First Month

Jaundice has officially been cleared! We are still having some bloody diapers but they have gone down significantly. The doctor says that it is just coincidence that this began the same time we started the vitamins and that we need to start them back up again. I am nervous about that though since she seems to be going back to normal. What happens if I give her the drops and she starts having really bad diapers again and it takes this long for her to again go back to normal? I just don't know, I am apprehensive about it. Well, we celebrated her first month the other weekend. Since we had been through so much already, we figured a small celebration with her grandparents would be nice. We had fun, some of her grandparents have been so busy they haven't had a chance to really spend time with her. It was nice to set aside the day to spend with family. I made cupcakes with homemade butter cream icing and coffee. It was yummy! Looking at the pictures from when she first arrived to now, she has changed so much. It is amazing how quickly they change in such a short period of time. Thursday we went and had her newborn pictures taken from Donna Cummings. I realize this is not typically the time for newborn pics and that you have them done earlier but with her jaundice and so many doctor visits, it was hard to pin down a date and time to get them done and I didn't want her to be all yellow in her pictures. They are posted online right now for a month. We are trying to figure out which ones we want to buy. We have already picked the 3 for her birth announcements. I am so excited to get them! This week she has started sleeping through the night more! We are able to sleep longer and we feel so much better! She is now sleeping 4 1/2 to 5 hours during the night now instead of 2 1/3 or 3. I haven't weighed her recently but the last time we went to the doctor she was 8 lb 12 oz. I am thinking she has to be over 9 lbs now. She is growing in length now too. Not so much in width but her newborn stuff is getting too small and she is starting to wear her 0-3 months clothes. Also interestingly, she decided last Friday to roll over! Of course I wasn't recording and she rolled from her tummy to her back and started laughing. It was so cute! She hasn't done it since then but she has come close. I was amazed.

Newborn:


One Month:

First Videos

Here is our Greer getting her first bath at our house. Her Gigi had so much fun! It sounds like she didn't like it but I think it was because she was cold. Since her belly button hadn't healed, she couldn't get it submerged in the water. So, my mom had left her rag on her belly but when she needed to wash her hair, Greer started crying. She now loves her baths!



This next video is Greer's tummy time. She is only 2 weeks in this video and she has been pushing up and lifting her head already for the past week. She started really early throwing back her head so we wanted to see what she would on her stomach. This is what we got...

Doctor Visit Updates

So here we are 2 weeks later and her jaundice is still not completely gone. We are going to the doctor now 2 sometimes 3 times a week. Her poor feet are constantly covered in band aids and I know she is just as tired of going to the doctor as we are. They tell us now that it is jaundice from the breast milk. We had to go to formula for a couple of days and it seemed to bring down her levels some. We were then cleared to go off formula and I could straight breast feed again. Her levels are not going up but they are still very slowly going down. A couple of days ago it was at a 15 and we were told to start her on vitamin D drops. We were told that until her levels go down to a 13, we need to continue going in to see the pediatrician. Yesterday turned eventfull when we discovered blood in her diaper mixed with her stools. I immediately called the doctor and we went up there. I asked about the drops and if that could have effected her system. They didn't seem to think so and didn't give it any thought. I, however, and skeptical. The first night I gave her the drops she seemed to take them fine. The second night I gave them to her she had her first and only projectile spit up. The third night I gave them to her she didn't take them very well at all. Then the next morning she has blood mixed with her poop??? Instead of telling us to stop giving them to her the doctor says that it could be an allergy to milk and that I may have to eliminate all dairy from my diet and that if we end up having to formula feed her, the formula is a very expensive brand. "Great" Last night I did not give her the drops and have not given them to her today. So far she has had a few bloody diapers but also a few regular ones. So, maybe she does have an allergy to dairy but I am thinking it is the drops. Especially since she was perfectly fine up until she started taking them. I am really counting on this next week to be the end of the doctor visits and that by friday her levels will be down to 13. We went back today and had it checked once again. So, we are now waiting to hear back from the lab of her stool sample from yesterday and her bilirubin levels from today. The good news is that her weight has now surpassed her birth weight and she is now at 8 lbs and 9 ounces. She is a normal healthy baby if she can just get passed these 2 experiences!!!

Our First Week

This last week has been very eventful. We got home and immediately people started coming over to visit and help out. Our family has been so great with all the help during the days and nights. This first week has been really hard. With the c-section and lack of sleep, recovery has been difficult. I have been trying to do a lot and get naps in and visit with people, all of which is difficult to do when you have an incision all across your bikini line. Jordan kept asking me why I was so tired. I keep telling him that he didn't just have surgery and that my body is physically tired as well as me being tired from lack of sleep. When we were at the hospital, just before leaving to come home we were told by the pediatrician not to worry about waking her up to feed her and allow her to wake us up. For the first couple of nights that's what we did and it was miserable. The next day I decided to forget what he doctor had said and started attempting to wake her up to feed every 3 hours. She wouldn't want to wake up and eat. I would try and feed her and she would eat for about 5 min before falling back asleep or other times she would eat really good, it wasn't consistent. It was really frustrating. She also wasn't on a sleeping schedule. The doctor's had told us to allow her to make the schedule and then after the first couple of weeks, we should begin a schedule for her to go by. I thought this sounded strange but being a first time parent I didn't know any better. When we woke up the day of her newborn appointment with our pediatrician (last Thursday) I noticed she was yellow. I got worried, we had only been home for 3 days and the night before she had looked good. It is crazy how fast they can change. I went and got my staples out while Jordan took Greer to the doctor. I met up with him laterat the doctor and we were told to stay by the phone, we might have to go to the hospital again and get her checked in to decrease her bilirubin. I thought, great... already she is having to go back to the hospital and all we did was follow the ped's instructions. Again, very frustrating. Later that day we got the phone call telling us we needed to get checked in and stay overnight. I started crying, I was so irritated! We hadn't been home long and we had to again leave our house. The room was at least really cute. It was decorated in animals and her bed looked like a tanning bed.


(She is so lady like! lol)

Staying at that hospital was a blessing in disguise. We had delivered at ETMC and there is not a lactation consultant there to guide you. At Trinity, they have several to help out and inform nursing mothers. They came in and talked to me about all that I was supposed to be doing and how to hold her to keep her from going to sleep, how to wake her up if she did fall asleep, and helped us get a schedule going. They helped me out a lot with questions I still had. They kept coming in and checking on us periodically throughout the night making sure all was going well. The next morning, we were told the good news. Greer's bilirubin count had gone down and we could go home. The lactation consultants came back in and went over things with me again. They gave me their number to call anytime if and when I had questions. I felt more comfortable going home this time, like I was more prepared. Since then, Greer has been waking up or has been easier to wake up to eat. Her color is back to pink and she is now tanner than momma. :) We are going to try this week to work more on the feeding schedule. She has been really good at nursing so we are going to try to bring in a bottle a day. I will nurse at 11 before both of us going to bed. Jordan will get up with a bottle at 2 to feed her and then I will get up at 5 to nurse. We are really hoping this will be better for us and for her. All 3 being able to get some sleep. She is also doing some things really early. She has already started picking her head up and leaving it up for several seconds at a time. She has also started throwing herself back! We have a smart kid on our hands. We went to the doctor again on Saturday for her follow up. Her bilirubin count was still really good, thank goodness. She was measured and was found to be in the 80th percentile for heighth and was at the weight she needed to be. Great news to hear after a really long and tiring week!

C-Section July 4th

Okay, so here is the story:
On Saturday night we were finishing up eating when my water broke. At first I wasn't sure since it wasn't a sudden "gush" of fluid but kept streaming out little at a time. We called the doctor and she told us to get our stuff and head on up to the hospital. Jordan was so funny, he was freaking out! He was running all over the house getting phone chargers and little things put in our bags. I started out all calm but then with him flipping out, I started to lose it. I told him he needed to snap out of it really fast and that him acting this way was not going to help in any way, only will prolong us getting to the hospital. He calmed down slightly until we got the hospital. Hahaha, the nurse even got annoyed with him and had to snap him back to normal. I told him he was about to lose the ability of staying in the room during delivery. If he couldn't handle this, then he definitely couldn't handle delivery. That seemed to do the trick and he calmed down (for a little while). We got checked in and settled into our room at around 7:30. At 9 pm I still had not dilated anymore and was still at 50%. So, they started the petosin. They continued to check on me every few hours. It got to the wee hours of the morning on Sunday and I still had not changed. They started talking c-section and I started crying. I did not want the c-section, I had heard horror stories of recovery and I had wanted to be able to feel a little of the delivery when the time came, not be completely numbed up. Well, at 8 when I still had not dilated and was still at 50%, the c-section was decided on. I started panicking and got sick. I had amazing nurses and doctors! They really helped calm me down as much as possible. Doctor Willis was very calming and worked fast. The anesthesiologist was AMAZING! He was very calming too and told me exactly what was happening when it was happening and guided me through the operation. My delivery nurse was there all the time too, she had stayed past her time to get off to stay with me through the operation. :) Jordan was there holding my hand and talking to me, keeping my mind off of my abdomen laying there wide open.When I heard her cry I was so relieved and knew it was almost over. The nurses made a cute little bow for her to wear and keep her head warm.



Here is Greer with Dr. Willis. So glad she made everything as calm as could be. LOVE HER!



Here we are back in our room after the recovery period. I was ready for a nap!

Swelling and Stretch Marks

I have been priding myself in not having any of these the entire time I have been pregnant. Now, all of a sudden BAM! I have both. Greer has started to drop and therefore has started giving me stretch marks. YUCK! They are on the lower portion of my belly. I have been loading up more on the oil but so far, nothing. I am putting it on all the time. Unfortunately it seems to wear off with the way the clothes are fitting. I noticed today that they seem to be rising. My worst fear is that after all this is over I am going to have this horrible looking stomach and be so embarrassed, never to wear a swimsuit again. If anyone knows of any good remedies please tell me. The stretch marks are at least the small red ones that I have been told go away after time. I hope this is true. My wedding rings do not fit anymore. I am pushing the liquids. Yesterday I drank 2 bottle waters in a period of 15 min and then my sweet mom bought me a Rt. 44 Cranberry Limeade from sonic. I can't get enough, I am always thirsty! I hate not being able to wear at least my wedding band. I feel that people look at me and think I am this knocked up girl who isn't married. I should have a shirt that says,"I am married, but my rings don't fit." Maybe that would send out a wrong message though too. Anyways... so I didn't realize how truly swollen my feet were until yesterday before church. I had gotten all dressed and had my make up on and jewelry. I went to go put on my flats and couldn't fit into them. I knew my feet had swollen a little since heels had been out of the picture for several months. So, I thought maybe it was just those pair of shoes. I went to go put on another pair and the same thing. Ugh, I had no shoes to wear and thought about just not going anymore. Really depressing. Both Jordan and my mom said to just wear my crocks, but are you kidding me? I am not gonna be all dressed up and then have on crocks, how ridiculous. So I had to change clothes and went looking horrible. I am so ready for all this to be over and have all of this mess behind me. I am praying for no more stretch marks and that the temperature outside will not continue to rise above 100. I don't think my feet and hands can take anymore. I am counting down until July 12th when she will be here.

Only 3-4 Weeks Left!

I obviously am not the best blogger in the world. I thought that I would be doing so much better than this. At least 2 or 3 entries per month. I think I am averaging maybe 1? Anyway, school got out a couple of weeks ago and I am soooo thankful. Not only to be having a break but being able to sit when I need to. Those kids require so much more energy than I have right now and are too much of a handful. I am easily irritable and constantly uncomfortable so anything will set me off right now. Jordan is being so good during these final weeks with helping more around the house than usual and taking care of other things, like the dog and watering the yard. Since standing for long periods of time is off limits right now, he has even helped out with cooking! Bending over or squating down is very difficult too. The other day we were out shopping around. We are in the process of repainting our dresser to go in the nursery. So we were shopping for paint and other house hold items. I guess I had slippery fingers all day because I kept dropping everything! If Jordan hadn't been with me I wouldn't have even bothered with picking up the things. But when I would drop something, I would sigh and make a face. Jordan would stand there and laugh and then pick it up for me. So, as you know I have been having contractions known as braxton hicks. Well as we have been getting closer to the due date, these contractions have been coming more common and more sharp. They are really annoying and have on occasion caused me to stop in my track. Jordan has started laughing at me now as I walk. Apparently he gets a kick out of me waddling, isn't he sweet? This afternoon I had to get on to him though as it was about the third time he had laughed at me. We are having a garage sale today and tomorrow and with getting things ready I have made my calve muscles sore. So, today I did look funny as I walked. If you can imagine a 9 month pregnant person waddling AND limping at the same time, you can visualize what I look like walking. On a good note, I went to the doctor today for my regular 2 week check up. She told me that I am now 1 cm dialated, 50% effaced, and little Greer is head down and ready to come. She just needs to drop a little more. She keeps having the hiccups and continues to hit my ribs when she has them. It feels funny but it would be nicer if she was sitting a little lower. We scheduled an induction to be on July 12th just in case she has not arrived by then. With school and all the mess of paper work and confusion of getting things situated, it would be easiest if she was right on time or early. I am glad too that we have an actual day and I am not just in limbo. I need to take another picture soon and post it. Maybe I an get that done this week.

10 WEEKS TO GO!

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that I am going to deliver in 10 weeks! Every time I start thinking about it, I start freaking out. I am wondering if that is normal and why it is that I am freaking out. I mean, is it that we are still without some big important things like a stroller and our car seat? Is it that we are still without our bedding and changing table? Jordan and my grandfather are building the table this month and my grandmother and I are making the bedding this month too. So, I can cross that off our list. We are getting the carpets cleaned this month too so that is another thing off our list. My parents are being AWESOME and buying us our car seat and we have the money for the stroller too. So, really, why am I freaking out??? I guess it could be that I will be going into the unfamiliar territory soon. I have now decided that I will be getting an epidural. I was not so sure at first, but now that I am so anxious about the labor I have decided that I will be getting it. I will not be using some of that anesthesiologists they have at ETMC. There is one that has a hard time giving them without leaking any spinal fluid. Talk about not helping the anxious right??? Well, anyways, we went to see our doctor today for our first semi-weekly visit. We are currently meeting all the doctors in the practice and so far we have loved all of them. They are very comforting and answer any and all questions that we have as well as asking us questions of anything I should be experiencing and then further telling me why I am feeling or having any of those type of changes. So, lately I have started having contractions. They were first starting after I would do ZUMBA and then this weekend and on through the week, they have gotten more common. When I had several in a row on Monday, I called the nurse. She said that it could be normal to start feeling them. I have also been feeling some pain in my upper leg. Some times the pain makes it really hard for me to walk and I end up limping. She said that was normal too from the pressure of the baby. We talked to the doctor about all of this today again and she said that quote on quote, "It was time to start acting pregnant." I am supposed to stop rushing and walk slow, get up slow, and no sudden movements. All of that increases the pain and contractions and that I need to drink lots and lots of water. If you know me, this will all be really hard! I had to say goodbye to teaching ZUMBA for the rest of the pregnancy. I wanted to go all through May, and drinking lots and lots of water is really hard for me. As for the check up, she said the heartbeat was great... 146. HAHA, she had a hard time finding the baby. She is so high up and she was trying to get the heartbeat low in my belly. We go back again in 2 weeks!

New Car and Crib!

Wow! So I am really not good at keeping up with this blog. I thought that I would be better about it and need to start. Okay, so much has happened and now I don't know where to start. I don't have my camera with me to post some pictures so I will have to start with the beginning of the month...

Early this month, we decided that we had had enough fixing up the honda.





It has had constant oil leaks for the past couple of years. No matter where we take it and get it fixed, another leak comes up in the next couple of weeks. The latest leak came with power stearing fluid leak too. OH JOY! And, to top it all off, the air conditioner wasn't working for some reason and we were told that it was most likely the air compressor. So, needless to say, we were done with the car. It would cost too much to fix all the problems it had and we would be better off just getting a new/used car. Plus, with a baby on the way, we need two cars that had 4 doors. Can you imagine getting a car seat in and out of a 2 door car? I didn't want to try it.
So, we went and bought this car...





So, yes, now we have 2 Nissan Altimas. Atleast they are not the same color. And the funny thing is, we didn't try to get another Altima, it just happened. I told Jordan it looked like a mommy car hahaha. He loves it though so far. He said he didn't remember what having air conditioning felt like and loves it! Poor thing! I am glad he has a car now that is reliable and enjoyable.

Okay so on to the crib! After purchasing it and then waiting for A MONTH, it has finally arrived! We set it up last weekend and it is so pretty! Jordan had fun putting it together. I think it made him feel like he had accomplished something. I made sure to take lots of pictures of his first task as daddy. :)


So, this is him beginning the process...


Half way, looking good!


Getting it ready for the mattress...


The final step! Almost done!


Finished! Isn't it so cute? I can't wait for us to get the bedding made and have it in the crib.


The nursery is coming along and looking so cute! Next month we are getting the carpets cleaned and ready. I am so ready for it to be complete!

Nursery On Its Way

So, Spring Break was just the other week and I wanted to get a lot of stuff done during that time. I wanted to have the entire room painted and cleared out. We cleared out the room and there was junk everywhere in our house. We painted the room a really pretty yellow color.





It will look really nice with the white furniture and decorations that will go into it. It is going to take us forever to get everything back in place and go through other stuff. Our theme is nursery rhymes. My grandmother and I are working on making the bedding.I found this really cute fabric. It is pink and white toile that has several different types of nursery rhymes (Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, Hickory Dickory Dock, and Humpty Dumpty, along with others). We are going to add yellow plush, celedon fabric, and lace. We are getting things out of storage now, old trinkets and dolls of mine that I had as a baby. We are going to put them in her room for her to play with.

So Greer is moving more and more everyday. I keep feeling her kick and it makes me jump every time. Most of them are real dainty but there are some where she like karate kicks! Mo>st of my family has felt her kick. For a while, she would kick and when others would try to feel it, she would stop. Again, being shy. Now though, she is so active most people have felt her. This last week I was watching my stomach and I saw her push against me! It was so weird, I have felt her move for a couple of months but never have seen her push. It was the neatest thing so far! Her is the latest belly pic. I can't believe I am now 6 months! The time has gone by so fast!

Little Baby Kicks

Okay, so I am now 21 weeks pregnant! Where did the time go? I can't think about the amount of weeks we have left because then I started freaking out. We have bought several baby clothes. We have so many 0-3 months, we need to start getting 3-6 months. It is so much fun and there are so many cute clothes for girls! I am taking several items up to this store "Snug as a Bug" soon. They will take the colors from the outfits and make these really cute big fluffy bows to match. Jordan is having a lot of fun buying clothes and getting stuff ready too. He is so funny! He is reading all the books and is the first person to tell me what to expect. The first time I had cramps, he says.."It's okay, it's just Braxton Hicks. That's normal right now." We went to Home Depot yesterday to look at some paint samples. I picked out several pink options, more of a rose color. Jordan also picked out a pretty yellow color. I found the fabric option I want online so I have to go to the fabric store to see what it looks like up close. After that, we can choose the color for the walls. I am excited about the bedding. My grandmother and I are making it! I have picked out several fitted sheets and then we are making the dust ruffle, bumper, and curtains. My grandmother has something up her sleeve with the baby quilt.:) She won't let me in on it.

So, the other day I was noticing a different feeling. The butterfly feeling has gotten stronger but then there was something else too. The more it kept on, I figured out what it was. She has started kicking! They are very small and I only feel maybe 3 or 4 a day but it is incredible! That is the big news so far, I am loading a picture of the belly. I have grown so much, I am scared to see what I will look like after all this is over.

New Photos!

So we went to the doctor yesterday and everything looks good! :)
It was so neat to be able to see her little brain and heart. We can now see all four of the chambers and we got to see the blood flow. Then, she did the heartbeat and we watched the heart go up and down along with the beat. It was incredible! So I guess it is true what they say... fast heartbeat=girl. She is still beating about 150.

Here is the pic that shows the four chambers.


Okay so the Braxton Higgs have started up and oh my gosh do they hurt! I get some mild ones and then all of a sudden it's like really? What is going on in there! I am also feeling her more everyday. I am already uncomfortable and my back has started aching. Last night I tried to stretch out my back but my legs wouldn't fit up to my chest anymore! I kept putting pressure on her and could feel her moving out of the way lol.

Here are some of the 3D pictures taken from the doctor too! It is pretty neat, you can see her in detail. She is so pretty!



I love this, it's almost like she is waving to us.











It looks like she is about to suck her thumb. This one is just adorable.















And of course, the little foot picture.



The doctor also measured everything and said she is weighing in great and measuring on time. We are still looking at July 14th!

We went and bought some baby clothes yesterday too. I think we may have gotten carried away. We just kept finding cute clothes and couldn't help it. I think we got like 7 outfits. We are hoping to maybe get started on the nursery this weekend. I still have to find the bedding. I am wanting to find some nursery rhyme bedding. But I also don't want primary colors, we are doing soft colors and it is hard to find good bedding! If anyone comes up with any or has an idea of where to find it, please send me the ideas.

Baby News

So I haven't had much to say which could I guess be a good problem to have but then my blog has been pretty boring. Here is the update on what has been going on...

I think we have pretty much finished our baby registering. I didn't know how much there was to regiseter for! I am disappointed with the variety of baby items Target has for you to choose from. We registered for most of our items from Babies R US and Pottery Barn Baby. I think the bedding, stroller, and car seat we are buying ourselves. We are planning on going up to Dallas to go to USA Baby, probably on Tuesday. We are hoping to find our stroller, bedding, and car seat then. We wanted our nursery to be nursery rhymes so if anyone has any ideas of where to find bedding and decorations... let me know!

I feel like I have ballooned up already! I am only 20 weeks and I feel like my belly button is about to pop out already! How early is it supposed to do that? I figure give it one more month and then it will pop out. I bought a bunch of maternity clothes a couple of weeks ago from Gap and Old Navy. They have some really cute ones. I hate buying stuff online because it is hard to get things in your size, but these all fit great!

Tomorrow we go back to the doctor for our 20 week ultrasound! I am scared to weigh in because I know the scale is going to break. Anyways, I just hope and pray that Greer looks good and we have a great no worry check up!

It's a girl!

I am so excited! Our little Greer Paige will be here in July! I want to go out and start buying EVERYTHING! I went yesterday to get a video ultra sound. My best friend's dad does them which makes it even more special. She is pregnant too and is due the same day that I am. Her parents enjoyed the ultra sound too. Her mom kept saying, that's what our grandbaby looks like right now! :)She was so bashful the entire time. Every time we kept trying to take a picture of her, she kept turning her head away. She didn't want us to see her face I guess. So, sad.. I could see her little ears though and toes and fingers! It is crazy to think that she is the size of my opened hand. She is growing so much! On the way to the visit, I was so nervous. I was afraid that they wouldn't be able to determine the gender, that it wouldn't be very clear. As soon as he got the angle right though, I knew. I was so ecstatic. I have thought from the beginning that it would be a girl but as the time has progressed, I started wondering. I had even had a dream of what our daughter would look like and she was dressed up in her little Christmas outfit. I woke up and told Jordan that we were having a girl. He says he never cared what it would be as long as it was >healthy. I know though that he really wanted a boy. He wanted to be able to play baseball and basketball with him. I told him though that girls can do the same thing and that he will have just as much fun with her as he would with a boy. He may just have to squeeze it in between dance practice and gymnastics. ;)
Well, here are the pictures from the utlra sound. Hopefully I can get the video uploaded soon.

This is her from the side. We kept attempting to have a side profile picture. They would all look good on the screen but then when we were getting ready to take the picture, she turns her head. This is the end result.



This how they determine the gender. If there is a "crack" that means that it is a girl. If there is a "turrle" it means it is a boy. You can definately see there is a crack, so.... we have a girl!!!

16 week doctor visit

We went to the doctor again yesterday for our 16 week visit. I was really hoping she would do another ultra sound or something, but instead it was the usual. She checked the heart rate, 150-160. I started to worry but then she said it was healthy and normal. I thought it was weird though since it dropped so much from last time. I was glad when she said it was normal. The baby has been moving so much more now. I feel it everyday! I think it is going to be a night owl, which is probably not a good sign. During the day, it doesn't move much but at night it goes crazy! I think the other night it was moving while I was sleeping. I remember having dreams about it, weird right? Anyways, I am hoping that I can get my bf Krystal's dad to do another ultra sound video soon. It has been driving me crazy not seeing it! I think they need to do more ultra sounds than just your initial visit and at 20 weeks. I have started a list with all my classes to see what they think I am having. It is funny to see the students trying to guess and using old wives tales they have heard. Some I have never heard of, they are cracking me up. So far, I think they are leaning more towards a boy, but one class was like 12 for girl and 2 for boy. I go back to the doctor Feb 23rd. I wrote the date on the board for them to see and they can stop asking me when I find out the gender. I am so excited! I wish we could do the 3D/4D ultra sound now. They can determine the gender for you as early as this week or 17 weeks. We are going to wait though until the baby's features are more developed so we only have to go once. It is kind of expensive and we don't want to pay for more than one trip. Also, morning sickness hasn't gotten any better. We told the doctor and she said I was strange lol. Most people have morning sickness really bad their first trimester and then it goes away their second trimester. Mine has been the opposite. I am really hoping that as the pregnancy continues, the sickness will go away. Well, my hubby just got home so I am out 'til next time!

Here I am 15 weeks pregnant. My entire tummy is growing! On my weekly email it says that the baby is the size of a navel orange. I didn't realize how big that was until we went to the store today. I saw the oranges and was totally blown away. No wonder my stomach is growing so much. In my Zumba class that I teach, I feel really awkward. Each week has some of the same members but also new members. I am sure they are asking themselves why they are taking a class from a fat person lol. I am ready to start looking pregnant instead of fat. Jordan has been busy reading his new book "Parenting for Father to Be" and he is telling me all of what to expect. :) He told me that close to the end of this month, I should start looking more pregnant. I am so ready! We went today to meet with Donna Cummings. Her place is really pretty, out on Lake Jacksonville. We were looking at pictures and I was getting so excited! I love her maternity pictures! She uses fabric to drape and they are very personal and intimate. They were really sweet. Her baby pics were really cute too. I am so ready now for the maternity pics! She took us around back where her yard goes into the lake. It was really nice and in the spring she has dogwood trees that bloom. She also lives across the street from Patrick Dempsey and pointed out his house to us. I thought it would be nicer but maybe it is on the inside. It is a blue house that has that panelling, what is that called? Anyways, I like brick better and actually thought her house was prettier. We both really liked her a lot and can't wait to get started on pictures!

Baby Shopping!

So the other day I was lying in bed and I started hyperventilating. I was thinking "Holy crap, I am into my 4th month and we have nothing in our babies room. We haven't even started unloading the room to get it ready for the baby. We have all this junk in storage and all these things that we don't need that are just things that we can't seem to part with. We have this mirror that is hideous that goes with one of our dressers. It is so ugly that I do not have it sitting on top of the dresser, but Jordan still won't get rid of it. Anyways, so then I was thinking that not only do we not have anything in the room, but we haven't bought anything yet either! I started going through our check list of the basics and really started freaking out. We had not bought much less looked at the car seats or strollers that we are interested in, we haven't bought a crib, or a rocker. While I understand that these are not a lot of things, they are the ones that cost the most money and I do not expect people to purchase these things for us. I was telling my grandmother of my little panic attack yesterday and out of nowhere she tells me she has two rocking chairs and I can take my pick of them! While most people are wanting the new gliders I am real traditional and want a traditional babies room with the old rockers and heirloom style furniture. I have not been able to find any of the old regular rocking chairs. I went with my grandmother to show me the two I had to choose from and there was the rocking chair I had pictured for the nursery! I almost started crying and immediately felt relief that I had at least one thing for the baby. Today Jordan helped me eliminate more of the fear when we went and put a crib on layaway. I took pictures of the cribs we are going with. Both are the same price so when we find out what the sex of the baby is, we can determine which of these we will end up with.


This crib is my favorite but is rather on the girly side. I love the details in it and the color is adorable. I also took pictures of the detail since it was hard to see in that picture.

This picture shows the headboard of the crib and the next one shows the detail on the legs.

This other picture shows the crib we will exchange it for if it is a boy. It is a sleigh style crib that we will have to order so the color can be changed. It is really pretty as well and is Jordan's favorite.


Now that we actually have some things for the baby I am not so anxious and panicky. I am able to relax a little. I am lucky Jordan is a patient person and is capable of calming me down. We also bought me a vaporizer at Wal-Mart today that I am really excited about starting to use. It should help me breathe better at night. My allergies have gotten worse during the pregnancy so I am willing to do anything I can. It is getting really old coughing and getting sick each week. I also got netipot that I am kind of anxious about. I am scared to use it and have it come out my mouth and causing me to get sick lol. I guess I need to be by the toilet just in case. Anyways, hopefully with both of those and my tylenol and benadryl I will be able to survive.

Start of the Second Trimester

At the beginning of this week my allergies started to flare up again. I have got to buy a vaporizer or humidifier, I cannot breathe! My tummy feels like it has grown each day. My students are so observant, maybe a little too much. One of my girl students tells me each day what has grown. Today, she told me that my tummy was so cute, haha. I feel like I have been so lucky not having morning sickness this entire time. However, now that the first trimester is over and I am into the second trimester I was thinking that I would really start feeling good. On my way to work today I was eating a couple of pieces of toast with jelly. Not even 2 minutes after I had finished the second piece of toast, I started gagging. I was like, really? You have got to be kidding me. Luckily I was in the far lane so I could pull into the turn lane fast. Thank goodness because I did end up having to pull over. On the way I called Jordan and he said he would bring me breakfast since I didn't have time to stop on the way to work. I was so happy when he brought me a chick-fil-a chicken biscuit and hash browns. mmmm, maybe that is why the baby made me sick this morning, because it really wanted greasy fast food. :)

Baby Moves

I felt the baby move! On Monday, Jan. 4. I started feeling this popping in my stomach. I was in the middle of teaching and I just felt it. I brushed it off thinking it was just muscle spasms. It was funny because when I felt it, I was talking and then just stopped mid sentence. The students all looked at me and asked, "Did it kick?" I started laughing and said no but whatever it was felt weird and then we just went on with what we were doing. Then, I felt it later that day and it hasn't stopped this week. On the way home today too, I was sitting still and I felt the tingle "fluttering." So, that just proves that all that popping, poking, and with the fluttering, I have officially started feeling the baby moving! I was thinking that it was so early and that I couldn't possibly be feeling it. I am a member of baby center so I went online to see what others had said. Some had said that they felt it as early as 12 weeks! So, I guess I am not crazy. I also got some text messages from Krystal and she said that she felt it today too! I am so excited!

Baby News

This picture shows my tummy before I got the baby bump. I am only 6 weeks pregnant in this photo. I decided I wanted a pre-preggers picture of the belly before it grew so I had something to compare it to. Who knew at the time that my belly would begin to grow not soon after the picture was taken.

These are the first couple of pictures of Baby Crockett. We went to the doctor December 2nd for our first check up. I was so nervous but excited at the same time. The waiting room at the doctor's office is amazing! It is decorated like a lodge and there is always a gas fire going in the fire place. The music is also very relaxing, I suppose to calm your nerves. I will say that after a long day of dealing with students and all, it is nice to have a place go that relaxes the nerves. Anyways, we went in and met the doctor. We love our doctor! She actually sits down and has a full conversation with you, not like most doctors who acts like they are superior to you. Our doctor, Dr. Boren sits down and will answer all your questions plus some. If anyone is looking for a doctor, I highly recommend her or any of the other doctors at The Four Seasons. So, we go into our room and she does the ultra sound. I am amazed at how much you can see so early in the pregnancy. This was only my 8th week into the pregnancy and you can see the outline of a baby. We also heard for the first time the heart beat, it was 162. We just went back for our second visit on the 30th and everything was good then too. We heard the heartbeat again, this time it was 170!

Thank you Amanda!

I am so thankful that I have friends who know how to blog. One of my sorority sisters came to my rescue today. I asked my sister Amanda to help me out with my blog website. Haha, she came to my rescue thank goodness. She created this amazing new background and layout for me. Isn't she the best? There is no way I could have done this. So, THANK YOU AMANDA! :)