, I felt it about 6 or 7 times within a few minutes. And even now, I'm not 100% sure ... but I'm like 90% sure. And that'll work for me!

Kick away, baby girl. I don't mind one bit!

GB at 19 Weeks

We'll scan some more in soon, but here's her 19 week picture. This is obviously not the shot where she's flashing her girl parts, but it's a pretty neat profile shot.

She's so pretty.

Trip to the ER

Lee took me to the ER early yesterday morning. Nothing baby related, thank goodness. But it was my arms. Something was seriously wrong with my arms.

At our OB appointment on Thursday, I noticed that my left forearm hurt. It was throbbing, like it had been punched. I'm a super-klutz, so I didn't even bother to mention it to my OB - I figured I had run into something or strained it somehow.

But later that night, the pain was in both forearms, and creeping up towards my shoulders. It was horrible. I'm too young to have a stroke or a heart attack, but it still had me worried. My tendons felt like they were being pinched all the way up both arms. I wrapped a heating pad around both arms and tried to get some sleep.

Around 3am on Friday morning, I woke Lee up. The throbbing was almost unbearable and my grip strength felt weaker in both hands. He made me an ice pack, suggesting that alternating between heat and cold might help. I fell back asleep and woke up at 5am to more throbbing and aching.

(How wussy does "My arms hurt" sound?! If it didn't happen to me, I would have a hard time believing that arm pain could be that bad.)

We were wondering whether I should just wait until Urgent Care opened at 8am or to head on the ER. After about 20 minutes, I decided that I couldn't wait until 8 - I had to do something. So off we went to the ER at Baptist Hospital.

They drew blood, checked my vitals, and even called my OB to ask her some questions. They checked the baby's heart rate to make sure everything was fine (it was). Final verdict: unknown. How frustrating.

They said they weren't sure what was causing it. They didn't think it was a blood clot, since I didn't have any swelling or redness in my arms, and I didn't have a fever. They said it could be carpal tunnel, but weren't 100% positive. One nurse suggested that the baby might just be sitting on whatever nerve in my back that connects to my arms. I got a prescription for Darvocet and was told to make an appointment with my OB next week.

So no known cause and I made Lee miss a half a day of work. I felt like a world-class schmuck.

Thankfully, when I woke up this morning, my arms felt better. They still ached a bit, but nothing close to how bad they hurt on Friday. Maybe the nurse was right - mabye GB was just sitting pretty on a nerve.

She's totally grounded if she does this again.

Ready or Not

So I thought I had it all planned out. In my mind, everything was set and it was just a matter of confirmation. And then things change. Three little words have changed our lives.

It's a girl.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

The first thing Lee said when we found out: "I'm so DONE." The second thing: "Well, I guess I just have to get ready to go to jail in about 14 or 15 years when the first boys start coming by the house."

(The ultrasound tech was kind enough to check about 5 or 6 times to make sure that the baby was a girl - Lee wanted absolute certainty!)

In addition to the baby being incredibly un-modest and flashing her girl bits for the world to see, we also got to see two healthy kidneys, a nicely-forming brain, the four chambers if her wonderful heart, and two spindly arms and legs (that look perfect to make jump shots with).

We're biased, but she's totally beautiful. (There's two ultrasound pictures where she does look look a little, um, scary ... but I'm hoping that just wasn't her best side ...)

She is measuring at 19 weeks, 3 days, which is just two days shy of how far along I actually am, so my due date remains the same - December 26th. Lee and I were also thrilled to hear that her head is actually measuring smaller than everything else, at 18 weeks, 5 days. Maybe our fears of having an abnormally large-headed baby are unnecessary now!

She was moving around like a champ during the whole ultrasound, but I still don't think I'm 100% convinced that I've felt anything yet. It's just a matter of time now.

Our plan was to have both set of parents over for dinner that night, and tell them all at the same time. So after our appointment, Lee swung by his parents' place to pick them up and I went to Party City to buy some pink bowls, pink napkins, and pink silverware (pinkware?). My parents met us at our house, and we told them all the news by surprising them with dinner served in the pink bowls. And my super-cute mom brought over Thin Mint Pie (which tastes as good as it sounds) for dessert, and right before she served it, she put a few drops of red food coloring into the Cool Whip to turn it pink. So, so cute.

Bring on the pink, the pigtails, the dresses, and the tea parties ... and also, the fishing, the golfing, and the basketball. :)

(by the way, if anyone listens to country music, the song "All-American Girl" by Carrie Underwood fits perfectly right about now ...)

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Weight gain: +10 lbs

Random Updates

Well I've already failed at keeping up with this blog on a regular basis, but I'll try again!

• I swear I've been more tired the 2nd trimester than the 1st - I actually felt pretty normal during the 1st trimester. I had major problems with being tired before I got pregnant, so I had a hard time believing that I could actually get any tired-er. And it's not that it any more than usual, it just happens earlier. I'd actually like to go to bed right now (6:21pm)
  
  
• I've gotten more and more headaches, which has been really frustrating. My doctor prescribed some medicine, but I hate relying on it to make me feel better. But I guess that's what it's for. I wouldn't be surprised if this insane heat is causing at least some of my headaches. It's unfortunate that I can't take a pill to make the temperature drop by 30 degrees and the humidity drop by 50%.
  
  
• Yesterday, Lee very, um, lovingly pointed out that my belly button looks different. And he was right. It's nowhere near poking out yet, but it's getting shallower by the day. I've gotten attached to my innie, and it's only a matter of time before it's full-fledged outie.
  
  
• I love maternity pants. I've never worn more comfortable clothes in my life. No zippers? Score! No buttons? Another score!
  
  
• I only have one more week of school. I didn't realize how preoccupied I've been with all the planning I want to do for the baby, but it's been insanely hard trying to concentrate on anything school-related. I had been planning on just taking off the Spring semester, but just recently decided to take off the Fall semester too. I'm stressed now, and I'm not big or uncomfortable yet, so I can't even imagine how I'd be next semester. There's no law that says I have to graduate by a certain date - it was just an imaginary deadline I set on myself. So I took it off! And I'm so happy with that decision. Lee's happy too. He can finally get a break from doing my share of the housework (Have I mentioned how wonderful my husband is? He is so very wonderful.)
  
  
• Oh, and we decided not to get the Triple Screen done. It just didn't seem worth it to us. If I were over 35 or either one of us had a family history of illness, then maybe we'd think harder about it. But we feel strongly that God will guide us through whatever He puts in our path. And that's really comforting.
  
  
• Add to the list of delicious food - fresh pineapple.
  
  
• We start birthing class next month. I'm really curious as to what we'll learn. Two of the classes are taught by the teacher's husband, so I know Lee will appreciate that part.
  
  
• Only 8 more days until we find out if we're having a girl gorilla or a boy gorilla!

I'll aim to update more, so that not all my posts are novels.

Silliness

Lee in his (ahem) super cool hat and me in my (ahem) super cool maternity shirt, showing off our bellies. As one gets bigger, one gets smaller!

(taken at 13 weeks)

Food, Prenatal Tests, and Weight Gain

I'm perfectly aware that the few people who DO read this blog probably won't be interested in most of the things I'm posting, but I'm doing this mainly as a keepsake for me. Feel free to ingore the mundane.

No real food aversions so far, except the smell at the fried chicken counter at Walmart really gets to me now. It never smelled especially good - now it smells especially worse. And it's unfortunate that the deli meat counter is right beside the fried chicken. And it's unfortunate that the slowest people in the world work at the deli meat counter at my Walmart. So I'm pretty queasy by the time I get home from grocery shopping. (Yes, I know you're not supposed to eat deli meat when you're pregnant - but my doctor said it was fine, and sometimes I even remember to heat it up before I eat it. So there, lysteria.)

Mexican food, specifically Taco Bell (which I'm sure it's up for debate as to whether or not that even counts as Mexican food, but whatever), has never tasted more delicious. I don't necessarily crave it, but when I do have it, it's absolutely wonderful.

Oh, and Krispy Kreme donuts? Yeah, I don't like them anymore. How weird is that? I used to love them - and few things were better than when you got them "Hot Now". But I've had them twice now, and each time I was highly disappointed. I couldn't even finish a whole one, that's how bad I thought they were. Did they change their recipe? They seem crispier (krispier?) and it's terribly sad.

I haven't felt the baby move yet - or maybe I have and just didn't realize that's what it was. My doctor told me that I might not feel something until closer to 20 weeks.

Right now, the big decision is whether or not to get the triple screen done. Lee and I have gone over the pros and cons of doing it and not doing it. I'm a worrier, through and through. And the high rate of false positives makes me nervous. And if something is in fact wrong with the baby, it's not like we wouldn't go through with the rest of the pregnancy. And chances are, I'd spend the next 5 months worrying myself sick. But if we don't get the test done, and something is wrong, we won't be prepared in advance for how to take care of a special needs child. needless to say, we've been praying a lot over this decision ... and we have to get the test done before I'm 18 weeks, so we're sort of on a time constraint.

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Weight gain: +5 lbs

I know that I WILL gain weight because I know I HAVE to gain weight, and I really have no problem with that, but it's still weird to see the numbers on the scale go up. And to see that my pre-pregnancy jeans that sort of fit a few weeks ago, sort of fit even less is still weird. It's becoming more real day by day.

(Lee and I have agreed that he'll match me pound for pound - whatever I gain, he'll lose. He's worried I won't be happy with him when I'm in my 9th month and huge and he's looking all svelte ... but I told him it'd be okay. I'd forgive him) :)

Finally an update!

Grab some popcorn - this'll be a long one ...

Wow. Okay, so I know it's been a bajillion years since I've last written anything. And I have no excuse other than that I forgot. And that I'm slightly scatterbrained. And that I've had a lot on my mind recently ...

Just when I thought that I didn't have any spare time, grad school kindly reminds me otherwise. I have no idea what I did with my afternoons and evenings before I started back to school. Did I just sit around and twiddle my thumbs? School is going well, and most of the courses have been pretty good so far, so at least it keeps me interested. But I still feel painfully out of practice when it comes to studying, doing homework, and writing papers. But so far I'm doing better in my grad classes compared to my undergrad classes. It's amazing how when you're really interested in a topic, you do better in that class :) Each semester I've gotten one A and one A-. I assume that'll be the same for the Summer semester too.

So there's that news. And there's the news of Baby Smith! Lee and I are seriously beside ourselves with excitement. We started trying around Thanksgiving '07 and on 4/26/08 at 4:30am, we saw two lines! [Happy 2nd anniversary to us! :)] I had taken about three or four pregnancy tests leading up to the 26th and they were all negative. I was getting really grumpy, especially because they don't give out those dang tests for free! I woke up early on the 26th and was on my way to the bathroom when I saw the last test sitting on my counter. I figured I couldn't get any grumpier, so I just went ahead and took it. Because it was so early in the morning and Lee was still dead asleep, I didn't want to make too much noise while I waited. I washed up, threw some clothes in the hamper, rearranged some clothes in my closet (I enjoy my OCD, thank you very much), and was on my way back to bed when I glanced down at the test. It was pretty dark in the bathroom, but there it was - the slightest bit of the 2nd line.

I ran into the bedroom and started shaking Lee to wake him up. I kept saying "It's positive! It's positive!" Lee's response (still half asleep): "You're positive about what?" Then he rolls over and goes back to sleep. So I shake him again and say "The test! The TEST is positive!" Lee's response (again, still half asleep): "But I didn't take a test." Then he rolls BACK over goes back to sleep. So I resort to (lovingly) smacking him on his arm and (politely) demanding that he get up. He finally woke up and realized what I was telling him.

We wanted to find some cute ways to tell our parents. So I found some bibs that said "I love Grandma" and "I love Grandpa" and bought two of each. I called my mom and asked if she and Dad could stop by our house that night, since Lee had some souveniers from his trip to NC that he bought for him (completely true, by the way). I tried to act all nonchalant, but I'm sure I sounded like a goofball. We stuffed Mom's "Grandma" bib into the coffee mug Lee got for her, and Dad's "Grandpa" big into a shotglass. The shotglass was from a rival school of my dad's - Lee loves to tease my Dad about that since Dad frequently says that Lee went to LSU instead of Tulane. Mom picked up on it immediately and started hugging Lee like crazy. Dad's pitching a fit (not really) about the shotglass, about how he most certainly did NOT go to Virginia Tech and that Lee should KNOW better than to get a crazy gift like that. He's holding the bib in his hand but hasn't looked at it yet. I asked what he was holding and he said "Oh it's some sweatband (?!) or something. I'm still mad about this shotglass!" We finally had him look at the bib, and he joined in the celebration.

Lee broke the news to pretty much everyone else with this story "Um, listen ... do you have a second? I need some advice. Okay, so I got this girl pregnant, and I need to know if I should tell Suze or not." He told it like a pro after the first five or so times. He even told that to one of our pastors at church (the pastor who married us!). It definitely caught him off guard, but it only took him about a nanosecond before he realized who this story was coming from. They can read Lee like a book :)

I called to set up an appointment with an OB and was told I had to wait until 5/15/08, which seemed like an absolute eternity. But that day finally came. We didn't meet with our OB then, but we met with her wonderful nurse practitioner. It took some doing but she was finally able to find the baby - it was too small for us to hear the heartbeat but we could definitely see it - a really quick flashing light. Just over a half a centimeter with a heartbeat! That blows my mind.

Overall, the first trimester was very manageable. I was nauseous a lot, but only got sick once. One of my biggest concerns was (and still is) that I got off my daily migraine prevention medicine once I got pregnant. I've read that many times, women who have migraines before they get pregnant don't have them after they get pregnant. But I'm still worried - especially since the only thing I can take is Extra Strength Tylenol, which is completely useless in my opinion (sorry Johnson and Johnson, or whoever it is that makes Tylenol, but it's true).
So far I haven't had too many bad headaches. I've gotten them more than I was hoping, but I haven't had a full-fledged migraine. The nurse practitioner prescribed some other headache medicine for me to take if I get a really bad one. Hopefully I won't have to use it, but it's nice to have if I do.

Our second appointment was on 6/9/08. Lee was out of town, helping his sister and her family move from Milton, FL to Fresno, CA. I knew I didn't want to go to the appointment by myself, especially if something went wrong, so I invited my mom to come with me. She seemed really tickled to be able to go. I got to meet my OB at this appointment, and she seems really nice. She wasn't able to hear the heartbeat with the little Doppler thing, so she had to do an ultrasound (score!). And again, it took a while to find it, but all of a sudden there was a baby on the monitor! A little alien-ish, but a baby nonetheless! It was really incredible. And it only took a few seconds before the baby started shaking its little arm buds and little leg buds. This is definitely his father's child. And we heard the heartbeat! A healthy 160 bpm! We got some really neat ultrasound pictures from that appointment. Although I wish Lee could have been there, it was really special to have my mom with me.

(And yes, I keep calling the baby a "he". Lee's called the baby a "he" from the moment we found out I was pregnant and it's rubbed off on me. Even though we say "he", more often than not, we call the baby GB, short for Gorilla Baby. I married into a BIG-baby-having family, so I have no doubt that this baby will continue the tradition. Lee jokes - though I use that word loosely as it's not funny at ALL - that the baby will be 18 pounds at birth. 16 pounds of head and 2 pounds of body. Poor kid.)

I'm slowly growing out of my clothes, which is a bit of a bummer since there's not a huge market for tall maternity clothes. Old Navy has been helpful, but not as much as I was hoping. I showed my pooch to Lee a few weeks ago and he said he didn't notice any difference. Now that means that either he thinks that I look like I *always* have a pooch or that he just can't see the bulge that I can. Let's hope it's the second one. :)

We had our third appointment on 7/9/08, again with the nurse practitioner, so Lee has yet to meet our OB. We were hoping for another ultrasound, but unfortunately (not really) she could find the heartbeat with the Doppler thing. There was all of this static noise at first and she said that was the baby moving around. Apparently he wouldn't be still for her to hear the heartbeat (again, such his father's child). My sister said it perfectly - "like trying to stab a grape with a fork!" :) Finally the nurse practitioner found it and it sounded great - 140 bpm!

We find out where it's a girl GB or a boy GB on 8/6/08! Can. Not. Wait!

First Day of School

So I'm really doing it - I'm going back for my Masters. School starts today, but since my degree is 100% online, I don't technically ever go to class. Lee thinks I'm getting my degree via voodoo :)

He's thought about going back to school, too - he may start his MBA in January.

I'm a little nervous, especially since I haven't studied for a test or written a paper in over five years. But I loved buying new school supplies - Office Max is seriously one of my most favorite stores. (Yes, I'm fully aware of just how nerdy that sounds.)

And hopefully by December 2009, I'll have a Masters in Instructional Technology with a certificate in Human Performance Technology.

Wish me luck.

Weekend Getaway to Helen, GA and Charlotte, NC

Despite our best efforts to escape this miserable heat (even if just for a weekend), we couldn't seem to find a place that wasn't in the 80s in the daytime. We even looked at flights to Minnesota - St. Paul was still 85 degrees ...

We decided to drive up to Helen, GA and spend a day there - where the temperature was really comfortable in the morning and at night. Then we drove over to Charlotte, NC and spent a day there - where the temperature was not so comfortable in the morning, day, OR at night. It was very Pensacola-like. Eh, who cares. Lee and I get a kick out of road trips.

We played putt-putt on top of this big hill in Helen - it had been raining pretty much all day but the course was still open. Only a few holes had water hazards.



Can you tell that my golf ball is floating in water?


The view of downtown Helen from the course




Windmill across the street from our hotel


Our cute hotel


The morning we left, Lee wanted to stop at this model railroad exhibit.
I wasn't too keen on the idea, but it was really, really cool.


Bird's eye view


They even had a marching band :)


We hiked up to Ruby Falls before we left for Charlotte


The shiny-cheeked couple at the bottom of the falls

Sister Hazel!

Yes, I love them. And yes they've had more than that one popular song back in the 90s. And thankfully Lee agreed to go with me to hear them play when they came to Pensacola Beach last week.

I'm sure he'll deny it, but I've gotten him to like their music.

They had a great band called Ingram Hill open for them. I've never heard of them before that night, but they were really, really good.

Yay!


Lee getting himself pumped up for the show


Ingram Hill


Sister Hazel


It was an awesome, awesome show. It was well worth being totally exhausted for work the next day.

Midlife (?) Crisis

(I've really got to do better about only posting once a month ... thanks for the reminder, Jess :) )

Lee's birthday was this past Sunday. I won't say which birthday it was (but I will say he's older than 34 and younger than 36).

He was joking that he's hit his midlife crisis. But instead of getting the fancy sports car that's typical of a midlife crisis, he finally got his fancy TV.

He's so excited.

He named it Lee, Jr.