Last Day

I do believe this is the last day for my high heeled shoes, at least for the next 4 to 5 months. With the back pain I'm already experiencing at 9:10 am, I believe a trip to a shoe store may be in order over my lunch break. I must say that I'm sad. I love my high heeled shoes.

Kicks and Dreams!

I am now officially feeling kicks fairly frequently. The most I have felt was laying in bed after the Bengals game. I guess the baby was still all wound up from the excitement too. I love it when I feel the movement and I wish I knew when it was going to happen so I could be perfectly still and really feel it. I can distinguish that feeling from everything else now and it's so cool!

I am still having very wild and vivid dreams. I had one last night about a friend from church who caught the double flu. It was very gross and very graphic. I won't be telling her about the dream, as it didn't portray her in a very good light, at all! I felt so relieved to wake up from that dream. I really want to dream about babies, so maybe I should read one of those books before I fall asleep! I am now getting up almost every night to use the bathroom. I finally bought a nightlight today so I don't kill myself getting to the bathroom anymore.

The laundry room is getting the second nightlight because, this this morning I found that Dewey had chewed up one of my bras during the night. He sleeps in the laundry room and hasn't chewed on anything like that since he was about 8 or 9 months old, so I think taking walks together and using a nightlight for him is in order. We'll probably keep him in his crate for a while, too. I was pretty mad as I don't have very many good bras!!

Only 7 days 22 hours and 20 minutes until our ultrasound (ok, it took me a while to figure that out, but you get the idea that I'm excited)!!

Who Dey!

About noon yesterday, Andrew calls me and asks how much trouble it would be to cancel my lessons for the evening. I told him it wouldn't be bad, as I only had two of them. He said for me to go ahead and do it since his dad had gotten tickets to the Bengals game! This is especially funny since we had just been talking about how we could get a few tickets to go. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I must say that I have never seen such dedicated fans (or should I say fanatics!). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I hope I get to go again someday. I especially enjoyed the Ohio State's marching band at half-time. We had a bit of a walk to get down there so my back is rebelling this morning but it held up amazingly well (thanks to my frequent visits to the chiropractor).

I'm definitely starting to get the itch to buy more baby stuff. Thankfully my husband is reminding me to just wait, since we don't know what gifts we will get. I just like being prepared but I suppose getting things this early is just silly. 9 days until our ultrasound!

Ugh!

Apparently, I'm not one of those pregnant women that gets to stop getting sick at 14 weeks. I got a big whiff of my fridge this morning and it just set me off. Yuck! I hope this goes away after the baby is born (being able to smell the fridge, I mean). Only 10 more days until our ultrasound. I'm very excited (as I've said before)!

Also . . . I'm pretty sure I can feel movement now. It started last week on Thursday when I was laying in bed. I just felt some popping movements that didn't feel like anything else I've ever felt before. I have felt them on and off a few times since then!! Yeah!

Ok, that's all for now. I've got lots to do today, so I'd better get working!

Resolve

Allergies in Pregnancy
by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D.

Women who suffer from nasal symptoms (allergic rhinitis) may find that they get better, stay the same, or feel even worse in pregnancy--each individual's response is different. Symptoms are not life-threatening but can interfere with a good night's sleep and leave you feeling miserable. If you know what you're allergic to and are pregnant, try to avoid that thing (or things) rather than taking lots of medications. It also helps to decrease exposure to cigarette smoke and other known environmental irritants. It's not unusual for women who did not previously have allergies to suffer with nasal congestion while pregnant, as the hormones of pregnancy can cause swelling of the nasal passages and increased mucus production. In these cases, symptoms typically are worst in the second trimester and resolve within a few days after childbirth.

I'm still suffering from a sore throat, ear popping, and sinus congestion. It just doesn't seem to want to go away. I have had allergies all my life but if they get this bad, they usually resolve within a week or so. I have a few ideas of things to try that are natural, so I will try those before just deciding to stand it! I'm also thankful that I have a chiropractor appointment today as I'm having a hard time taking a deep breath because of a sharp pain in my ribs. I'm pretty sure that something got pulled out of place while we were hiking during our camping trip. I love my dog but he can pull pretty hard when he wants to go somewhere fast!

We had a good time last night attending a Cincinnati Red's game. We had great tickets on the 2nd row right by 3rd base. I'm not so much a sports fan as I am just a fan of the atmosphere of major league sports. Anyway, we had fun even though the Red's didn't have a good game!

Only 15 more days until our ultrasound! I'm so very excited!

Weekend Camping and other stuff

We had a great time camping this weekend. Our camping site wasn't the greatest but now we know to call and ask which sites are good for tents or just know because we've been there before. We had a good time hiking, paddle boating, reading, watching movies (yes, we brought our laptop), and cooking campfire food! :) I've got pictures! If I ever blog from home again, I'll have to put some up. We took Dewey with us. It was a bit annoying when the barked at night but I had a good time with him anyway (I can't speak for Andrew).

I also had my yearly dentist appointment this morning and . . . no cavities. I guess Epic Gum and toothpaste can keep my money (they have a cavity free guarantee). I'm a bit sore from the cleaning because my cleaning person was a bit violent.

Still no official baby movement yet. I have felt a few things that feel like fluttering but I'm not absolutely sure what it was yet, so I'm not going to say it was the baby moving. I'm hoping to feel something very soon! I now officially have one pair of pants that won't button. I took them camping with me, so I was extra dirty wearing some pants twice! I have a few other pair of maternity pants (which I might really need in a few weeks) but I need to get them hemmed. I can do one pair by myself but I'm hesitant to hem my jeans. I might see how much it would cost to have someone else do it.

First day of preschool here today, so lots of work to be done. Lots of crying preschoolers too! :(

Classes, house, and other stuff

We just got signed up with our local Bradley method instructor. It's a good thing that I called when I did because her next class starts September 16th. If we waited for the one after that, it would be too late. Our baby would already be here. So we are unofficially signed up (I have to send my deposit). It is a 12 week class that meets on Sunday night, which is a good time for us. I'm also getting ready to sign up for classes at the hospital. Because we are taking a Bradley method class, we have decided not to take a Lamaze class through the hospital (it's pretty expensive too). We are going to go to the "curious couples" session to view the birthing unit, and fill out paper work. I'm also going to take a separate session called "Save-A-Baby." Since Andrew already has CPR training, he isn't going to go to this, but I am.

We found out last week that our renter in Sterling has to move out. So, once again, we're left with an empty house. I just skipped the whole rental thing this time and contacted a realtor. I hope we're able to sell it soon. I wish we could keep it, for sentimental reasons, but it is just so hard to manage from here and is becoming a headache. It would be nice to sell it and get a little cash so we could properly finish our upstairs!

For some strange reason, my body has decided to be queasy again (Andrew says, "hm, you must be pregnant"). The past three days, I have strugged with my fridge and with eating breakfast. I'm going to try taking the B vitamins again and see if that helps. I was hoping to be over this by now, and so far I haven't gotten sick, but I have sure felt like it! I'm just thankful that I do feel better by evening, so I can get some things done around the house. Also, by the time 9 pm rolls around, I feel so exhausted! I'm going to try getting lots of sleep tonight and see if it helps this washed out feeling I still have. I am very thankful to be over my cold! Yeah yeah yeah! I've got to work on staying healthy for the rest of this pregnancy, because that was miserable!

Andrew had his yearly dentist appointment this morning. He is cavity free! We've been using the Epic system (gum and toothpaste) and it seems to have lived up to its cavity free guarantee. It uses xylitol instead of fluride (which I've been reading lately how bad this is). I'm about ready to order some more. I have my dentist appointment next week, so hopefully I get the same report, as we don't have dental insurance anymore!

Dreams

I believe I had my first pregnancy dream last night. In my dream, we already had the baby but I was searching high and low and we could not find any diapers or wipes, and we NEEDED them! That's really all I remember about the dream. It's funny because we already have some diapers (since we're planning on using cloth diapers) but I guess it's because we don't have wipes yet.

I'm starting to feel like we're having a girl. I'm not sure what is leading me to these thoughts. Anyway, only 23 more days and we'll know. I just hope the ultrasound isn't wrong!!

Relief!

Yea! I am finally feeling much better. I prayed so hard for God to clear my ears and He did on Sunday morning! I woke up with a clear ear and told Andrew that I felt like having a party! It's been a little sensitive since then but has remained clear and I'm very thankful! I'm still tired but that could be because I didn't get to bed until about 11:30 pm last night and I still had to wake up at 6:15 for work!

I had an experience with tight pants this weekend, so while I was down at tri-county, getting measured for my bridesmaid dress, I stopped by a maternity store. I found a pair of pants and although they're still pretty loose and I have to keep pulling them up, I am in LOVE with how comfortable they are. I just need to do laundry so I can have the pants clean that I know fit me still. From what I've read, the baby will double in size during these next three weeks, so at least I have some pants to fit, just in case things grow faster than I imagine. I'm so very excited for our next prenatal appointment and ultrasound on September 20. I hope the time goes fast!

Andrew and I are finally getting away this weekend for our long awaited camping trip. Some friends of ours are planning on joining us for one night. I've already made a list of things to bring with us. We're planning on taking Dewey, so it should be fun! I'm excited for him to use the doggy door in our tent. I just hope he doesn't bark in the middle of the night due to strange noises. I'm looking forward to relaxing for a few days. The weather is supposed to be pleasant, so I hope the forecast doesn't change.

Thats all for now!

About Me

Want to know about me? Here it goes . . .

I had a wonderful, loving childhood on a farm in rural Kansas with my parents, sister, brother grandparents, and lots of cats and dogs.

I went to a small private Christian College where I met my hubby. We married the year before I was a senior.

I worked at my alma mater for 1 1/2 years. That's when I began to blog at the prompting of my sister.

In November 2005, we moved to Ohio. In August of 2006, we began the adventure of building our own house.

We completed our house in March of 2007. We got pregnant with the precious baby girl in May of 2007 and I puked a lot! :)

Abigail was born in early February of 2008 and that's my story up until now.

This blog chronicles my life as a working mom just trying to make things run smoothly at home and at work! My relationship with Christ is the most important thing to me. I am also deeply in love with my husband!

My favorite thing to do is to spend time with my husband and daughter. Following in second place are things like reading, taking bubble baths, watching a good movie, blogging (yeah), organizing (I'm a freak, I know), traveling, budgeting (ok, I'm really a freak since I LOVE this) and teaching Sunday School at my church (yeah, grace-chapel.com).

3rd Prenatal Appointment Update

I saw the midwife again today for another routine check-up. I have lost 1/2 pound since my last appointment (yea!), my blood pressure was good, etc. We heard the baby's heartbeat again today and it was nice and strong. She found it right away, as the baby has definitely moved up a bit. I've noticed my pants are tighter! I also asked her about my cold. She said that she has done a lot of research on the immune system during pregnancy and has discovered that it is a bit lowered so the body doesn't attack the baby. So, what takes a person 7 to 10 days to get over, will take a pregnant lady about 14 to 20 days. She said to give my cold another week, and if it doesn't clear up to call them and she would check me out again. The biggest news of the day is that on September 20, 2007, we will find out the sex of our baby!! That is when my 20 week ultrasound and appointment is. We have to go downtown to Christ hospital for it, and I will have to see another doctor in the practice, instead of the midwife, for this appointment. This all seems so surreal to me, like it is happening to someone else (but I'm very glad it's happening to me!!). Perhaps it is just because I'm still living in a tunnel (plugged ear). It has popped a few times today, so I'm taking that as a sign that it is trying to clear up. Andrew issued me a challenge today to try and drink 16 cups of water. A little tea is part of that. I've had about 6 1/2 cups so far, so I've just got to keep pace. It's probably good for me to keep swallowing.

Ok, that's all for now. I can't wait until our next appointment!!!!! :)

It's still a battle!

My cold is not clearing up like I thought it would but it could be much worse, so I'm trying to not complain and be too much of a baby but, as usual, I'm failing at that. I did break down today and visit the doctor (gasp!). I have nothing infected (sinuses, ears, lungs, etc) so there is nothing they can give me. I was actually impressed with this doctor because she did not try to force any antibiotics or other drugs on me, just because I came to the office. I didn't need them so I didn't get them and I like that. I also got to spend plenty of time with her. She is a family doctor so perhaps we'll consider listing them as our child's doctor as well! As were still debating the vaccination issue, I wonder what she thinks about it. Anyway, not much else is going on. I'm trying to just lay low (literally, in my bed!!) and let my immune system fight this stuff. It will help not to have voice lessons to give in the evenings! :) I can tell I'm getting a bit better since I am actually thinking about other things such as mowing and cooking. Even though I don't feel like doing them, at least they are being considered. All for now folks!

Yuck!

I have been hit hard by a terrible summer cold. Ugh! I'm back at work today feeling better but still a bit sluggish and achy (mainly my ear). I am now determined to find a way to keep my immune system boosted so I can stay healthy this winter. This was not much fun. I did recently read that pregnant women have a slightly lowered immune system, in order to protect the baby from the woman's body. So far, Andrew has been fine. I thought he might catch it but since it's been almost a week since I started feeling bad, I think he might be in the clear. I know I need to do better at eating healthy foods and taking regular supplements (besides my prenatal vitamins). The poor baby has probably been rattled a lot, due to my constant coughing! I've also discovered that the things they "allow" a pregnant woman to take for colds during pregnancy don't really have any ingredients in them that work! You can't take the good stuff! I tried some Tylenol cough syrup and about 2 minutes later, my cough was worse. Needless to say, I didn't take that again! So far water has been the best thing: drinking it, hot showers, hot baths, hot towels on my ear, etc! Andrew is getting lots of good experience being a nurse. His best advice, which probably has some truth to it, is to just relax!

I received my Mei Tai carrier! I tried it out with Casey the doll and works great with her! :) Perhaps when I'm feeling better, I'll get Andrew to take some pictures of me and the carrier!

Only 4 more weeks until we find out the sex of the baby!

I'm so tired I can't think of a good title!

First of all, my car died on me yesterday while I was running an errand. My husband rescued me by picking me up from work, buying a new battery and installing it. The car is fine now! Then I got a terrible sore throat last night. I went to sleep very early (fell asleep around 9pm) but woke up quite a bit because of the fire in my throat. I thought about taking a single Tylenol but I resisted and just gargled with salt water a few times during the night. I slept in this morning and just came in to work late. I felt ok while lying in bed reading but definitely feel worse at work so I am definitely fighting something. That's how it goes, isn't it?! Well, I'm enjoying some decaf tea this afternoon and will see how far I make it into the day!

Family Visit

We had a wonderful weekend visit from my family. We went to the Cincinnati Museum Center on Friday, and to the Creation Museum on Saturday. The rest of the time we spent just hanging out, playing cards, swimming, and talking about babies. It was so much fun and I feel very sad that they are gone, so I can't think about that too much (since I'm at work!). I would especially like to thank my wonderful mother who cleaned out my evil fridge and made it smell as nice as possible. I think she also polished my stove! I appreciate all of them making the long journey to come and visit us and see our house. It was so much fun and I already miss them a lot!

The pregnancy seems to be going fine. I am feeling a bit better. I still have a few moments of nausea and tiredness but it is much much better than it used to be. I feel pretty tired right now but we had a busy weekend. I'll catch up on my rest this week! :) I have been feeling lots of stretching and pulling and my tummy area has definitely gotten bigger but I haven't gained any weight since my last appointment (yeah, yeah, yeah), so I guess that is what is supposed to happen! We have 5 more weeks until we find out the sex of the baby. I feel so nervous and excited for that moment. I have an appointment a week from this Friday and I'll find out then, exactly when that day will be, but I know they do the ultrasound at 20 weeks. I'm 15 weeks tomorrow, so only 5 weeks to go before we know for sure! If any family member is reading this and doesn't want to know the sex of the baby, they had better warn us ahead of time and we'll try our best to keep it a secret from those people.

I ordered a few more cloth diapers today. One of them comes with a cloth diapering guide, which will be useful. I wish I had a real baby that I could test all of this on, but I guess that is coming in the future. My mom left my favorite doll with me, so at least I have a model. We're getting much closer to having enough newborn sized diapers to work for us. I need to start collecting a few more size small, because you never know how long he/she will stay in the newborn size! Could be a week! :) I also bought a Mei Tai carrier. I have done lots of research on carriers and we're both pretty excited about "wearing" our baby rather than using a bulky carrier. There was one I looked at with all these metal bars and stuff and looked horrible! I have been taking advice from someone else who has done a lot of baby wearing, so I feel pretty confident in these choices. I plan to also purchase a Moby carrier (perhaps even after the baby arrives) because these look so secure and comfortable, and maybe a sling carrier for the newborn and very small infant stage. We'll see.

We have not caught or seen any mice or evidence of mice since Thursday morning. I hope this means that they are gone!! I'm going to set a few more traps, just to be sure, but we were seeing fresh poop daily and we haven't seen any since we caught the one in the trap. I'm still a bit scared of going out in the mudroom area or in the trash pantry. I need Andrew to help me clean up that area, as the mouse shredded a few paper items in there and I don't really want to go exploring. I stuffed a few openings with steel wool but I'm about ready to use the expanding foam to really seal them! I HATE mice! I hope I can start to feel comfortable again soon. I might just have to get over things!

Ok, this was a really long update! Have a good day!

400th post!

I have sad news to bear upon the anniversary of my 400th post. A war to end all wars has erupted at our house because I discovered this morning . . . our house is not mouse free! I actually saw one (the first time EVER) this morning, when I was headed to let Dewey out of the laundry room. Andrew was able to let it out the back door (I was still streaming in the bathroom) and he said it was very small. I cannot express with words the loathing that I feel when it comes to varmits of any kind living in my dwelling! I actually don't even feel like going home tonight! It is horrible horrible! So, we set another trap (I'm going to buy more at lunch, probably way more than the rational mind would conceive as necessary) and will hopefully get rid of them. I'm about to turn out a huge bowl of poison on them, but I am fearful of my dog eating it. Andrew theory (which does make me feel better) is that since I plugged the hole in the garage (where we thought the mice might be coming in) last night, the mouse today couldn't find a way out of the house. I am also going on another hunt today for expanding foam. Soon our house will be sided with expanding foam instead of vinyl siding. Don't put it past me!

This is WAR! I did not put this much time, effort, and money into this house to suddently have it invaded by the most unwelcome guests imaginable!

He Came, He Stole, We Conquered!

We finally . . . . finally caught our mouse last night! I had set a "traditional" trap in the garbage pantry floor (we have a food pantry and another pantry where our garbage can is) and we got him. Things didn't work out as perfectly as I had wanted, because I was actually the one to discover the dead mouse this morning, as I was working on my crockpot chili for tonight. I admit that I am still a big baby about mice, so I screamed and ran to get Andrew to throw it away. I am hoping against all hope that this was the only mouse in our house and that we can block the one passage way that I think he used. It certainly was a relief to catch him. Maybe it will now be safe for me to purchase more rubber spatulas without them being nibbled on!

Special thanks: to Wayne who set the first two traps (although they didn't work), to Andrew who set the next four traps (which didn't work) and is brave enough to clean up any dead mouse parts, and to my parents, Grandma Myers, and Andrew's Aunt Anne, who all offered their cats, if we were unable to catch the mouse!

RIP little thief!

Progress!

We made so much progress upstairs this weekend! I painted the bathroom on Saturday night, and the ceiling on Sunday. Then Wayne and Susan came over to help us tile the bathroom floor. Susan also trimmed the "baby's" room, which will also serve as a guest room for my parents this weekend. The tile is down in the bathroom and Andrew will grout it tonight. The toilet and vanity will go in on Tuesday night. We aren't going to worry about doing the shower at this time, although you all know how much I can't wait to use the bathtub, so I might push for that sooner rather than later! I wish I had pictures, but we were lazy and didn't take any, in the midst of painting and tiling. Perhaps I can get a few in tonight. I feel like I'm starving now, so I'll actually go eat my lunch during my lunch break.

Settling Down!

I'm looking forward to settling down into a routine after this baby arrives. I was thinking about our lives these past few years and all the changes we've had. Of course, I realize that we are about to go through one of the biggest life changes possible: a new baby.

2003: Got married and Andrew got a new job.

2004: Went to Europe, I got a new job, and we bought our first house.

2005: We quit our jobs in Sterling, Andrew got a new job, went back to school, and we moved to Ohio.

2006: I got a new job. We bought land and started building our new house.

2007: We finished building our own house and discovered that we're having a baby!

I feel like I've been through plenty of life changes to last a while now!

Yea, Yea, Yea!

I am beginning to feel a bit more normal. I hope that I'm not jinxing this by mentioning it, but I hope it's the end of the queasiness. I still felt a bit funny this morning but have certainly perked up after lunch and I don't feel like dropping to the middle of the floor for a nap! Hopefully I won't take my new found energy for granted and start to overdue it (I've had visions of me finishing the painting in the baby's room tonight)! :)

Our project for this weekend is the upstairs bathroom. I absolutely cannot wait until this is done and I can use my new, very deep, bathtub! We are hoping to get the tile in, so we can get the toilet in, before my family comes for a visit this weekend. I'm very excited about having them come and visit. It will be the first time that my parents and brother have seen our new house! Too bad it's not finished! Oh well!

I'm beginning to order a few baby things so that we don't have a huge cost all at once. I'm also trying to only buy things that I don't think anyone else will buy! I ordered a few premade cloth diapers and glass bottles (no plastic for us!) this week. I'm excited for them to arrive to finally see how this "type" of cloth diaper works.

Ok, I guess that's it for today. Maybe I'll be really ambitious and take pictures of the upstairs bathroom progress tonight, but I'm not making any promises. My lunch break is about over! Bye for now!