Here She Is!!

Easter with the Cousins

Anne Geddes Baby :)

Two days old

The Sisters

A very protective Big Brother.

Chumlee has arrived. She is three weeks old today. She was born 3/23/10 at 7:45am. She was 7lb 5.5oz and 19.5" long. She is beautiful!!

We are all adjusting to her and are loving every minute with her! The kiddies were off school last week and this week for our last 2 week break. It has been nice having them to help with the household chores. Princess is the BEST diaper-changer!! And Little Man is a good entertainer. I am hoping that as the kids get back to school and I get into a better routine, I'll get back to blogging.

37 Week PIctures

Here we are! These were taken 2 weeks ago. I promise to take a picture the morning we go to the hospital - one last belly picture.

I remember this day, though. I was SOOOOO ready to have the baby. I would have been happy if she had been born that day. I was miserable. That was the beginning of the swelling and the start of my blood pressure being higher than normal, too. But I've made it two more weeks and tomorrow we will have baby girl!!

I don't know when I'll be back on the computer. I'm hoping that Nana and Papa will bring their laptop to the hospital so I can upload some photos while we are there, if I'm feeling up to it. It might be at least a week until I can get to our computer.

Definitely Not Predictable

That's a good phrase to use to sum up this pregnancy!! From day 1, there has really been nothing "normal" or consistent about Chumlee. Maybe that's why an underlying fear I've been having lately is that she is not a she, but is rather a he!! That would just fit in perfectly with the way things have been going.

I went to the dr today for my regular (and last) check-up. I've been having a few contractions. Nothing big or that had me really concerned, but I just wanted to be checked to see if anything was changing. As the day progressed at school, I started feeling worse and worse. It's really hard to say how I was feeling, just pretty crummy seems to sum it up fairly well. I knew my blood pressure was off of my normal perfect reading (in the 110's over 70's). That's what happens when someone tells you a bold face lie and then denies that they lied to you when you confront them with proof of the truth!! Also, my feet and hands have been swollen for a few days, so I knew the blood pressure was going to be rising. Today it was 128/86. The nurse said that was a little high, considering how low I normally am. One good thing, I didn't gain any weight from last week to this week!

I wasn't able to see my regular doctor - the one who was scheduled to do the c-section next week. For some reason he wasn't in the office. I was never told why. The other doctor said that everything was fine, but he was a little concerned about the elevated blood pressure combined with the swelling and the contractions, even though they haven't changed me any. Then he said, "We'll see you on Tuesday." I said, "No, Thursday." He went on to explain that my doctor was going out of town and would not be here on Thursday, so my section would be Tuesday. I assumed that my doctor would be the one doing the surgery, so when they brought me the pre-op papers to sign, I noticed that his name had been crossed out and replaced with this doctor's name. I said, "So I can't have Dr. A do the surgery? I have to have you??" Looking back, I realize now that I probably really insulted him. But hey, I had been told that my date was moved up for several reasons, a few of them health related and now I was being told that I couldn't have my dr deliver the baby.

I signed the papers and then realized that I needed to stop back by work and tell my boss (for the 2nd time) that my date had been moved. Also, Big Man had just submitted his paper work requesting time off for the now WRONG due date. (he got that taken care of.)

This baby is definitely rocking our world in a major way!! So, the countdown is wrong - again, but I'm too exhausted to care or to change it because it just might change again before Chumlee gets here!! And I was foolish enough to think that a scheduled c-section would be more predictable than going into labor and delivering that way!! HA-HA-HA!!!

Wonderful Husband

I have the best husband in the world and I really do mean that! This pregnancy was harder than I thought, but he has been wonderful through it all. Even from the very beginning.

I remember the day I took the home pregnancy test and then just sat in the bathroom and cried and cried. I couldn't believe I was pregnant!!! It wasn't supposed to be. How could we afford ANOTHER baby!?! Who would watch the baby?? We didn't have insurance. Big Man was working part time. I had taken a slight cut in pay (because last school year i had taught a "double" class and this year i had a "regular" sized one). We only had 3 bedrooms. Where would we put a baby? We had NOTHING for a baby. I had sold or given it all away!! I didn't have maternity clothes. I was a basket-case.

Big Man was the opposite. He was calm. (i think deep down he was a little excited!) He told me that God had planned this baby even if we hadn't. God knew exactly where we were financially, medically, and space-wise. God sent this baby to us and God would provide for this baby.

And He did. Almost immediately!! Within the month, Big Man was working a full-time job for the state. I had medical coverage. While it's not good news, Nana was laid off - so she would be available to help care for the baby. At ever turn and bump in the road, God was there, providing what we needed and even what we wanted sometimes. We found terrific bunk beds for the kiddies to share. Friends, to whom we had given our crib about 5 years ago, STILL had the crib and their daughter had JUST moved into a toddler bed. They were looking for someone to give it to. We took it back - with the promise to burn it when we were finished with it this time - haha!! My sweet cousin (who the kiddies have dubbed an honorary aunt) sent a huge box of maternity clothes and the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Despite my fear that I am forgetting some thing MAJOR for this baby, God has provided everything we have needed for her and then some. We are still lacking a thermometer and bathing items, but I think Pam is on that.

Big Man has recently been a real trooper about the sleeping arrangements. For the longest time, I have had a difficult time getting comfortable at night. The best place I had found for sleeping and being semi-comfortable was on the big chair in the living room. Big Man would sleep on the couch to be with me. He has (with the exception of driving 45 minutes to the next big town one night at 11pm for a donut, but he did go to our walmart) gotten me whatever food (or foods) I might be craving. He has held me when I was crying for absolutely NO reason. He has listened to the rants of a mad pregnant woman. He has encouraged me to eat when I wasn't hungry and he's gotten out of the way during my mad dashes to the toilet to be sick. He has found coupons online for my prevacid to help the terrible heartburn.

And most recently, he has allowed me to have the bed all to myself. I cannot get comfortable with anyone else in the bed with me. I don't like that I can't sleep with him in the bed. If you know me, you know I hate to sleep alone (hence, his sleeping on the couch beside me while i was sleeping in the chair). But now, when he is in the bed with me, I toss and turn. I snore - which annoys both of us. I am afraid I'm keeping him awake - which I am, but he doesn't like to admit it. He wants what is best for me to sleep and be comfortable - even if that means faking sleep when I have asked him to be in the bed with me so that I don't think I'm keeping him awake or if it means sleeping on the couch so that I'm able to sleep comfortably through the night. He checks on me often throughout the night, I know. Because he makes comments about how peacefully I was sleeping, or how many times I was up going to the bathroom, or what position I was sleeping in. He is sacrificing so much for my comfort and I love him for it. I also don't want to forget how good he is to me at this odd time in my life.

He has always been my encourager and champion. When I think about how overwhelming a new baby will be, he is right there telling me that I can do it! I love him so much!! I can't wait to see him holding our new little girl!!

Baby Alive

For her birthday, Princess got a gift card from Pappy and Grammy. Since we had given her an iPod and because she has a DS, I was sure she was going to get something "techie." I asked her if she wanted to get some earphones or an iPod carrier or if she wanted a DS game.

Nope! She wanted a Baby Alive doll. Now, Princess has not really played with dolls for over a year or more. I tried to talk her out of it a little. She insisted. She wanted a baby doll that would pee and eat so that she would be able to practice for the arrival of sister. I thought that was sweet, but told her we could practice putting diapers on the Cabbage Patch doll and other babies that she had, but she was certain that she wanted the Baby Alive because it really peed.

She got the Baby Alive that had health stuff with it - like in the picture. Unfortunately, Baby Alive only came with two diapers. She had Baby Alive home for 30 minutes and had used both diapers. Little Man wanted to use some of the diapers we had gotten from Pappy and Grammy at Thanksgiving for Baby Alive. I said, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!" I told them they would have to buy more Baby Alive diapers. Princess was not happy about that. She said, "Those are expensive and she uses them too fast." To which I replied, "Same goes for the real baby!" Needless to say, Baby Alive has made it to a bin in the closet for playing with later.

Now, fast forward to last night. We were all in the baby's room, looking at her clothes and packing the diaper bag for the hospital. I noted all the size 1 diapers we had on the top shelf of the changing table and had Big Man do the math for me (8 packs of 40 diapers). We have 320 of them. I asked the kiddies how long they thought that many diapers would last. Little Man quickly said, "A year!" Princess was a bit more conservative with her guess of "a couple months." Big Man looked at me with a question in his eyes while he said, "Two months??" I said, "If we're lucky, a month! She will use about 10-12 diapers a day."

Princess said, "A DAY!! That's like changing her diaper every 2 hours!!!" I said, "Exactly!"

Oh boy! Are we all in for a big surprise with our own Baby Alive in a few days!!



ps: we are accepting donations of more diapers - hehe!!

Learning About Baby

The other day, Princess told me that she could remember about the day that Big Man and I told her and Little Man about Chumlee. I told her she needed to write it in a blog post.

You should be glad that I remember about the first day Little Man and I first found out that Momma was pregnant. It was the first day of school (I had no homework, Little Man did.) We were watching t.v. then Big Man came home. We HAD to go back to one of our bedrooms. Of course it HAD TO BE MINE. We were playing with my barbie doll stuff and then Momma and Big Man called both of us out to the living room. Then they started to argue about who would tell us the SECRET SURPRISE. Finally, I think Momma told us that we were going to have another baby. "We are going to adopt a baby!!!!!!" I cried out. "No," Momma said. "I'm pregnant!" Then of course we were all excited and Momma had to call the whole family and tell them after they told us. And that my friend is my story.

Any Suggestions???

The arrival of Chumlee is just around the corner! Some days it feels like forever since I posted this, and others it seems like just yesterday.

As we are preparing and trying to get things ready, I decided to ask you all for any suggestions about things we might want or need to get. So much has changed since Little Man and there are many new things that I might not even know about.

So, if you have had a baby recently or if you've heard/seen/used an item or gadget that you think is just fabulous, please let me know!

Thanks in advance!!

Getting Ready for Baby - Part 3

This is the last of this series of posts (i think). After getting all of Chumlee's clothes organized and realizing what I had and didn't have, I began to get panicked. As far as I know, I have had all my showers. Now, it's possible that I'll still get a gift here and there, but unless there is a surprise one going on sometime in the next 4 weeks - we are finished. That left us with a lot of things to still get.

I had mentioned earlier that Dear Friends had taken me out to dinner and had given us some bedding and a changing table. Here is a picture of the bedding on the crib: (never mind the pack and play for now)

And the changing table, loaded with diapers :)

Getting those two items was a big relief to me! Please disregard the mess and piles of stuff everywhere. I took these pictures AFTER I had cleaned out closets this week and before I have had a chance to take stuff to the consignment shop and Christian ministries.

We still needed a few "big" items - a pack and play (which grammy and pappy were getting, but they hadn't ordered it yet - which was fine), high chair, stroller, car seat, and I kinda wanted a rocker, but with everything else, I was content without one. Plus there was the boppy I really, really wanted, and crib sheets, blankets, bibs, and burpers.

Well, Dear Friend had told me of a HUGE consignment sale in Big City that would take place in February. I signed up as a New Mom and was able to get 2 tickets to get into the sale Friday at 3pm. Fortunately, it occurred on the Friday of break. Papa watched the kiddies and Nana and I went.

We had a GREAT time. However, my morning sickness was making a reappearance, so I wasn't feeling too well. Thankfully, I had some of the white pills left from the beginning of the pregnancy and the dr said it was still safe to take them. We were able to find a pink pack and play and a boppy (i took the cover off to wash it):

A mesh bathtub and glider rocker:

a stroller (didn't take a picture of that yet), a monitor, some nursing pads,

and this HUGE pile of bibs, burpers, crib sheets, blankets, absorbed pads (so we don't have to constantly change bed sheets), and some tupperware-type containers for snacks and formula:

I feel much more prepared now, except for the fact that I have to wash that HUGE pile of cloths and such!! We still need to get a baby book and a car seat. We need a high chair, but as I told Nana and Big Man, we really don't need that right away. Chumlee will be at least 4 months (if not 6 months) before she starts eating foods and until then, the high chair will just stay in the box or will be in the way in the kitchen.

Now, we wait for Chumlee to get here :)

Getting Ready for Baby - Part 2

While getting Chumlee's clothes organized, I ran across this baby doll in Princess's old closet. She made me cry. My grandmother (who passed away 5 years ago last week) had given that to Princess. Princess remembers my grandmother. Little Man has some memories of her - most are "borrowed" from Princess. He does remember when she died and being at the funeral. Anyway, Princess knows that the baby doll is from her. I tried to hide the tears from the kiddies, but I'm sure Princess caught me wiping a few tears away. She stepped up beside me and said, "You can take that baby to the hospital and share it with Baby Girl."

Getting Ready for Baby - Part 1

Probably over a month ago, I decided that I really needed to sit down and go through the clothes and such we had gotten for Chumlee. I was trying to see what we had gotten and what EXACTLY we still needed. The kiddies were very eager to help.

We started with the pile of presents that were stacked on Princess's old bed because that was a logical place to start and it enabled us to get the bed out of the room. We put all the clothes on hangers, onesies (size 0-3 months) were folded and put in a dresser drawer, and gowns (which are my favorite!) were also folded and put into the dresser.

Princess was a great helper - very business-like and got stuff done quickly and efficiently. Her job was to put the clothes on the hangers. She did GREAT!! She even handed them to Little Man in size order (meaning she did all the 0-3 first, then 3-6, followed by 6-9+). Little Man was a great helper, but he was a distracted helper. His job was to hang the clothes in the closet. He would look at an outfit and wonder who it was from, when we would wear it on Chumlee, and a few times, I caught him "holding" the outfits as though he were holding a baby. Awwww, sweet! I know!!! (I was folding clothes and organizing the dresser.) When the clothes were all put away, he informed me that he had hung the clothes in the closet in the order that he wanted Chumlee to wear them, not in the order Princess had handed them to him. That was great, but now I have to go back when he's not around and put them in size order. Or we all know what will happen, there will be at least one outfit, if not more, that I don't wear on Chumlee because I didn't know I had it!
Here are the clothes in the closet - in Little Man order. I was glad I had taken time to do this. I learned that we had no crib sheets, 3 burp cloths, 2 bibs, and 4 receiving blankets. I also discovered that we had plenty of onesies and gowns/sleepers.

You Do the Math

Here we are on Thursday, February 11th. I'm too tired to calculate how far along I am in this picture right now. That math goes beyond my 1st grade arithmetic requirements. You figure it out and maybe be nice enough to post the answer in the comments!

I've had to resort to CONSTANTLY wearing a tank top under my clothes as even most maternity tops are too short now. Very nice, I know!

A Baby Shower

Nana and her sisters had a baby shower for Chumlee and me a few weeks ago.  Princess came with me.  This is the only picture I have of her and me from that day.  Apparently Christmas wasn't the only event I didn't take pictures of.

It was a nice shower.  We got nice things for Chumlee:  clothes, towels and washcloths, diapers, wipes, some toys, and several gift cards.  

Princess loved her corsage and she and I both wore them to church the next day.

We are still getting all the things together that we need for Chumlee.  There is a BIG consignment sale in a couple of weeks in the Big City.  Nana and I are going.  I got an early entry pass because I'm an expectant mother.  I hope we can find the carseat/stroller combo there at a good price.  I'll also be on the lookout for burp cloths.  As I was going through Chumlee's stuff the other day, I noticed we had 3!  If she is anything like Princess and Little Man, 3 will be good for about 2 hours!!!

I Haven't Died, I'm Just Tired

Exhausted would be more appropriate! I have 6 weeks and 1 day until I get to hold Chumlee (who is getting closer to having a real name and is still waking me up around 2-3 am). I can hardly wait!!! Every day, I get more and more excited and am more and more thankful for the surprise that she is!

We have been busy and I've not really be on the computer much. Big Man got me a BlackBerry curve in October and I can access Facebook from there. I do more "updating" on there than I do here. Blogging just takes more thought and effort - both of which are in short supply for me right now. And, actually, I probably wouldn't be on today if the kiddies were healthy. Last week, I came down with a BAD cough and sore throat. The OB-GYN looked at me at my appointment and said it was just a sore throat. I pretty much couldn't take anything, which I figured. So I salt-watered it and sucked on Ricola Honey Lemon cough drops. Little Man caught it next, then Princess. Big Man is coming down with it now, I think. He went to church (he has to - he preaches) and I kept the kiddies home.

Auntie is in Peru now. She will most likely be coming home for a few weeks in December. She is down there as a missionary teacher in a Christian school. She has a blog. I will try to link to it soon. Click here.

Little Man is now taking guitar lessons and playing Upwards basketball. His team hasn't lost a game yet. That is a first for him. Usually, he is on a losing team - no matter what sport he plays. He is really enjoying it and is earning a lot of stars. He has gotten the "Christ" star once, the good sportsmanship star twice and the effort star twice. We are really proud of his good attitude and testimony on the court.

Princess is still taking piano and loving it (most days). She is also still being Princess Attitude most days! We are working on that!!

Big Man and I (ok, big man) painted Chumlee's room last week. Since we will be doing some room shuffling in the next few months/years, we wanted a color that would suit baby Chumlee and Little Man. Right now, Princess and Little Man are in the same room with bunk beds (the biggest room) and Chumlee has the smaller room to herself. Once Chumlee gets older (around 1 to 1 & 1/2) we plan to move Little Man into the smaller room and Chumlee in with Princess. So, painting the room pink wouldn't work for long. So, we decided on a color called Chocolate Turtle by Valspar. It is gorgeous!! I've picked out this bedding:
And I've heard that some Dear Friends have purchased it for us! YAY!!! Now, I just can't wait to get it and put in on the crib.

I took some pictures of what we have done in the room so far. It is still not quite finished, but I have been promising people pictures for about a week now. The computer is going out. The piano is staying. I hope to be able to sand and paint the small dresser white. The crib will stay the same color. I'm not sure what we are going to do with the bookshelf - probably take it out, too. We need to get a changing table. Anyway, there is still a lot to do, but it has come a long way!! (oh, and of course, there is always a story behind everything we do. as big man says, "nothing is simple for us." it took nearly 2 gallons of paint to do this room. all the paint calculators we did said one gallon would be plenty! HA!! they don't know us!!!)

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Just call me Alexander. I might just move to Australia. However, I'm sure that the school children there also have parents that I would have to deal with, too.

Today was one of those days that are the reason that I have my own personal "happy note" file. Cause, every once in a while, I just need to be reminded that I am a good teacher and there are TONS (50 in my file - yes i counted them today) of parents who wrote me notes and letters to express just that opinion.

Tomorrow will be better, I know. This too shall pass. And I shouldn't take it too personally.

Another reason to be happy that in 56 days, I'm outta here there! (until another school year starts)

An End to the Heartburn

Well, I think it is finally over - the heartburn, that is. After having such bad reflux that I have vomited a few times and that I couldn't sleep lying down in the bed (been sleeping in the big chair in the living room) AND having tried most all of the "allowable" heartburn medicines on the list from the dr, I have found a solution!

At my most recent dr visit, I told him of the trouble I was having. He said to try Prevacid. Prevacid wasn't on the list. I told him that. He said Prevacid used to only be available by prescription, but now there is an OTC version. He said that should work, and he also said that I could take some liquid antacid for the in-between times (prevacid is a once a day pill).

I took my first Prevacid last night. Within 2 hours, the heartburn, burping, and burning sensation in my throat was gone, gone, GONE!!! I was able to sleep in the bed for the first time in a long time! It was wonderful - now if I can just convince Chumlee to not wake me at 2 (or 3) AM!!

Aside from wanting to take a nap and needing to get laundry and dishes done, I feel great today. That's another first in a long time, too!

A Little of This, A Bit of That, And a Lot of Heartburn!

Yes, yes, it's been a while. I know, and I'm sorry. I'm more sorry for myself than for you! I really want this blog to be a journal of our family and I am afraid that I'm going to be leaving out some funny or important stuff by not blogging more often.

Since the last post, here's the low-down:

• Big Man got the computer fixed after about a week of working on it (and several 24+ hour days). He is so the MAN!!!
• We are all back at school.
• I have taken and passed my glucose test! YAY!!! That thing gets nastier each pregnancy. With all the improvements and changes in maternity and baby things I have seen since Little Man, I was really hoping that the glucose drink had changed. Nope! In fact, I might even put in a vote for it being WORSE!!
• We did have a very nice Christmas and New Years (despite all the stuff breaking or not working).
• Our church gave me a surprise shower on Sunday! Since it was a surprise, I didn't have the camera, so I don't have pictures of the shower, but I will get pictures posted of the gifts.
• Chumlee is still nameless. We have decided (for now) to take our list of names to the hospital and name her once we see her. We have joked (hopefully) that she really might be named Chumlee!!
• I have 10 weeks left!!!
• Temperatures have been in the teens for several days and we had the threat of snow. That is not nice to tempt Southerners with snow. There was no bread or milk of any kind to be found anywhere! And all we got was a little rain!!!! Although, we did get an hour delay out of it - hehe!
• The heartburn has been killer lately. (and this is where i'll park for a while, because it has been such an issue.) It doesn't matter what I eat or drink, I get it. I think it is really more like acid reflux because it makes me vomit or want to vomit (sorry if you have a weak stomach). I've tried just about every OTC medication there is and nothing helps. We are talking to the dr this week about this issue. Right now, it is 2:20am and I can't sleep because it is so bad. Drinking milk seems to help, but only for an hour or two. Sleeping in a chair helps, but then my back and hips hurt.
  

However, I have recently learned that heartburn equals moving baby. No heartburn, no movement (at least none that i can feel). How did I learn this? Glad you asked! A couple of days ago, Chumlee had me up at 4am (like normal) and was moving and kicking and having a GRAND time for about 30 minutes. I went back to sleep. Got up at regular time and got ready for school. No heartburn. I thought, "This is going to be a great day!"

If Chumlee has been anything the past 4-6 weeks, it's regular. She has a nice routine of movement and waking me up at night. I was getting adjusted to it and things were fine. Well, that day, she was not in her normal routine of movement. Actually, there was no movement at all. I thought that maybe she was just more sleepy that day and decided to try to "wake her up" with a Mt. Dew. That should do it. I drank the Mt. Dew around 2:30ish. Nothing! I laid on my left side. Nothing. It was now close to 4pm and I knew the dr office would be closing soon and I didn't want to take my chances with who I would get if I called the on-call dr (i'm very picky). So, I called the office. Fully expecting them to say one of three things: 1) give it a little more time; 2) come in and we'll try to get a heartbeat with the doppler; 3) try "this, this, and this" then call us back.

NOPE! The nurse said (exact words), "Go to the ER and have them put you on monitors. I'll call and tell them you are coming."

NIIIIIIIIICE!!!! Big Man is about an hour away and because of where he works, kinda hard to get a hold of. Princess and Little Man are with me and both are crying because I told them we had to go to the ER so I could get monitored. Grammy and Pappy live out of state. Nana is with her mom (also an hour away) and I'm not sure where Papa is - although I was pretty sure he was in our town.

I call Papa and ask him to meet me at the ER so he can take the kiddies. Then I try to get a hold of Big Man. I was transferred twice and finally got him after 3 minutes - which isn't bad. He was gonna be on his way. And we headed to the ER.

The ER sent me to the OB wing. The OB nurses hooked me up to monitors and we had a heartbeat, but no movements. Once I was settled, I asked that the kiddies be allowed in to see me as they had been crying when I left them in the waiting room (the other nurse was watching them and papa got there REALLY quick!! i didn't want them in the room with me because i wasn't sure yet what was happening with chumlee and they didn't need to be there if things weren't good.)

They left me on monitors for a while. Chumlee did move a bit, but still not her normal self. The nurse said she just must have been really sleepy. Her heartbeat was strong and steady going from the 130's to the 170's (with a few drops in the 80's and 90's but i think those were the times she was moving away from the monitors and they couldn't pick up her heart fully).

Once we got home and got settled, the heartburn kicked back in and she started right up with the moving. And she has been back on her little schedule ever since! Hence the lesson that heartburn=movement and I have decided I'll take the heartburn (although i am hoping the dr has something I can take that will let me sleep better and will keep the vomiting away!)

Are You Paying Attention???

If you are very observant, you may have noticed that the "baby" on the side bar has jumped ahead a few days. At my last OB appointment, I asked about when we would be scheduling the c-section so that Big Man would be able to put in for time off work in advance. Since our dr does c-sections about a week before the due date (march 30), our little Chumlee is scheduled to make her appearance on March 22nd! I'm excited because that is exactly 1 month after my birthday :)

I haven't told my boss at work yet, because we are on break. So, if you know people from my school, please be kind and keep this info to yourself until school resumes.

My appointment went well. I had gained a nice amount of weight, which seemed to make him (dr) happy since he's been harping on my about not gaining anything. My blood pressure and all were in a good range. Chumlee's heart rate is 145 bpm. He said she is sitting really low in my uterus, which is his opinion of why I've had achy hip joints. That and this is a third pregnancy. Apparently everything inside is more "droopy" now! Great!!! He did tell me that I look good and that she seems to be doing great too. They did check my iron levels because I've been so tired, but they are normal. He said to use my break to sleep and rest. Big Man has been home from his job (and will be this entire time) and he has really helped in getting stuff done and the kiddies have been great too. I've been getting a lot of rest and naps.

I have another appointment yet this month for my Glucose Test. I hate that thing. I do not function well if I do not eat breakfast - when I'm not pregnant, I tend to get sick if I don't eat in the mornings. So, pregnant is even worse. With Little Man, I about passed out after they drew all that blood! Fortunately, Big Man will be able to go with me so I won't be alone. I've never had GD (gestational diabetes) with either kiddie, but I've heard that each pregnancy is different.

Chumlee is still being a stinker at times and is still getting me up at night, but since we've been on break, I've been able to sleep in or get a nap, or both.

I do have a 24 week picture for you.
Twenty-five weeks has slipped by without a photo. Hopefully we'll get one this week (26).

I Still Exist

Yes, we are still here - all 5 of us. We have been a busy crew and have decided to add a few more things to our busy schedules, too. How smart of us!

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a fabulously busy time with Grammy and Pappy and a few others far to the north. We had a wonderful trip to their home. We had the best time traveling there! It was wonderful. We did run into some heavy fog for about 30 minutes or so, but nothing Big Man couldn't handle.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. We ate at my cousin's house - whom Little Man insists on calling Aunt despite all discussions we've had with him on family relationships!! She blessed us with an abundance of little girl clothing. She is also responsible for my current wardrobe (for which the entire world is thankful). I did not have my camera with me. I forgot it. I forget a lot of stuff lately.

Black Friday, Grammy and I hit the stores at 3am. I got winter coats for the kiddies at Old Navy for $15 each. Then we were at Kohl's for their 4am opening. Grammy stood in line and got our purchases while I went to Target for their 5am opening. I was in line at Target for an hour and a half to get the 3 items I wanted there! It was slightly worth it. I love the rush and thrill of Black Friday shopping. This year, though, I was just a bit more tired and the deals seemed a bit less exciting than last year. We headed to Walmart after Target. That place was EMPTY!!! I think everyone was at Target! I didn't get the movies I wanted, but we didn't really need them anyway.

I kept meaning to take a nap on Friday, but it never really happened. We went to see my Grandma about 10:30 that morning. Again, I forgot the camera! She is doing well, but when we were leaving she said to me, "I hope I get to see this new baby." That made me sad. I hope she does too. We are planning another trip north in the summer when Chumlee is about 3 months old, but I told Grammy that if she thinks Grandma won't last until then, we will come sooner. I hate being away from my grandma. She is the last grandparent I have living.

Friday evening, I was able to rest for about an hour or so before Big Man and I went out to dinner with my cousin and her husband. We went for Thai food. It was good. I got Chicken Pad Thai - which was chicken with rice noodles, veggies, and peanuts. Big Man got Ginger Beef (or beef ginger, not sure which). The ginger was a bit much for me, but Big Man liked it. We had a good evening with them. Big Man and I are able to go out or at least have a night to ourselves quite often, thanks to Nana and Papa, but we don't often get out with other couples. It was nice to be out with another couple and talk about grown up stuff!!

Saturday morning, we were out of donuts. Not just regular donuts, but donuts I have only been able to find in the northern part of the country: powdered donuts filled with white cream. So, Little Man and I made a run to the grocery store. I bought a dozen! I finished the last one this morning for breakfast. They are delicious!!!

Saturday afternoon, we went to an Army display thing. I do have pictures of that, but they are on the camera. Good luck seeing those soon :)

Saturday night was my aunt's birthday (she turned 60). We all went to a steak house buffet for her birthday. It was very nice and I ate too much, but since I kinda got in trouble at the drs last appointment for not gaining any weight, I hope that this month I'll be okay!

Sunday, we went to early service at my parents church and then out to Bob Evans for breakfast. We were on the road shortly after 11am. We figured we'd be home around dark. (we are also the people who figured we were finished having children.) Again, we figured wrong. We didn't get home until after 9pm!!! It was a 10 hour trip coming home. We were miserable. Big Man drove the majority of the way. I drove the last hour or so. We were in college kid traffic. Thankfully, God kept us out of any accidents. We did pass some and even witnessed a few happen. We did learn that we need to get a car charger for the Black Berries, because they went dead with a good hour left on the trip! The iPod had died about 7 hours into the trip. Fortunately, the kiddies had a car charger for the dvd player!! Our technology wasn't prepared for an extended car ride.

Monday, we planned on putting up the Christmas tree, but there was some issue (can't remember - that's typical for me lately) that kept us from doing that.

Tuesday, Big Man was working nights and the kiddies had an activity each. For Princess it was piano lessons. Then we met Nana, Papa, April, and toddler cousin at a pizza place for supper before we ran to basketball practice for Little Man. Tuesday, I left the house at 7:30am and didn't get home until 8pm. I don't think I'm going to like Tuesday's.

Wednesday (last night) we were having issues with our bank - don't get me or Big Man started!!! - but we did manage to get the tree up and decorated. It looks good. The outside of the house still needs to be decorated, but that can wait, I guess.

Tonight, I should be washing dishes (yep, the dishwasher broke about 3 weeks ago) and doing laundry. I figured though, that I needed to blog about stuff before I forgot it and I'm sure that I'm leaving some stuff out.

My other aunt did also give us a bunch of baby clothes. They are adorable!!! I am getting so excited to meet Chumlee. She still doesn't have a real world name. She might end up being Chumlee for real!!!

I will have someone take some pictures of my belly this weekend or next week as I'm approaching 24 weeks. I know that some of you are dying to see the expanding waistline. Today, I felt like I had swallowed a basketball!!!

Thanks

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers about my hips. I have talked to the nurse at the dr office and with some other Nurses that I know. The pain hasn't gotten any better - at least in the mornings. It does lessen as the day goes on. The general consensus seems to be that it is in some how a form of arthritis. The best advice I have gotten is to just keep moving and to push through it. It is hard in the mornings to get up because it's been a few hours since I have been moving. I have also been advised by several people to wear tennis shoes. That's not a problem at work (we've got a very relaxed dress code), but I don't know if I can do it on Sundays or not. We'll see how the pain goes. Sneakers do kind of ruin some of the cute maternity outfits that I have, though!

I have an appointment with the doctor in a few days. I will talk in more detail to him about this - because I've read (and been told) that if it is arthritis, it will only be getting worse with the coming winter weather.

Helpful Information, Hopefully

I have learned a lesson today. I thought I would share it with you.

Regular panty hose (no matter how big) will not fit over a pregnant belly.

There you have it!

That's the short of it. Now (since i've never really been one to be of few words) for the long version.

This morning, as I was getting dressed (i had decided to wear a new-to-me jean skirt that nana got for me), I realized I didn't have the appropriate stockings for the skirt. It wouldn't look right with white socks and I didn't have any colored socks clean. (are you surprised!?!) While rummaging through my drawer, I came across a pair of queen sized panty hose from over a year ago (before i lost the weight). I had recently (before baby) been wearing a size B. I figured, "Queen is two sizes bigger than B, and SURELY two sizes bigger is plenty for fitting over my belly."

I must admit that they went on quite nicely, a bit snug, but not too bad. Well, that was short lived. I got dressed at 7:30 am and by Bible time (one hour later) the hose had rolled off my tummy and were barely hanging on to my hips. Plus, they were starting to cut my circulation because of being rolled up (come on ladies, you know what i mean, that rolled up panty hose feeling is NOT good).

So, I went to the bathroom to adjust them. There was NO adjusting going on. Only coming off was happening. So, I pulled them down, but that caused the crotch to hang mid-thigh. NOT GOOD. I didn't really have a choice. I had to keep them on like that for the remainder of the day.

Lesson learned.

Buy knee highs.

You can stop laughing now.