Baby MJ is here!

Well baby Martha made her first appearance at 2:48 pm October 2nd via c-section. For the record, c-sections suck , but I'm alive so thats a plus. The baby is perfect , she weighed 6lb 14oz and 19 and a half inches long. Its been a bumpy couple of weeks adjusting to this new little, loud, pooping, puking person in our home .... but we wouldnt trade it for the world.

Men always get their way....

Matt had been half-way teasing that he wanted me to have the baby on Friday... well guess what?
Friday it is. At least that is the plan so far. Yesterday at the appointment my blood pressure was up a little... I've been feeling fine but they said that its just better to go ahead with the induction than to let my bp keep getting higher. I'm doing a 24 hour urine collection and if everything is ok with that, then we will go in to be induced Friday at 6 am! (Dont they know I'm not a morning person?) On one hand, I want to call and tell everyone - but at the same time I'm afraid the day will change again and then I feel silly calling everyone back! :) Oh well, I'm sure everyone understands that we are not calling the shots now. And speaking of shots, I need to get my flu shot! .... yuck.

One week?

Well last week at the Dr, my blood pressure was the same as it has been - which is ok - better than it being higher!

We are still planning on being induced on Monday October 5th. We go in again tomorrow to see the Dr. and find out more about it. But I'm sure if nothing has changed with my blood pressure, then the plan will stay the same. I'm nervous, but at the same time, I trust our doctor. For now we are just trying to tie up loose ends with all the baby "stuff" since she is probably going to be here a little sooner than I had anticipated.

I'm feeling ok, seems like I get winded pretty easy - and its hard to get in and out of the truck :)

Hopefully we will know more tomorrow!

I'm getting sleeeepy...

And this is only the beginning! I cant imagine how tired I will be once she is actually here. The shower was amazing... so many people came - I dont think any of us expected that kind of turn out! We got a ton of diapers, and a ton of cute tiny little baby clothes. Its so odd to be folding these tiny little onesies and thinking that they will actually be too big for her for a few months!

My last doctors appointment didnt really go as I had planned, but I guess thats life. My blood pressure is up and he wants to possibly induce early if it doesnt go back down. The baby is full term and measuring right on the money as far as weight and everything , so theres no issues there. I'm hoping the bp issues have something to do with extra stress, and me being sick. I've had this "crud" for a while now and I'm sure its not helping anything. My next appointment is Wednesday and we will see how everything looks then. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that my bp makes its way back down to normal so we can continue on through the end of this pregnancy as planned.

We also went for the last ultrasound, Matt actually got to go with me! It was neat to see her squirming around in there, but she is definitley out of room. She's already head down, but liable to move at any time still.

Other than being sick with this cold or whatever it is, I'm doing really good... I honestly cant complain about being pregnant. I am so thankful that I havent had the struggles that a lot of other women face. We are so excited to meet our little girl, and who knows - it might just be sooner than we had expected!

Theres an end in sight...

The "big" appointments have officially started. I had my first one on Tuesday, my cervix is still closed in case anyone was wondering (yeah - right, thats what people wonder about) So now I'll be checked every week to see how I'm progressing. I'm still feeling pretty good. I can see where people would be uncomfortable though. At times the baby feels like she is laying directly on my lungs... its very easy to become winded especially at work! Shes still very active and you can see her roll across my belly when I'm just standing there minding my own business. My last ultrasound is next week, I havent made the appointment yet but it has to be on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I was hoping Matt would be able to come, but he has to work and its just not possible with our schedules for both of us to be there. The baby shower is Saturday and I am SO excited! I cant wait to see all the cute baby decorations and gifts , MJ is so loved and spoiled and she hasnt even made her appearance yet! :) 29 days until the due date! What is everyones guess on the day she'll come?

Just for baby Mmmj

Here is MJs tree all done! and also some pictures showing the progress, and the proud daddy working on it on his lunch break! He was so excited to get it all done... he wanted it to be a "rainbow tree" and I think thats exactly what it is. It is even more bright and colorful in person.
Our next OB appointment is September 8th, and after that I have to start going every week!

Moving right along...

Miss MJ is growing a lot! I feel like she is running low on room in there as she drags her little arms through my vital organs. We have been getting lots done, mostly thanks to helpful family members! Marisa and Ricky came and painted the room (and the bathroom!) for us and it looks great! I wasnt so sure about Matts color choice, but it looks really cute. My cousin Rekedenes husband Chris came and sketched a huge tree on the wall for us and now we are working on painting it. I had ordered some vinyl decorations for the walls, but the tree was a lot smaller than I had expected so we really appreciated him coming and drawing one for us. He is an amazing artist!
I cant wait to see the whole room done , it seems like things move slowly but now they are really coming together. We also moved our bedroom around to make room for baby! We are very excited that everything is running smoothly - we cant wait to meet her.

Also, the baby shower is coming up! I am SO excited to see all our friends and family, and I'm sure its going to be so much fun. Now I just need something to wear :)

Spoonful of sugar

Thats what lil Miss Martha needed at 3 am. I know it always gets rid of my hiccups, but how do you get that through to a currently unborn baby? :) Apparently you don't, you just lay there until the hiccups are gone - an hour later. Everyone kept asking me if she had the hiccups yet and now I know why! It was so weird and theres no way to sleep through it. It was almost like she was surprised too, she kept rolling from side to side and kicking around... the whole time. Needless to say, I'm a little bit sleepy this morning!

MJ the stubborn one...

Well its official, shes just like her daddy. He likes to show me a certain inappropriate finger every time I try to take his picture - she just likes to hide her face.

We had decided to do the 3/D ultrasound to get some cute pictures of her... and it turns out she wasnt in the mood. I was glad to do it anyway because my granny came along and she had never seen an ultrasound before. I think it was neat for her to see the baby moving around, opening and closing her mouth and shaking her little fist.




The next big event is the baby shower! I am so excited - it will be great to see a lot of people I havent seen in forever - and punch and cake are always good.

88 days to go!

Wow time is flying, its hard to imagine that we are past the 100 day mark! Well so far this month the appointments are going ok. I failed my first glucose test, mine was 153, and the cut off was 140. Every single person I've talked to said I should have fasted for it, even though the doctors office said not to. I got up that morning and had breakfast, and supposedly that may be why I failed it. The next step was the "3 hour" test which I took Saturday. I was there from 5:30 AM until 10 AM... so yeah, that equals 3 hours right? Haha. It wasnt as bad as everyone said it would be, only 4 needle sticks!

So anyway, that test went fine, I've already looked at my results and they were fine. Now my next appointment will be on the 30th to meet with the other OB in the office that will deliver the baby "just in case" - it is also the day of our 3d/4d ultrasound! Matt is pretty excited about that one, its not medically necessary, we are just going to get some pictures of her face hopefully, and check once again to see if she is still a "she"! A friend of mine that was expecting a boy, just recently gave birth to a gorgeous little GIRL - so you never know!

We are also having our bathroom completely remodeled, so that is taking up a lot of time and energy. We hired someone to do it, but its still turning out to be a lot of work for us! Hopefully it will be done this week and then we can move on to painting and getting MJ's room ready for her. So exciting!

Oh and the next person that asks if we are naming her "MJ" after Michael Jackson, is getting slapped in the face! :)

Appointments, appointments, appointments!

Well next month seems to be an exciting month for OB appointments. I get to go to the normal wham bam, listen to the baby, thank you ma'am appointment on July 2nd. Then just because it sounds fun, I'm going to drink a cup of hummingbird food and then get stuck with needles on July 6th!

To end of July with a bang though, our 3D/4D U/S is on the 30th! I am pretty excited for this one... we will get to see MJs face and hopefully some of her features! I've seen them turn out really well, and some really creepy. I've heard the later you wait, the more fat and skin the baby will have, so it looks more like a person and less like an alien. Also waiting longer means the baby is getting pretty crammed in there with not a lot of room for movement. So I left it up the scheduling gods (the lady at the front desk) and she chose July 30th. The girl that did my last U/S said she will be doing this one too... which is awesome. She was SO nice and excited... not at all rude like I experienced before at the other place (the other place that my insurance actually pays for! Ugh!)

Thats all I've got for now! Baby MJ seems to be growing great seeing as how I can feel everything she does now. She still seems to get really excited between 7:30-8 pm , I cant figure that one out but its like clockwork every night!

Its a GIRRRRRL!

So baby Wallis is a little precious girl! Of course we would be happy either way - but its really neat to KNOW what we are expecting. Now I can go overboard on pink frilly things and cute little girl dresses.
The scans of the ultrasound pictures are kind of crooked... but they didnt turn out just great anyway. This ultrasound was much more comfortable than the last! She is still kicking my guts on a pretty regular basis... it seems like every evening right around 7:30-8 she gets very active and its almost non-stop kicking... Its just the best feeling ever! I never knew how much you could love a little person before you have even met them.

21 weeks...6 days

The baby is growing great... I got to hear the heartbeat today and it was 146. Dr. said everything looked perfect. I am having a completely normal uneventful pregnancy! I am so thankful for that! Next appointment is the glucose test which I am just oh so excited for. I decided on the orange flavor after much pondering over what the "cola" drink might taste like. So I guess for now , no news is good news! Just wanted to update and let everyone know that everything is still going good.

Just like its Daddy...

Well... the baby has started moving- and doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. If you have ever met my husband... you'll know that he has restless everything syndrome... always moving! He is always tapping his foot or banging on things...seems the little one is following right along with that theme. I'm now feeling flurries of little kicks or punches , or dance routines all through out the day and night - it is pretty amazing.

Matt and I had decided a long time ago on a bedding set for our "future" baby. Then after we actually found out that I was pregnant, of course I started looking at a million different ones... but in the end we decided the first one is our favorite. Not to mention it is for a boy or a girl. Here it is...


Cute huh? It is also 100% organic cotton, which we have found to be the most comfortable bedding for ourselves so why not spoil the lil one?

1 day more than half way! (20w1d)

Its really odd to think that in the same amount of time it has been since I found out we were pregnant- I will have a baby! I am officially more than halfway done growing this baby. According to Babycenter.com the baby is now the length of a banana, and weighs a little over 10 ounces. Speaking of bananas, I guess I should document my "cravings" which I really don't believe in. (Sorry pregnant people that believe in this!) I don't really think that women have such insatiable cravings like maybe they let on that they do - I have become fond of certain things that I didn't like before, but who is to say that's because of being pregnant? I think Matt is getting the pregnancy cravings. He wants fried green beans ALL the time! I like gummy lifesavers, which I never ate a lot of before... now I could eat the whole bag... and pineapple - just fresh pineapple all by itself, I could eat that everyday! Nothing weird, what a disappointment right? But kudos to any women that can send their husband to the grocery store in the middle of the night for pickles and ice cream...

Sleeeeepy.

I am so sleepy! I am actually off work for a few days this week and I'm still tossing and turning all night. I cant sleep past like 3 AM ... which my Dr kind of giggled at and said he thinks God has a way of preparing us for having a newborn. Isn't that cute? Not when you're sleep deprived. In his defense, he did offer me sleeping drugs, Ambien to be exact. Thanks but no thanks, wouldn't take that crap if I wasn't pregnant... let alone while I'm growing a helpless little human that cant say "Mommy, please no - don't drive while you're sleeping!"
So for now I'll tough it out... and keep dropping Matt subtle hints that I really need one of those fancy expensive pregnant people pillows. (you know, subtle- like the jab of an elbow at 2 AM... then whispering "pregnaaancy pilllllow")

Heres the one I'm eyeballing... which is conveniently not located at any Wal-Mart within 100 miles of me.


Please ignore that goofy looking woman who is obviously not pregnant... if she was she would not look so giddy and well rested. Well maybe she just has one of those pillows at home! A-ha!

19 weeks, 4 days ... baby maybe a girl.

Or maybe a boy? Who knows? I'm a little disappointed that our ultrasound was inconclusive. Not that it matters so much... but it would be nice to know so I can get some stuff done around here!

First of all, the ultrasound was very long and mildly uncomfortable.. would you like to feel my pain? Go to your kitchen, grab the cooking oil.
Lay on the floor, now pour the cooking oil into your belly button... Oh wait! Make sure the oil is nice and cold. Now take , hmm.. since you are in the kitchen, lets say - a rolling pin? Go ahead and dig around in your belly button with that for an hour. Wasn't that fun?

All kidding aside, the U/S was pretty neat because we got to see the baby's face and bones... all that good stuff... but at first the cord was in the way of seeing the gender, then after digging in my guts via my navel for a good 20 minutes, the cord moved and we still couldn't get a clear shot. We got some good profile pictures and it was really nice to see that little heart just thumping right along!

The tech said that if she had to lean one way, she would say a girl - but not with more than 60% certainty, she followed that with "I wouldn't run out and buy a bunch of pink stuff" ... so whatever that means. Our next ultrasound will be between 25 and 30 weeks to get the 3D face pictures, so maybe we will see something then. Or maybe the Dr will take pity on me and try to get a peek at our next appointment. Maybe I should come bearing cookies or something... what can you bribe a Dr with?

Would you like to see some pictures?





This one is apparently the best one of the "gender" - its where you should be able to see something, or not... and its not the greatest picture - but go ahead and try anyway. Follow the arrow which is pointing directly down to between the legs and the booty. Those little white lines above there are little feet and legs that are all curled up!

17 weeks, 6 days... and my pants dont fit.

That's right I've officially moved on to bigger and better things, maternity pants. I am excited.
They are actually not too bad and I didn't realize how UNcomfortable regular jeans were until I slipped on these stretchy works of art.

We had our checkup yesterday afternoon, everything looks good... my blood pressure was normal - even though I went directly from work to the Dr's office! Amazing! The doctor scared me a little when he couldn't hear the babies heartbeat and rushed out of the room to grab an ultrasound machine... everything was fine though. He said that its amazing how much the little things zoom around in there and hide behind things that keep you from hearing them on the doppler. So he just quickly scanned across my belly and there he/she was , laying there being a good baby. He showed me the heartbeat, which put my mind at ease - and then the appointment was over. He didn't move towards the nether regions of the baby... so I didn't get any hints at the gender. Our big ultrasound to find out the gender is on the 18th at 3 o'clock. We are so excited! Not really to find out the gender, but just to see the baby!

16 weeks!

I'm just amazed that I am growing a little human! I get updates from babycenter.com and this week, this is what the baby looks like

Thats not what MY body looks like though. LOL. I'm starting to become a lot "rounder" than I am usually. I'm at the point where people are probably thinking "Wow she's really let herself go" But no... not getting fatter, just pregnant. For some reason I was excited for when the baby had toes... well this week, he is growing toenails! So amazing. I should start feeling he/she moving around soon. I am feeling great for the most part, although I do have a bug of some sort today.. my throat is sore... and for those of you who dont know - when you are pregnant, you can't take any of the amazing medications that would make you feel better... you just kind of tough it out.
So wish me luck with the sickness... for now I'm just going to pretend that I feel awesome.

14 weeks, 6 days

I heard from the doctors office yesterday, finally. They said my 24 hour urine was fine, it must have been a fluke that my blood pressure was high. So everything is going good with the baby growing. This morning I read Happy Birthday To You! by Dr Seuss out loud to the baby, a co-worker was asking me if I had been reading to him/her which I think is kind of odd. But if the baby can hear or gain anything from me reading out loud to it, then I guess I might as well. I was thinking about all the things it "hears" all day... probably me griping a lot, or singing horribly to old 80's rock on the radio. Poor baby.

Our next appointment is coming up quickly, May 5th. At that appointment I will make the appointment to have the "big" U/S! It should be that following week... we are excited to see if I am toting around a little Martha or Hank. I bought an intelligender test at Walgreen's last week, its a urine test that is supposedly 90% accurate in telling the gender of the baby. If its right, then we will have a boy! But it really has no science behind it , so the way I see it - it had a 50% chance of being right... HAHA! Oh well, it will be fun to see if it was right or not!

13 weeks, 4 days!

Today was our first appointment where we could hear the heartbeat... we were both pretty excited and looked forward to it all day. We waited for an hour to see the Dr. and then he said that my blood pressure was a little higher than they like it to be, so now I have to do a 24 hour urine collection. Gee am I excited. He assured us it was probably nothing to worry about, a just in case type thing... so don't worry about tiny Hank! We heard the heart beat on the Doppler, what I mean by "we" is me and the Dr... Matt didn't really hear it much I don't think... He will get closer next time! It was all short and sweet and we didn't learn much at all... but I was relieved to hear that the baby is zooming around in there, doing just great. At one point I could hear the heartbeat really clear , and then there was a "whooosh" and it was gone- the Dr said that it was moving, so he went to the other side of my belly and found it again! Pretty neat that the little guy/gal is just swimming around in there! We are anxiously awaiting our next ultrasound so we can see how everything is growing.

I am feeling SO much better than before... I actually have energy to get out of bed now... and I really don't have any complaints! Still really excited!!! :)

The beginning...

I want to write this blog so that I don't have to try and remember things. I want this baby to know that I've been nauseous for weeks now. Maybe this is what I will read to it instead of bedtime stories. Anyway- We found out that I was pregnant and not just horribly bitchy at the beginning of February. Time has really been flying by since then, we just had our second prenatal appointment this past Thursday. We met the doctor that should be delivering the baby, although he made it clear that he could be unavailable and we would have to make do with his co-worker. At this point, I don't really care as long as someone smarter than Slug shows up to give me the epidural, I will be great.


We are both really excited to be parents for the first time! Its pretty scary knowing that we will be responsible for keeping this little thing alive, but so far we are doing ok. I've been eating healthier and I've cut out a lot of the caffeine that I enjoy so much. Also beer, not drinking anymore beer. (Of course)


Matt has been great and supportive, I know that I'm probably driving him crazy, but he's hanging in there.
So far just about everyone is guessing that "it" is a boy... we should find out for sure in May, so stay tuned.
But for now, its just a glob, meet the glob...