Gratitude

We have been so blessed the past 5 days! A huge thank you to everyone who has sent their well wishes, emails, facebook comments, etc. A big thank you to Aunt S. for the yummy cookies and for listening to me! We got an awesome cookie bouquet from the Y's today and could not be more excited to dig in! Thank you to everyone who calls, even though I don't always talk, we so appreciate your thoughts! And, an especially big thank you to our parents...we have a relatively clean house, full fridge, some sleep, and lots of love thanks to you.

We did a little better in the sleep department last night, I was able to let him sleep in his bassinet in our room for about 2 hours stretches without getting too worried (well, I got up about every 20 minutes to check on him, but managed to sleep in between). I am really not good at falling asleep and get so very anxious about him being okay - but I think that is normal mommy behavior! I am blessed to have a wonderful, healthy baby, and keep telling myself that as I say my prayers each night. We have truly been blessed and I thank God (many times) every day for our little guy! Now for a few pictures...



Too tired to try to figure out how to turn this one, but Logan wanted to show off his outfit from Mrs. Y! He was looking so handsome!

Logan got his first mail from his cousin Aidan. And Peter really isn't asleep here, just a blink!
Our pumpkin's first Halloween! Grandma F bought him this outfit after he came a bit early and needed Halloween clothes!
Our tiny little peanut in his bouncer...lasted about 10 seconds, but so cute!

Logan!

So, we had a baby! And he is wonderful! I'll try to type the birth story one day because it's pretty great, but for now just a little update on our man!

We went to the pediatrician today and Logan has lost just a little weight, to be expected. He's at 5lbs 11 oz. So, we'll go back again tomorrow for a weight check and because he has a little bit of jaundice. They think the jaundice will go away just with more feedings. They helped us a TON with breastfeeding today, and we're doing our best there! Please think lots of poop and pee thoughts for us...we need wet and dirty diapers to show that he is getting enough food!

My mom has been WONDERFUL!!! Lots of help around the house, cooking, holding our little guy. I'm not sleeping a ton, but well, I'm kind of used to that! We're working on that though. Peter is a great daddy and has been such a wonderful support. I haven't been TOO emotional yet, but there has definitely been some crying.

Logan gets to meet his other grandparents on Saturday and he is so excited! I'm healing pretty well, defintely um...uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

For now, just the same pictures I think most people have seen, uploading the new ones will take a little while! But I promise to try and update when we have a chance! Many thanks to all of you for your understanding about my lack of returning emails and phone calls...we promise we are thinking about you and love you all - I just don't make it to the computer very often, and the phone is the last thing I'm thinking about most of the time!

Here's our guy!

39 Weeks, 1 Day

Well, he's still in there! Turns out when the doctor says "any day" she doesn't really mean tomorrow. Silly first time mom for you. Now I'm back to thinking he's waiting until Nov. 6. Oh well, we're trying to stay busy! He'll come out when he's ready (if my husband says that again I might scream - really honey? Just kidding, I know you're just being supportive, love you!).

How far along?39 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 25 total now. And done counting.
Stretch marks? The same.
Sleep: Off and on. Lots of waking up in the middle of the night again and not being able to go back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Constant anticipation...but managing to get my H1N1 shot was pretty good.
Movement: Much slower, but still going!
Food cravings: Anything that might bring on labor...pineapple, spicy...
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Well, when the doctor says his head is so low she doesn't know how you're walking, is that a sign? Over 1cm, 80% effaced.
Belly Button in or out? In, I think Peter's prediction of in the whole time is coming true.
What I miss: People not making comments every 3 seconds about where the baby is...yep, I know, he's still in there!
What I am looking forward to: The doctor on Monday to see how things are going now!
Milestones: 1 more week until the due date! 14 days and he has to be out!

39 Week Appointment

We had another great appointment today...and I SO adore the doctor we saw today. Don't get me wrong, I like all 3 of them, but she just calms me down so well, and did it again today. I will say our appointment was at 1:45 and she didn't come in until 3:00...but it was worth the wait. Wonderful heartbeat, she talked to me about the movement and reassured me all is well. She thinks he's going to be about 7.5 pounds, and says he's doing great.

All right, for the details...stop reading if you don't want them! Right when she started my internal she started laughing and was like "Woah woman, how are you still walking? His head is SO low! You must have to pee every 30 seconds (this is true!)." So he is dropped, locked and loaded. She showed me when I was having a contraction too, just a Braxton Hicks, but lots of tummy tightening. So, a little over 1cm now, and 80% effaced. She says we should have a baby any day, but that he will definitely be an October baby. SOOOOOO exciting!!!

We also talked about how I sent my first student home with a fever today and 2 more were at home sick...our school is just rampant with flu, as most are. She went ahead and gave me a prescrtiption for Tamiflu and I'll start that tomorrow. She also highly suggested again I get the H1N1 vaccine. So, I went off to the one site around here that's giving it at the moment, oddly a spot in the mall where the Health Department is giving them. It was open from 3 - 7. I got there as early as I could, about 3:45, and the line was LONG. I almost turned around. But, I knew how important it was, so I decided to tough it out. I called my mom, because I figured the thing that was going to pull me out of line would be my bladder...and she came to wait with me, with a chair! :) I was around number 560 and about 5:00 they said they only thought they'd get to number 400...but, we decided to tough it out. And, Hurray!!!!! I got in at literally 6:56, they closed the door at 7 sharp. Only about 7 people behind me made it in. So, I am now fully vaccinated against both flus... And the OB said that it would be good because the baby would get just a smidge of that immunity. So, I know there are a lot of different opinions on getting the vaccine, and if you think I'm dumb, please don't tell me! It was a tough decision for me, but I had to go with what my doctors said.

Anyway, a good day! I'm going to try to chill out on the worries...and cannot wait to meet Logan! :)

Worry, worry, worry...

That's all I do these days. I worry about whether he's moving enough. I worry about whether he'll be okay when he's delivered. I worry that we've been so blessed to get this far and something is going to go wrong. I am a bit of a mess.

I have had a wonderful pregnancy. 2 small scares in the beginning that ended with good news, an amazingly supportive husband, and a relatively comfortable experience. And I'm just so scared that it's all too good to be true. I worry because right now, I'm the only one that can tell how things are going, because I'm the one that can feel him, no one else can do that for me. I say prayers all the time, count my blessings, and try to remind myself to be logical - not something I have been able to do for oh, 29 years. I mean, I've always had awful anxiety - and this is a HUGE event to be anxious about.

So, if you have any nice, calming vibes, send them my way. I am SO ready to meet Logan, so ready to worry about something new. I know we are so very lucky and blessed - thank you all so much for all of your support on this journey with us!

38 Weeks

Well, no picture because my camera is broken. Water spilled all over my purse in quite a dramatic event, and while the phone eventually made it, the camera is resisting so far. Peter's camera is charging in anticipation of the big event, so the picture will have to wait again...sorry, no worries, I don't look that exciting!

On a different note, Peter just showed me how the blog comes up on his computer and it's a yellow mess that is really hard to read. On my computer it's a cute brown background and some polka dots around the sides. I'm not sure why this is happening...if it's a wierd yellow mess on your computer, can you let me know? And if you know why, that would be great too. I've tried it on Firefox and Explorer on mine and all is fine...but I don't want people to not be able to see it! Especially when Logan gets here and the excitement really starts!

Now, onto the main event...

How far along?37 Weeks. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Total weight gain/loss: Up 24 total now...thank goodness for the elliptical those first 8 months!
Stretch marks? A few more from the side, nothing spectacular.
Sleep: Still getting worried at night and getting up to pee a lot...I've done a kick count at 4:30 am for the past two nights because I've been worried. Come out Logan, so I can worry about you out here instead!
Best moment this week: The doctor's appointment and the 1cm news!
Movement: He's doing all right, I'm still worrying about it.
Food cravings: Sweets
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Besides the 1cm dilated, nothing else.
Belly Button in or out? Still in, one side still a little more out at night.
What I miss: Back to missing sleeping on my stomach this week - but just ready for Logan!
What I am looking forward to: Our doctor's appointment on Monday...where I'm still expecting to be 1cm...
Milestones: The 1cm I guess (how many more times can I mention this?)...we're ready!!!

38 Week Appointment

Well, it was back to the doctor's again today! We had another great appointment. It was my first internal, and I was expecting nothing...and instead found out I'm 1cm. dialated and 50% effaced. Which means absolutely nothing, I know I could be this way until 41 weeks, but it's still fun! The doctor says everything seems to be going well and we'll see how things go next week (she did say, "If we don't see you before that" as I was headed out the door, but I'm not getting my hopes up!). My long term sub comes to shadow me on Thursday and that's the last big thing I've got I think...but if Logan wants to show up he's welcome anytime!

37 Weeks

No picture yet. There was going to be a picture because we were going out tonight, but then I took off my sneakers and my husband got quite worried about how swollen my feet were. So, it was off to comfy clothes and a spot with my feet up on the couch. I refuse to take a picture in grubby clothes two weeks in a row, so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

How far along?37 Weeks. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Total weight gain/loss: Up 23 total now...life goes on. This baby did not get the memo about weight gain stopping at the end of pregnancy.
Stretch marks? Nothing new. Although, Peter says that with the video camera you can really see the line that runs along my midsection (you know, that one lucky pregnant women get, vertical right up to their belly button). It's still really hard to see with the naked eye.
Sleep: Lots of being awake in the middle of the night this week. I still just lay there. I know you're supposed to just get up and out of the bed, but oh well...I lay there and ponder life.
Best moment this week: Flowers from Peter delivered to school! The card was too sweet: "Dear Mommy, Can't wait to see you soon. Love, Daddy and Logan." AWWWW!!!
Movement: He's still making his presence known.
Food cravings: Spicy, spicy, spicy...still haven't had that Mexican.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Um, last night? I had what I think just felt like cramps for about 1.5 hours, from 11:30 - 1:00am. I don't think they were contractions, because I couldn't really give you a start/stop point. But it made for interesting conversation between my husband and I for a few hours. Not sure if it was a labor sign. Pretty sure not...maybe it was just bad IHOP (yep, had it again last night).
Belly Button in or out? Big News!!! One side seems to be going out a little - just a little, but it's kind of funny!
What I miss: Nothing this week. I'm content and ready for baby Logan!
What I am looking forward to: Logan, Logan, Logan!!! But I still think it's going to be a few weeks!
Milestones: FULL TERM!!! Good job little guy!!

The Socks...

So, someone wants to know the sock brand...hehe, I have an anonymous commenter! I am oh so popular! I tried to find a picture of them tonight and can't find them online at Target at all anymore, 2 weeks they were there, now they are not...but at Target they are the Circo brand. At my Target they are all over the place in larger sizes, just really hard to find in 0-6 months.

I know Babies R Us has their own brand of the same socks, but these are the ones I found there:
They're the Lamaze Brand, a newer brand they're carrying at Babies R Us. So anyway, they have the treads on the bottom, but the important part again is the fold down part. They're like those long socks we had in late elementary school/middle school that are all cotton and you just fold them down a couple of times. Again, this is apparently the key part because the socks that are just booties can be easily kicked off but folding it down makes it tighter and hard to kick off.

So anonymous, if you happen to be one of the pregnant ladies I know, good luck...the sock hunt is definitely a hard one - these online were only in 6-12 months. I'll let you know if I find them anywhere else! :)

PS - You really did make my day by asking a question, thanks!

37 Week Appointment

Well, never fear, I'm actually in quite a positive mood for this post! Thanks to everyone who read the last few and made sure I was all right - just moody pregnant woman!

We had our 37 week doctor's appointment today! It literally took 5 minutes. But, it was all good news. Still love to hear that beating heart and they checked again to make sure he was head down, he is just as he should be! The likelihood of him turning at this point is very slim, so hopefully he'll be a good boy and remain in position. We asked about the H1N1 vaccine, and the doctor isn't sure what's going on with it. The nasal spray one is out at this point in some places, but pregnant women can't get that, so we're just in wait and see mode. Our next appointment is next Tuesday!

In other wonderful news, my son is no longer going to have cold feet! I have been consumed with a sock search in the past few weeks. One of my friends who had baby about 8 months ago gave me these socks at my shower and said they were the only ones that would stay on, they were amazing. So, of course I'm like all right, these are important. Well, then 2 weeks later I got another present from a friend who has a 2 and 4 year old and guess what was inside? The same socks, and she said the same thing. So then it just became gospel. So here I am with 2 pairs, and desparate to find more. They're just these simple fold down socks from Target/Babies R Us, but the key is the fold down part. Well, I've been on the hunt for 6 weeks. My mother was on the lookout. We were obsessed. And Peter and I were in Babies R Us the other day for the billionth time and I was so upset because I still could not find any of these socks in 0-6 months. Well, I decide to look in one other place - and THERE THEY ARE! There were 9 pairs and Peter was like, good grief, get them all so we can stop the sock obsession!

So, woo hoo, Logan will have nice toasty feet now. And we bought our video camera and stopwatch battery today - the to do list only has a few very little things left that are minor. We're ready for the little man! Just one more day of parent conferences tomorrow then time to start Labor Watch! :)

Not gonna lie...

So, the honest truth is I'm having a hard time. I'm stuck at this in between place, and honestly, in a lot of ways, I'm ready to meet Logan! He'll be full term on Friday and I'm ready. I've felt absolutely NOTHING in terms of contractions or anything, not that I'm expecting to this early. But I just think I'm getting anxious. It does not help that Peter does not feel well again, which is stressful because 1) I worry about going into labor with him not feeling well, and 2)There are a few little things left that I can't do by myself and I am anxious to have them all done 3)I stress Peter out with my worrying so I try not to do it, but I can't help it.

Add to that the fact that not knowing when this baby is coming is REALLY hard when planning for a sub. Someone told me I needed to have 2 weeks worth of plans made, as in full sub plans. Hello, what 2 weeks do I make them for? I have so much for this person (seriously, a whole manual in a 3 ring binder. Really.) that I don't think they need 2 weeks worth of plans, but I guess starting this Friday I'll just get the full sub plans ready for each week - only one week though, 2 is just not going to happen. And to top it all off? My maternity sub cancelled on Friday...so they have to find another one for me. My new mantra is "This is none of my concern..." Totally out of my hands, can't do anything about it.

As promised, a little note about my wonderful mother...yesterday I was really having a hard day (as in crying while driving down 66...luckily in the passenger seat) and my mom didn't even bat an eyelash. She got me out of the house, we ran a ton of errands, and she tried in every way possible to make me feel better. Then, she came home and cleaned my bathrooms...bless her. Then, we did this:
Yep, cleaned bottles. For a baby that I am determined to breastfeed, this kid sure has a lot of bottles! But now they are all cleaned and ready for him, thanks to his grandma.

It's going to be a LONG week...I have my parent teacher conferences Monday and Wednesday. 2 before school each day, then conferences until 7:00pm each night. Tuesday we have a doctor's appointment, but not until 3:15, so no time off school (a good thing I guess, no sub plans). Then Thursday is my school shower.

Oh, and honestly? I don't think Logan's coming until Nov. 6. That's the truth. I think he's going to show his very anxious mommy that he's in control from here on out...so I'm guessing I'll be waiting about 4.5 more weeks. My guess is it's going to seem like 45... :)

Again, vent over. Sorry, not too chipper of a post today, but there's the truth for ya!

36 Weeks!

*Yep, forgot to take the picture when I was in my cute dress, you get the ugly around the house outfit. Big day today with my mom, who is absolutely wonderful to help her crazy pregnant daughter - I'll save those details for another post tomorrow!

How far along?36 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 21 total now...life goes on.
Stretch marks? Some random pink marks, but nothing too terrifying
Sleep: I worry too much at night, keeps me awake...so does my husbands snoring. But it's really not been too bad, I've at least been falling asleep relatively quickly (knock on wood!).
Best moment this week: Finding out he's head down!
Movement: Different, more pushing and stretching, less kicking...according to the doc he's running out of room.
Food cravings: Mexican - this one has not yet been satisfied.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Absolutely nothing. Although, I'm glad I double checked with the doc about when I'm supposed to call. She said when contractions are 5 minutes apart for an hour, lasting 30 - 60 seconds. Ha, in my head I had some freakish idea that they were supposed to LAST 5 minutes. Good grief. Clearly I learned nothing in Childbirth class!
Belly Button in or out? In still.
What I miss: Breathing like a normal person.
What I am looking forward to: My work baby shower is coming up on Thursday!
Milestones: 6 Days until we have a full term baby.

36 Week Appointment!

Well, it's 36 weeks tomorrow, so we headed to the doctor today for our appointment. All was great. We heard his wonderful heartbeat, I was measuring fine. Then she started feeling my belly and I wasn't sure what she was doing...and she announced he is head down! Woo hoo! I had been feeling the hiccups lower, and what I thought was his head, but I figured it could just as easily be a butt (sorry Logan!). We clairified how to know when to go to the hospital, and all in all it was fabulous.

Except...for the second time this week we got the lowdown on the hospital's new visitors policy. They discussed it at our breastfeeding class on Sunday, but I decided not to worry too much about it until today. Well, its pretty extreme, all due to H1N1. Now there are NO visitors allowed in the Women's and Children's center (that means predelivery, during delivery, and postpartum) except your 1 support person (Peter). This is even more extreme than what we thought on Sunday. So, bottom line is even our parents won't get to see Logan until his is home. AHHHHH! My parents are devastated to say the least, Peter's too. Everybody understands it's for his protection, but they were SO very excited! My parents still insist on coming to the hospital for the delivery, even if they have to stay in the waiting room the entire time (their only child is having a baby, can you blame them? I'm glad they're still coming!). Peter also told the doctor today that he was concerned about possibly having issues with his diabetes while I'm in labor, low blood sugar, etc., and then having to leave me to get insulin, eat, etc. The doctor said that in that instance they would probably allow Peter to go out and my mom or dad to come in, so I would have a support person with me, but that it would only be because it is a medical reason and we would have to let the hospital staff know when we get there.

So, Peter's going to take a picture of Logan and can take that out to the waiting room to show them, but other than that...his debut has to wait until he gets home. It's all right, we're all for whatever will keep him safest. Getting REALLY excited!!!