If I had to describe 2011 in one word, that is the word I would use. This year has been amazing for us and I can’t believe it is almost over. At the start of last year we were thinking about having a baby, getting our finances together, becoming serious adults. And now at the start of 2012 we will be days away (OK possibly weeks) from the birth of our first son. I cannot believe how far things have come for us this year and I couldn’t be more excited for what 2012 has in store for us.
I was really wanting Jude to be born in 2011 and I guess he only has a few hours to make his appearance if that is to happen. I don’t think that it will, but we are still hopeful that he will possibly come sometime next week. I know he isn’t due till the 23rd but babies are being born all around us and I’m getting so jealous! A couple in our birthing class ended up having to be induced and they had their baby on the 28th and then yesterday a high school friend whose baby is due a few days after Jude went into labor and had her baby. And seeing how both of their babies were over 7lbs and everyone is happy and healthy it makes me think that he should just go ahead and make his appearance too. We have been trying to get S to go into labor by feeding her lots of spicy food. I told her to do some jumping jacks to shake him loose but she just won’t. She had 3-4 contractions yesterday and 1-2 the day before, but that is all that has happened so far. I’m very curious to find out next week at her doctor’s appointment if she is dilated at all.
Happy New Years Eve and see you all next year!
-Liz
Two Moms, two boys, too much fun
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
dr n hips
I had a Drs. apt today. I never did get to see the Dr. even though we did go to the office twice. She got called into surgery and then to catch (aka deliver) a baby. The nurse did all the usual things, checked my blood pressure, listened to Jude’s heart, weighed me, so really I only missed out on an exam to see if I am dilated at all. I go back next week, so she can check then. I have been gaining weight this last month. My total weight gain at 9 months along is still only 25.6 lbs, but I have been gaining about 2 lbs a week for 4 weeks. now. Jude’s house is large:)
I am at the point where I am ready for him to be here. I figure at the end of this week, I will be 37 weeks, so he can come anytime and he will be fine. There are no signs of him coming at this point. Granted, I did not get to see the Dr, so maybe I am dilated, but I doubt it. He may have dropped a little, but he is not fully dropped and no other signs so far of him wanting to come on out. We even ate spicy food tonight, but all that did was send him into a frenzy when it hit him. He is still very active in there and we ate dinner about 7 hrs ago. I think he either really likes or really dislikes spicy food!
My hips have been killing me! I know the hormone relaxin is loosening everything up, but they hurt! It makes it hard to walk sometimes they hurt so bad. Liz did massage them earlier and this is the best they have felt in a week. I think I am going to have to have her do it nightly. I am not a person that is is pain often at all in my body and it is constant at this point. It makes it hard to sleep. My right arm and hand also keep going numb. All this is very normal pregnancy related stuff and I am happy that I made it this far without any of it until now, but I am pretty uncomfortable in my body at this point. I also think it is not fair to be 9 months pregnant and working. It is not easy. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do if I was off work, but maybe I could just work half days?? Not going to happen, but is a nice thought:)
I am lucky to sleep for 3 straight hours during the night. I wake up every 1.5 hours to pee. Honestly, it has not left me very tired during the day. Not any more tired than pregnancy has made me in general. Most days I would like a nap, but I think being pregnant, you just need a nap in the middle of the day some days. I think this is baby training as far as waking up every 1.5 hrs and feeling accomplished if I sleep for 3 hours straight at any time during the night.
I want to see his little face. I also want to see his little toes and feet and bum and etc. I am just so excited to meet him. I do wish this labor thing happened when you actually felt good and not when you are tired and your hips hurt, but either way, I am ready for it. I am going to stick to my original prediction of I will go into labor on the 15th and he will come here on the 16th. That means 3 more weeks, ugh! He actually could take up to 6 more weeks before my Dr will induce. Here is hoping he comes early!:)
-S
I am at the point where I am ready for him to be here. I figure at the end of this week, I will be 37 weeks, so he can come anytime and he will be fine. There are no signs of him coming at this point. Granted, I did not get to see the Dr, so maybe I am dilated, but I doubt it. He may have dropped a little, but he is not fully dropped and no other signs so far of him wanting to come on out. We even ate spicy food tonight, but all that did was send him into a frenzy when it hit him. He is still very active in there and we ate dinner about 7 hrs ago. I think he either really likes or really dislikes spicy food!
My hips have been killing me! I know the hormone relaxin is loosening everything up, but they hurt! It makes it hard to walk sometimes they hurt so bad. Liz did massage them earlier and this is the best they have felt in a week. I think I am going to have to have her do it nightly. I am not a person that is is pain often at all in my body and it is constant at this point. It makes it hard to sleep. My right arm and hand also keep going numb. All this is very normal pregnancy related stuff and I am happy that I made it this far without any of it until now, but I am pretty uncomfortable in my body at this point. I also think it is not fair to be 9 months pregnant and working. It is not easy. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do if I was off work, but maybe I could just work half days?? Not going to happen, but is a nice thought:)
I am lucky to sleep for 3 straight hours during the night. I wake up every 1.5 hours to pee. Honestly, it has not left me very tired during the day. Not any more tired than pregnancy has made me in general. Most days I would like a nap, but I think being pregnant, you just need a nap in the middle of the day some days. I think this is baby training as far as waking up every 1.5 hrs and feeling accomplished if I sleep for 3 hours straight at any time during the night.
I want to see his little face. I also want to see his little toes and feet and bum and etc. I am just so excited to meet him. I do wish this labor thing happened when you actually felt good and not when you are tired and your hips hurt, but either way, I am ready for it. I am going to stick to my original prediction of I will go into labor on the 15th and he will come here on the 16th. That means 3 more weeks, ugh! He actually could take up to 6 more weeks before my Dr will induce. Here is hoping he comes early!:)
-S
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
So much advice
It’s funny when you are pregnant. People love to give you advice. I think it is a time to share your stories about your child and your experience since most people don’t walk around and ask about your birth or your first days with your child. Liz and I have both had the philosophy of listen, and thank people for their advice. I feel the same way about birth as I do about having a child. Prepare as much as possible and then wing it when it happens. I feel birth and caring for a newborn is not something you can read about and control. It happens when and how it happens and Jude really is the one on control. He may be an angel, he may cry every second of everyday, he may take to breastfeeding like a champion, or we may spend the first 2 months trying to both learn how to do it, etc. There is no book on Jude specifically and I think that part of being a parent, and a part I am very excited about, is you learn about your child along with your child.
All this came about today because Liz’s mom is here and a comment she made earlier. She said, “yeah, I was talking to someone and said my daughter in law thinks she is prepared for a newborn. Man is she in for a surprise.” She then proceeded to tell me the story of how when they got Liz home from the hospital, she was crying and that her and her husband handed Liz back and forth to each other not knowing what to do.
To say the least, the comment took me by surprise. It also hurt my feelings. It made me feel like she already thinks I am a bad parent and my kid is not even here yet. I have not at all expressed how awesome I am going to be with a newborn to her. I have no idea how I will be with a newborn since I have not raised one yet. I am sure that birth is exhausting and having a baby that does not let you sleep is exhausting and if I for some reason knew I was really amazing with newborns, which I do not, I might still not be very great at it since I will be sleep deprived. Honestly the only real skill I have to offer my soon to be here baby is love. I have babysat since I was little kids of all ages, but I of course have never been the main caretaker of a baby or breastfed or anything like that. Yes, I can change a diaper and we have everything Jude will need and then some as far as equipment and such, but there is so much more to caring for a newborn than that. I think with anyone who has a child, there is a huge learning curve and that every single child is different outside of their basic needs and that Jude will teach us what we need to know. Will it be a breeze, NO, will there be times we will need help, YES, but fortunately we have a huge support system that will be happy to come over and give us a hug if that is what we need at the time along with tons of other support and help.
My mom was the same way about the birth. I said a comment about how I wonder if I will no longer gag thru the day and puke once a week the second he is out or if this is something that will linger or if I will always feel this way. She went on a tangent about postpartum depression and how I would need to exercise right away but would be too tired. What does that have to do with puking??
Liz made the comment earlier that no one ever has anything good to say about the birth of a child or raising a child and it seems to be right! We are both SO excited for the birth of our little boy and to raise him. I just wish some of the advice givers could be excited too!
-S
All this came about today because Liz’s mom is here and a comment she made earlier. She said, “yeah, I was talking to someone and said my daughter in law thinks she is prepared for a newborn. Man is she in for a surprise.” She then proceeded to tell me the story of how when they got Liz home from the hospital, she was crying and that her and her husband handed Liz back and forth to each other not knowing what to do.
To say the least, the comment took me by surprise. It also hurt my feelings. It made me feel like she already thinks I am a bad parent and my kid is not even here yet. I have not at all expressed how awesome I am going to be with a newborn to her. I have no idea how I will be with a newborn since I have not raised one yet. I am sure that birth is exhausting and having a baby that does not let you sleep is exhausting and if I for some reason knew I was really amazing with newborns, which I do not, I might still not be very great at it since I will be sleep deprived. Honestly the only real skill I have to offer my soon to be here baby is love. I have babysat since I was little kids of all ages, but I of course have never been the main caretaker of a baby or breastfed or anything like that. Yes, I can change a diaper and we have everything Jude will need and then some as far as equipment and such, but there is so much more to caring for a newborn than that. I think with anyone who has a child, there is a huge learning curve and that every single child is different outside of their basic needs and that Jude will teach us what we need to know. Will it be a breeze, NO, will there be times we will need help, YES, but fortunately we have a huge support system that will be happy to come over and give us a hug if that is what we need at the time along with tons of other support and help.
My mom was the same way about the birth. I said a comment about how I wonder if I will no longer gag thru the day and puke once a week the second he is out or if this is something that will linger or if I will always feel this way. She went on a tangent about postpartum depression and how I would need to exercise right away but would be too tired. What does that have to do with puking??
Liz made the comment earlier that no one ever has anything good to say about the birth of a child or raising a child and it seems to be right! We are both SO excited for the birth of our little boy and to raise him. I just wish some of the advice givers could be excited too!
-S
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Waiting for my Baby...
In almost one month exactly, Jude’s due date will be here. But the real question on our minds is will he be here? It’s killing us not to know when our little boy will come into the world. I feel like we are so ready for him to be born, to join our family. S is also really ready to not be pregnant anymore. Poor thing has been in some pain the last few days. Her hips hurt, her back is sore and now that Jude has dropped some what, her pelvis is under constant uncomfortable pressure. I hate seeing her feel bad and it’s hard to imagine that this level of discomfort could last another month or even longer. I just hope that we don’t have a Christmas baby. This week is too early, but 2 different friends have warned us that we better not have this baby while they are out of town, and the superstitious side of me thinks that because of this it is now a possibility. Eeek!
S had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. The doctor says that she isn’t dilated yet and that while the baby might have dropped some, he hasn’t dropped all of the way yet. Everything looks great and it’s a matter of time now. I feel really grateful how healthy S had managed to stay through this pregnancy. In our birthing class one girl who is due around the same time as S is in the hospital right now. She has been on bed rest for about 3 weeks and in the hospital for about 2 weeks now. Her blood pressure has been high and she has been in tons of pain for ages. Yesterday at birthing class our instructor told us that she now has developed preeclampsia and will be induced on the 27th. I’m so grateful that this isn’t S’s situation. She has managed to avoid all of that stuff along with gestational diabetes and still hasn’t gained even 25 lbs. S rocks and I’m so proud of her! She makes this baby making business look easy (but I know that it isn’t).
Speaking of birthing class we had our last class yesterday. I’m sad that it’s done, I really enjoyed it and feel like I learned a lot. I would really recommend anyone who is interested in having a natural child birth check out the Bradley Method. Our instructor is amazing and I’m so glad that her and her husband want to be friends with us in real life outside of the class. I’m also excited that all of the other couples in the class seem to really want to start our own little baby play group once all of the babies are here. That will be so much fun.
Is everyone ready for Christmas? I still have 1 million things left on my list to get done. My mom and my youngest brother are coming into town tonight and so I’m hoping to get out of work early today so I can finish some last minute cleaning and wrap their presents and what not. I’m really excited to have them here for the holidays. I’m also hoping to cheer up my little brother while he is here. He sent me a text yesterday that he wanted a recommendation for a book. He said he wanted something funny because he has been really bummed out and lonely lately. Makes me so sad!
So with family in town we probably won’t be posting again until after Christmas, so everyone have a good one and safe travels!
-Liz
Monday, December 19, 2011
What is family and Jude’s drop!
When asked if I have a big family, I always say no. I have one brother a total of one cousin, 3 Aunts, on Uncle, a grandmother on my dad’s side, a grandfather on my mom’s side who is remarried and that is about it. Honestly though, I have a HUGE family. We have so many friends that I would consider family. A huge network of people that we love and they love us. I have never felt lacking in my “family” although I am not really close to any of my blood family other than my immediate family. We have the most amazing family here that has nothing to do with blood.
This all came to mind because my dad’s girlfriend asked for me to confirm as “daughter” on facebook. I know, I know, all this over facebook, but it really caught me by surprise. I invited her to the baby shower in Tulsa and her and her daughter both came. I thought it was a nice gesture on both our parts. She did get us “grandma” bibs, to which I thought was a little presumptuous, but shrugged it off. Realize, the baby shower is only the second time I have ever met this woman. And now she wants to be identified as my mother on facebook? No way lady. My own mother may drive me crazy 99% of the time, but she is my mother thru and thru. She quit her job and stayed at home and raised me and to this day, we are still working on our relationship, but she will always be my mother. I appreciate that my dad’s girlfriend is excited about a baby since her own kids are teenagers and probably at least a decade away from having any, but I think it is crossing a line to expect to be welcomed as my mom and Jude’s grandma. She is really nice, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I am unsure of how to make clear that I have only met her twice in my life and although I am very happy she makes my dad happy, she cannot just assert herself into roles in our lives. I think for right now, I will just let it lie and see what happens. My dad said the other day, “let us know when we can come, I know [his girlfriend and her daughter] will want to see Jude when he gets here”. Not that he wants to, but that they want to. Men are goofy.
On a more positive note, Jude has dropped. He is riding low now. He is on top of my bladder and I ate a huge meal last night for the first time in a long time. Liz made a roast with Yorkshire puddings, mashed potatoes, carrots and mushrooms, so it felt very much like a celebratory dinner:) I have been telling people at work that Jude is almost here. I feel like he will be here in 3 weeks tops. Everyone keeps laughing at me. I didn’t have any hard proof on this matter, but I just know, he is ready in there and he is coming. I had a massage with one of my what I call "energetic therapists" yesterday and she agrees. She also said some other interesting things. She said he will be here in 2 weeks and 6 days. She said he is big and ready to come here. The strangest thing she said is that he has a surprise he wants to show us. I asked her what that meant and she said that it is something like he has 2 different colored eyes or something like that. I think all of these readings my therapists keep giving me and thinking about him coming is so much fun!
I know Liz and I are really excited for him to come, but I suddenly feel like there is quite a bit to do. I am not sure what since his room is set up, but I am starting to feel the pressure. It is actually 3am in the morning and I am awake because I was laying there and realized I have not set up the little device that helps track diaper changes and nursing that Liz’s mom got us. I have not thought or worried about that the whole time we have had it, but suddenly, I need to make sure there are batteries in it and it works. I also realized there is not food in our bag for the hospital and woke up hungry and worried about that. I am telling you, Jude is coming in the next few weeks! None of this stuff has worried or been a single thought on my mind until right now!
Am I ready for labor? Can you be ready for labor? After 12 weeks of classes on the subject, we are as prepared as we can be, but can you really prepare for your first labor? My whole philosophy has been that I want to try to have a natural childbirth, but Jude will do what he wants to do. If I have a C section and he is healthy and I am healthy, then we accomplished the goal. I do not want a C section, but I feel like labor does what it does sometimes and you have to be able to go with the flow. I feel flexible about it, but will I be in the end? Will I even be in the right mind to think about any of this during labor? I just have to remember to relax as much as possible.
Well, I better eat something and put some batteries in the device so I can get a few more hours of sleep before my alarm goes off for work!
-S
This all came to mind because my dad’s girlfriend asked for me to confirm as “daughter” on facebook. I know, I know, all this over facebook, but it really caught me by surprise. I invited her to the baby shower in Tulsa and her and her daughter both came. I thought it was a nice gesture on both our parts. She did get us “grandma” bibs, to which I thought was a little presumptuous, but shrugged it off. Realize, the baby shower is only the second time I have ever met this woman. And now she wants to be identified as my mother on facebook? No way lady. My own mother may drive me crazy 99% of the time, but she is my mother thru and thru. She quit her job and stayed at home and raised me and to this day, we are still working on our relationship, but she will always be my mother. I appreciate that my dad’s girlfriend is excited about a baby since her own kids are teenagers and probably at least a decade away from having any, but I think it is crossing a line to expect to be welcomed as my mom and Jude’s grandma. She is really nice, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I am unsure of how to make clear that I have only met her twice in my life and although I am very happy she makes my dad happy, she cannot just assert herself into roles in our lives. I think for right now, I will just let it lie and see what happens. My dad said the other day, “let us know when we can come, I know [his girlfriend and her daughter] will want to see Jude when he gets here”. Not that he wants to, but that they want to. Men are goofy.
On a more positive note, Jude has dropped. He is riding low now. He is on top of my bladder and I ate a huge meal last night for the first time in a long time. Liz made a roast with Yorkshire puddings, mashed potatoes, carrots and mushrooms, so it felt very much like a celebratory dinner:) I have been telling people at work that Jude is almost here. I feel like he will be here in 3 weeks tops. Everyone keeps laughing at me. I didn’t have any hard proof on this matter, but I just know, he is ready in there and he is coming. I had a massage with one of my what I call "energetic therapists" yesterday and she agrees. She also said some other interesting things. She said he will be here in 2 weeks and 6 days. She said he is big and ready to come here. The strangest thing she said is that he has a surprise he wants to show us. I asked her what that meant and she said that it is something like he has 2 different colored eyes or something like that. I think all of these readings my therapists keep giving me and thinking about him coming is so much fun!
I know Liz and I are really excited for him to come, but I suddenly feel like there is quite a bit to do. I am not sure what since his room is set up, but I am starting to feel the pressure. It is actually 3am in the morning and I am awake because I was laying there and realized I have not set up the little device that helps track diaper changes and nursing that Liz’s mom got us. I have not thought or worried about that the whole time we have had it, but suddenly, I need to make sure there are batteries in it and it works. I also realized there is not food in our bag for the hospital and woke up hungry and worried about that. I am telling you, Jude is coming in the next few weeks! None of this stuff has worried or been a single thought on my mind until right now!
Am I ready for labor? Can you be ready for labor? After 12 weeks of classes on the subject, we are as prepared as we can be, but can you really prepare for your first labor? My whole philosophy has been that I want to try to have a natural childbirth, but Jude will do what he wants to do. If I have a C section and he is healthy and I am healthy, then we accomplished the goal. I do not want a C section, but I feel like labor does what it does sometimes and you have to be able to go with the flow. I feel flexible about it, but will I be in the end? Will I even be in the right mind to think about any of this during labor? I just have to remember to relax as much as possible.
Well, I better eat something and put some batteries in the device so I can get a few more hours of sleep before my alarm goes off for work!
-S
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
35 Weeks Bump Picture!
I can't believe that S is in her 35th week. Only 5 more weeks (or less!) till our little man is here. It is starting to sink in to me that we are going to go into the hospital, S will give birth, and at the end we will have a precious little baby that they will actually let us take home with us. I'm so excited and so nervous and so ready and so not ready that is a whirl wind of feelings and emotions. So much that at this point I come home everyday and I'm just exhausted from thinking about it all. Of course at this point no amount of thinking will get me as tired as poor S is after a long day of working. Poor thing, I wish we had the means for her to stay at home these last few weeks of pregnancy so she could prop her poor swollen feet up and take it easy. She is doing a great job though growing this baby and is such a trooper about the whole thing. And look at how cute that belly is!
So I still haven't managed to get together any pictures from our shower or any of the other million pictures I have promised you (I'm a naughty blogger), but I do have one more picture to share with you. Several years ago before we were even thinking about having a baby, S and I went into one of those photo booths they have at game places where they combine your pictures and show you what your future baby might look like. And randomly my friend Brandon ended up with the picture. Before the shower he was doing some organizing and found our picture of our "future baby" and framed it and gave it to us as what is for sure the funniest baby shower present we have gotten to date. Here is it for your enjoyment:
Doesn't he look creepy? Ha ha ha. And a lot like a young Rick Perry if you ask me. Hopefully Jude will NOT look like this kid, but it is funny.
-Liz
-Liz
Monday, December 12, 2011
Social worker and such
As I sit here, my belly is resting on my legs a little. It it pretty funny, and I am leaning forward for it to happen, but still pretty funny.
We had our 2 hour interview with the social worker. I feel mixed about this whole social worker thing. I feel angry that my partner of over 9 years is being scrutinized about a child that is hers as much as mine in my opinion. She is the one quitting her job to stay at home with him and honestly if in the end, they deny us the adoption, that will not change. I then feel happy that this can even happen as there are some states that it is not even an option. All in all, it makes me mad to have to go thru this because one of us does not have a penis, but in the end, it will totally be worth it.
Back to the interview. It is funny that both our lawyer and social worker are a bit quirky. Strange birds they are. I expected from both positions for them to be type A personalities and it be more like an interrogation whenever we meet with them. Not the case, and honestly, I think that is a good thing. She was very casual and asked a lot of questions. In the end, both her and the lawyer do not see any reason this would not go thru, which makes it all worth it. We are going to Bexar (pronounced Bear) county for the adoption, but Liz and I like San Antonio, so no biggie. (this will not be until Feb. at the earliest) We like to go there and stay at the Emily Morgan hotel. They have HUGE bath tubs and it is one of our romantic get aways. I am sure with Jude that will ruin the romance part, but it will be a nice little escape to go there and spend the night and take a bath and sleep in their really fluffy beds.
She asked us about our families, our lives together, our beliefs with Jude as far as the donor, etc. It was interesting to me what she did ask and what she didn’t. Overall, it was pretty painless and Liz got the most questions thrown at her. She had much better answers than I did and I think the social worker asked some of the questions out of sheer curiosity. I am just glad that all is left is the home visit. Our friend B will come and clean up the yard before they come and I think we will hire someone to come and clean the house and that will be that. There is nothing here to hold us back.
On that note however, I woke up to our little guard dog Emma losing her mind. It turns out the young girl dog from next door was in our backyard and Emma was not having it. We have had this ongoing thing with the neighbors and their dogs. They have 2 pit bulls. Both are friendly, and both hate their yard and want to live with us. However, both are excitable and jumpy and with a baby strapped to the front of me, I like them less and less. We split the cost for a new fence between our yards. I thought that would solve the problem. Instead, now they break thru the back of their fence and come in thru another neighbors rotting fence. sigh. I am so over this! I do not want that big excited dog coming over and jumping on me or coming over when Jude is hanging out in the backyard with us. I am at a loss as to what to do. I am to the point where I might just start calling the pound when she is out, but that seems like it would punish an already unloved dog and not the owners. What do I do?? This morning at 7:30 am on my day to sleep in, I decided to wake the neighbors and ask them to get their dog out of my yard as I have many times before. Maybe that will make them more into fixing the problem, but I doubt it. I am going to go to Home Depot today to try to get chicken wire or boards to patch up the current holes. I would need 10 whole boards to patch up their fence, which is why I am leaning towards some kind of wire I could just attach a sheet of. Either way, what a pain!
The pregnancy is still going well. I am starting to slow down a little. I have a rule at work that I climb the stairs 5 times before starting to take the elevator, but lately, I have leaned towards the elevator. I am tired most of the time and my tail bone has been giving me some pain. This belly is a little hard to shift around at night and Jude rather enjoys hitting me in the bladder. Fortunately, he does not kick my ribs yet. That is something my mother “hopes for me” as payback for when I bruised hers as a baby. I feel like I am doing really well for being 8.5 months along if that is all that is bothering me.
We took our animals to all get vaccinated the other day. (one of the social worker requirements) and it was quite an adventure. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats. We got the cats in crates and the dogs on their leashes and loaded them in the car. PJ, Liz’s cat, meowed the whole ride there, while he was there, and the whole ride back. He got the other cat, Malcolm, all worked up and then Pedro the pug started whining. It was a 30 minute drive to and from the place. Then on the way home, Malcolm pooped in his crate! Yuck! The poor guy was just stressed, but my preggie nose, was not happy about it! I am glad to have that adventure out of the way. There is a place that does full vaccinations for about $40 an animal, so it was not as expensive as going to the vets.
5 more weeks. wowsa. I need to start packing a bag for the hospital today. That is on my to do list for Wed. We only have 2 more birthing classes and then, it is just a matter of dr visits and the holidays. I am so very hungry. The other day, I ate breakfast, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, a slice of cake and 4 cookies. Yesterday, an employee of mine was talking about how she thinks a pizza place made her sick and I just go, “man their pizza and bread sticks sound so good right now”. She ofcourse just looked at me like I was crazy. I figure this is the time to eat, so I am. Now if I go to my Drs. apt on Wed and have gained 5 lbs, I might reconsider, but for now, I am going with what my body is telling me. I made a 12 hours play list of relaxing songs for the birth. Liz is going to make a more upbeat one for the birth in case that is what I decide I like.
We finished decorating the Christmas tree yesterday. It looks so nice. Hopefully I can get Liz to put some belly pics and tree pics on here for you to see. You know I am technologically unable to do such things:)
I hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season!
-S
We had our 2 hour interview with the social worker. I feel mixed about this whole social worker thing. I feel angry that my partner of over 9 years is being scrutinized about a child that is hers as much as mine in my opinion. She is the one quitting her job to stay at home with him and honestly if in the end, they deny us the adoption, that will not change. I then feel happy that this can even happen as there are some states that it is not even an option. All in all, it makes me mad to have to go thru this because one of us does not have a penis, but in the end, it will totally be worth it.
Back to the interview. It is funny that both our lawyer and social worker are a bit quirky. Strange birds they are. I expected from both positions for them to be type A personalities and it be more like an interrogation whenever we meet with them. Not the case, and honestly, I think that is a good thing. She was very casual and asked a lot of questions. In the end, both her and the lawyer do not see any reason this would not go thru, which makes it all worth it. We are going to Bexar (pronounced Bear) county for the adoption, but Liz and I like San Antonio, so no biggie. (this will not be until Feb. at the earliest) We like to go there and stay at the Emily Morgan hotel. They have HUGE bath tubs and it is one of our romantic get aways. I am sure with Jude that will ruin the romance part, but it will be a nice little escape to go there and spend the night and take a bath and sleep in their really fluffy beds.
She asked us about our families, our lives together, our beliefs with Jude as far as the donor, etc. It was interesting to me what she did ask and what she didn’t. Overall, it was pretty painless and Liz got the most questions thrown at her. She had much better answers than I did and I think the social worker asked some of the questions out of sheer curiosity. I am just glad that all is left is the home visit. Our friend B will come and clean up the yard before they come and I think we will hire someone to come and clean the house and that will be that. There is nothing here to hold us back.
On that note however, I woke up to our little guard dog Emma losing her mind. It turns out the young girl dog from next door was in our backyard and Emma was not having it. We have had this ongoing thing with the neighbors and their dogs. They have 2 pit bulls. Both are friendly, and both hate their yard and want to live with us. However, both are excitable and jumpy and with a baby strapped to the front of me, I like them less and less. We split the cost for a new fence between our yards. I thought that would solve the problem. Instead, now they break thru the back of their fence and come in thru another neighbors rotting fence. sigh. I am so over this! I do not want that big excited dog coming over and jumping on me or coming over when Jude is hanging out in the backyard with us. I am at a loss as to what to do. I am to the point where I might just start calling the pound when she is out, but that seems like it would punish an already unloved dog and not the owners. What do I do?? This morning at 7:30 am on my day to sleep in, I decided to wake the neighbors and ask them to get their dog out of my yard as I have many times before. Maybe that will make them more into fixing the problem, but I doubt it. I am going to go to Home Depot today to try to get chicken wire or boards to patch up the current holes. I would need 10 whole boards to patch up their fence, which is why I am leaning towards some kind of wire I could just attach a sheet of. Either way, what a pain!
The pregnancy is still going well. I am starting to slow down a little. I have a rule at work that I climb the stairs 5 times before starting to take the elevator, but lately, I have leaned towards the elevator. I am tired most of the time and my tail bone has been giving me some pain. This belly is a little hard to shift around at night and Jude rather enjoys hitting me in the bladder. Fortunately, he does not kick my ribs yet. That is something my mother “hopes for me” as payback for when I bruised hers as a baby. I feel like I am doing really well for being 8.5 months along if that is all that is bothering me.
We took our animals to all get vaccinated the other day. (one of the social worker requirements) and it was quite an adventure. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats. We got the cats in crates and the dogs on their leashes and loaded them in the car. PJ, Liz’s cat, meowed the whole ride there, while he was there, and the whole ride back. He got the other cat, Malcolm, all worked up and then Pedro the pug started whining. It was a 30 minute drive to and from the place. Then on the way home, Malcolm pooped in his crate! Yuck! The poor guy was just stressed, but my preggie nose, was not happy about it! I am glad to have that adventure out of the way. There is a place that does full vaccinations for about $40 an animal, so it was not as expensive as going to the vets.
5 more weeks. wowsa. I need to start packing a bag for the hospital today. That is on my to do list for Wed. We only have 2 more birthing classes and then, it is just a matter of dr visits and the holidays. I am so very hungry. The other day, I ate breakfast, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, a slice of cake and 4 cookies. Yesterday, an employee of mine was talking about how she thinks a pizza place made her sick and I just go, “man their pizza and bread sticks sound so good right now”. She ofcourse just looked at me like I was crazy. I figure this is the time to eat, so I am. Now if I go to my Drs. apt on Wed and have gained 5 lbs, I might reconsider, but for now, I am going with what my body is telling me. I made a 12 hours play list of relaxing songs for the birth. Liz is going to make a more upbeat one for the birth in case that is what I decide I like.
We finished decorating the Christmas tree yesterday. It looks so nice. Hopefully I can get Liz to put some belly pics and tree pics on here for you to see. You know I am technologically unable to do such things:)
I hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season!
-S
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Baby Shower!
Our baby shower on Sunday was, in one word, amazing. Just amazing. We had such a good turn out, almost everyone we expected to come did and those that didn't either lived too far away or were sick. Our hostess, Aunt Lulu as she's like Jude to call her, did a great job setting everything up. We had pretty baby blue cup cakes with fancy toasted coconut, olives, bread, hummus, a spinach artichoke dip that everyone raved about, nuts, fruit, veggies, summer sausage, crackers, cheese, lots of Mimosas and other yummy things that I'm sure I'm forgetting. The house was decorated with pretty turquoise, silver and white balloons and the table was set in those same colors. It was really lovely. I didn't bring my camera but several other people were taking pictures so I'll hopefully post a few later this week.
After some mingling, we played a baby trivia game that Aunt Lulu and Uncle Duck made for the shower. There were questions on Old Wives' Tales, celebrity babies, songs with the word baby in it, facts about babies and things of that nature. It was so much fun. After each round there was a bonus challenge. The first round we had to have one person on each team cut a piece of string that they thought would most closely wrap around S's waist. The second round was a blind taste testing of 5 different baby foods and the third challenge was who could drink 9 ounces of water from a baby bottle the fastest. Everyone had a blast and out of 4 teams, my team won!
After trivia we sat down and opened presents. We got so much cute stuff that I think we officially have just about everything we need for sweet baby Jude. The generosity of our friends and family is just mind blowing, seriously. We got several hand made blankets/quilts that are so sweet that I'll have to post pictures of them soon. We got stuff to organize his room with, a great dinosaur cross stitch that I'll also have to post pictures of, a chair that buckles onto one of our kitchen chairs to use for a high chair, a big frog thing to put all of his bath toys in, lots of cute clothes, and so much other stuff. I won't bore you, but let's just say his room/our house is now stuffed with baby things and we have a LOT of thank you cards to write!
So all in all a wonderful time. S's mom and brother also came down for the shower and it was really nice to spend some time with them and have them there for our special event. While S's mom was in town we also went and had one last 3D ultrasound. I can't believe how much bigger and cuter our little boy has gotten in the last 6 weeks! I'll be posting pictures from that as well. We got one really cute one where he is sticking out his tongue! So cute!
Alright well obviously our next post is going to picture filled. Till then!
-Liz
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
8 weeks to go!
Can you believe it? 8 more weeks until I am 40 full weeks. I told Jude he can come anytime after January 8th. That is when one of my managers gets back from vacation and it is far enough from the holidays that his birthday will not be overlooked by anyone:)
I had a Drs. apt today and gained .6 lbs over the past 2 weeks. I am unsure how considering I feel like all I have done is EAT! I am starving all the time. I eat and then 30 minutes later, I eat some more. The total weight gain at this point is 17.6 lbs. Liz said, “I just don’t know how you can be so huge and only have gained that much?! No offense.” Thanks babe;)
This belly is large and in charge. (I just like that it rhymes) I must say, there are certain things that have made this pregnancy good and I suggest if you are pregnant, that you get them:
1. Cheese and nuts. Quick, easy protein that is delicious
2. A “boat ramp” as Liz calls it. I have these little wedges that are for pregnancy massage that go under preggie bellies. Life saver on comfort. You just lay it under the belly when side lying and it feels so comfy.
3. A body pillow, or monkey. I use a large monkey and arrange him comfortably, but most normal people would probably prefer a body pillow. (Liz is really embarrassed that I want the monkey to go to the hospital with us. I figure if I am going to have tons of people staring at my private parts, she can carry a large monkey thru the hospital. She can always tie a bow on him to make it look like he is for Jude)
4. An exercise ball. No, not for exercise, but to roll your poor confused tail bone around on so it goes back to the place where it doesn’t hurt you:)
5. A fan on my side of the bed. Poor Liz was freezing, so my own personal fan makes it so that I am not burning up all the time.
Everything is going fine as far as Jude goes. The dr, who is very laid back anyways, usually comes in and as long as my blood pressure and weight are fine, she measures the belly and says, “see you in 2 weeks”. After my appointment in 2 weeks, they will start having me go to weekly appointments. Crazy, right? how did we get this far along. Liz and I still marvel at how we are about to bring a bouncing baby boy into this world. We wanted a baby for so long and it took us a while to get to the right place in our lives to do it, and then he took the first time and here we are. 8 weeks away from having our squirmy, poopy, amazing son here with us. Amazing!
The weather has been amazing. I finally let Liz turn on the heat at 66 degrees last night. Our house has been getting down to 61 degrees at night and I have been loving every second of it!
We have our Austin baby shower this weekend and it is going to be a blast! The hostest with the mostest has made a trivia game with 48 baby related trivia questions with 3 baby related activities between rounds. There are going to be cupcakes and mimosas and lots of people there to shower little Jude with gifts and love. My mom and brother are even coming to town for it. I get to show my little brother, whose birthday is today and he should be 28 today, my spa. Right now, they put up all the Christmas trees, which are amazing, and he is excited to sit in the steam room and swim. My mom is excited to get a massage when she is here.
I am feeling moody lately. Teary eyed about different things. Most of it is from being excited and joyous, which is good. Yesterday I was mad at all the stuff we have to do for the social worker and today, I am happy to run around and get stuff done all day.
Speaking of the social worker, jeez. 21 pages of questions, 2 hours of interview, a measurement of our house, references from friends and family, the list goes on. All because Liz does not have a penis. Sheesh! We are scrambling to get it all together before Jude gets here, along with all the stuff we need to do before Jude gets here. We have a lot of his stuff done, which is good. I am going to install the base of the car seat today. It looks simple enough:)
Well, I better get back to cleaning before my mom and brother get into town. I hope you are all enjoying this cold weather as much as I am!
-S
I had a Drs. apt today and gained .6 lbs over the past 2 weeks. I am unsure how considering I feel like all I have done is EAT! I am starving all the time. I eat and then 30 minutes later, I eat some more. The total weight gain at this point is 17.6 lbs. Liz said, “I just don’t know how you can be so huge and only have gained that much?! No offense.” Thanks babe;)
This belly is large and in charge. (I just like that it rhymes) I must say, there are certain things that have made this pregnancy good and I suggest if you are pregnant, that you get them:
1. Cheese and nuts. Quick, easy protein that is delicious
2. A “boat ramp” as Liz calls it. I have these little wedges that are for pregnancy massage that go under preggie bellies. Life saver on comfort. You just lay it under the belly when side lying and it feels so comfy.
3. A body pillow, or monkey. I use a large monkey and arrange him comfortably, but most normal people would probably prefer a body pillow. (Liz is really embarrassed that I want the monkey to go to the hospital with us. I figure if I am going to have tons of people staring at my private parts, she can carry a large monkey thru the hospital. She can always tie a bow on him to make it look like he is for Jude)
4. An exercise ball. No, not for exercise, but to roll your poor confused tail bone around on so it goes back to the place where it doesn’t hurt you:)
5. A fan on my side of the bed. Poor Liz was freezing, so my own personal fan makes it so that I am not burning up all the time.
Everything is going fine as far as Jude goes. The dr, who is very laid back anyways, usually comes in and as long as my blood pressure and weight are fine, she measures the belly and says, “see you in 2 weeks”. After my appointment in 2 weeks, they will start having me go to weekly appointments. Crazy, right? how did we get this far along. Liz and I still marvel at how we are about to bring a bouncing baby boy into this world. We wanted a baby for so long and it took us a while to get to the right place in our lives to do it, and then he took the first time and here we are. 8 weeks away from having our squirmy, poopy, amazing son here with us. Amazing!
The weather has been amazing. I finally let Liz turn on the heat at 66 degrees last night. Our house has been getting down to 61 degrees at night and I have been loving every second of it!
We have our Austin baby shower this weekend and it is going to be a blast! The hostest with the mostest has made a trivia game with 48 baby related trivia questions with 3 baby related activities between rounds. There are going to be cupcakes and mimosas and lots of people there to shower little Jude with gifts and love. My mom and brother are even coming to town for it. I get to show my little brother, whose birthday is today and he should be 28 today, my spa. Right now, they put up all the Christmas trees, which are amazing, and he is excited to sit in the steam room and swim. My mom is excited to get a massage when she is here.
I am feeling moody lately. Teary eyed about different things. Most of it is from being excited and joyous, which is good. Yesterday I was mad at all the stuff we have to do for the social worker and today, I am happy to run around and get stuff done all day.
Speaking of the social worker, jeez. 21 pages of questions, 2 hours of interview, a measurement of our house, references from friends and family, the list goes on. All because Liz does not have a penis. Sheesh! We are scrambling to get it all together before Jude gets here, along with all the stuff we need to do before Jude gets here. We have a lot of his stuff done, which is good. I am going to install the base of the car seat today. It looks simple enough:)
Well, I better get back to cleaning before my mom and brother get into town. I hope you are all enjoying this cold weather as much as I am!
-S
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sick
Ugh, I'm sick. I've been sick since Friday and I'm really tired of it. I can't tell if it is allergies or an actual cold, but either way, it sucks. Being sick while you are at home isn't too bad, lying on the couch, watching movies and taking naps. But being sick at work is the worst. I'm sniffling, coughing, my head feels fuzzy, my throat hurts and I feel hot and then cold. And it's just too busy at work for me to call out and take a sick day. Also, medicine wise, nothing is helping. I'm taking combos of allergy medicine and cold medicine and in the end I just feel dehydrated and weird. I'm hoping that this funk I'm in is allergy related and goes away soon because I have so much to do this week. Our Austin
But I am really looking forward to our baby shower. It's going to be so much fun. S and I went and got 12 bottles of champagne last week for Mimosas along with prizes for our diaper raffle. I'm also looking forward to our last ultrasound on Friday. We are taking S's mom to do a 3D ultrasound since she wasn't here to go to the last one. Of course, now that we have done so many and already booked and paid for our last one is when we get flooded with information from our birthing class and what to expect emails about the dangers of ultrasounds. I'm not too worried about it, but I wish I had known there was any sort of risk/issue with them before we went and had 6 of them. Of course, 4 of them were with our doctor's office so we couldn't control that. Oh well. I'm still looking forward to seeing our baby boy.
Hope everyone week is starting out a bit better than mine!
-Liz
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Very Thankful
Because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'll be cooking all day, I thought today would be a better time to write my Thanksgiving post. I'm so excited for tomorrow, I love Thanksgiving. I love to cook and feed people, I love gathering the folks I love. It's stressful, but also so peaceful, and fun and delicious all rolled up and baked into one giant turkey, which I have named Frank. It's Franksgiving at our house tomorrow. And I'm also excited because I'm making not only a 15lb turkey named Frank for 5 people (one of which is a vegetarian), but also because I'm making not one, not two, but three different potato dishes. At first I thought, no, I won't make that third dish, three potato dishes at one meal is ridiculous, but then I say, hey, it's Franksgiving and if there was ever a meal that could get away with three different potato dishes, it's this one. So I'm totally doing it. There will be mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and funeral potatoes. YUM!
Enough about the food though. I wanted to say that I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have an amazing wife who is doing a great job growing our little boy. I am so lucky to have her and so lucky that even after almost ten years together we are still so happy and so in love. I am so thankful for my baby boy, who joins us in just about two months! I am so excited to meet him and love him and have our family grow. I am so thankful for all of our friends and family who are so supportive and loving. We wouldn't be having this baby without them, it takes village afterall, and our village is pretty extraordinary. And last, I have to say that I am thankful for all of you who read this blog, who follow along on our adventures, who support and encourage us. We started this blog for us, just something to document our life and this process and we have made some great friends along the way and really feel like we are part of a larger community, which is not something we ever expected. Thank you for reading and being a part of our life. I hope that your Thanksgiving is happy, full of good food and most importantly, full of love.
-Liz
Enough about the food though. I wanted to say that I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have an amazing wife who is doing a great job growing our little boy. I am so lucky to have her and so lucky that even after almost ten years together we are still so happy and so in love. I am so thankful for my baby boy, who joins us in just about two months! I am so excited to meet him and love him and have our family grow. I am so thankful for all of our friends and family who are so supportive and loving. We wouldn't be having this baby without them, it takes village afterall, and our village is pretty extraordinary. And last, I have to say that I am thankful for all of you who read this blog, who follow along on our adventures, who support and encourage us. We started this blog for us, just something to document our life and this process and we have made some great friends along the way and really feel like we are part of a larger community, which is not something we ever expected. Thank you for reading and being a part of our life. I hope that your Thanksgiving is happy, full of good food and most importantly, full of love.
-Liz
Monday, November 21, 2011
Out pour of love
The spa had a baby shower for me. I was pretty nervous about it since I am a higher up boss and didn’t want anyone to feel weird about it. It ended up being perfect. People made my favorite foods and all were so excited to give me baby gifts! Then, the whole week, I got more baby gifts from people who were not able to make it to the shower. We were so touched by the out pour of love from all of my employees! We got tons of cute outfits, gift cards, some of the practical stuff and just really nice cards and thoughts. One of my employees took a huge box and made us a first aid kit so we have little baby medicines and stuff for Jude too.
I then spent a few hours fussing with Jude’s stuff. We got a toy box, so now all his toys are in it. I took the tags off of his clothing and cleared a cabinet in the bathroom and in the kitchen for his stuff. It really feels like he is coming soon to me now. I don’t know why the fact that he has a cabinet in the kitchen and bathroom makes it feel more immediate, but it does.
I don’t think there is much left on the registry at this point. We still have our biggest shower, the Austin shower, and we have so much of what we need for Jude already. People were even smart about it and got him larger sized clothes, not just newborn, so he has outfits thru 6 months at this point. I am very excited to go on a baby shopping spree with all the gift cards we received at this point. Liz and I have not bought much baby stuff, so it will be fun after our last shower to go baby buying crazy and get the last of what we need for our little man. Speaking of, have you seen the new Gwen Stefani line of stuff at Target. So very cute!!
I am starting to feel really pregnant. I don’t think the next month or two will be very fun for me to run around the spa. My feet swell, my hips hurt off and on and this belly is now something to be reckoned with. It takes a bit to get up and down and I can no longer really bend down and pick stuff up. Fortunately my spa family is very supportive not only in their gift giving and love, but also in helping me with stuff. I have not had a single person complain when I ask them to move a box and have even had people get mad at me when I do things they believe I should not be doing at this point.
Jude is active as ever. We went and saw Breaking Dawn last night and he was kicking thru a large part of the movie. There was one scene when the wolves were running and howling and he went nuts. I think that makes him Team Jacob like me! :) I think between the milkshake and the loud noise and I was sitting still after being on my feet all day, he was ready to do somersaults thru the movie. I thought the movie was okay. I liked it the least out of all of them, but am still happy we went and saw it. There are only so many movies left until Jude is here and it will be harder to go then.
I think they are going to start a pool at work on when Jude is going to get here. I am happy for him to arrive any time after January 8th. He is not due until January 23rd and my psychic at work said he would come on January 27th. We will see. I just hope he makes it in the oven thru the holidays as no one likes to have their birthday around a major holiday. I just really don’t want him to go all the way thru February since that means he will be late and I imagine the bigger he gets, the more I will want to take off work before his arrival. I am trying to work until he gets here so I have the full 12 weeks with him. I don’t see the point in staying home and waiting on him to come, but I imagine that will sound really nice as I get bigger and bigger.
All in all, I am to the moon in love with this little boy. I am so excited to make him and meet him when he finally gets here. He recognizes Liz’s voice and goes crazy for her. She has been laying on my stomach and talking to him and he kicks her face all over the place. It is really cute. This little man is going to turn our world upsidown and I am excited for it! I have no doubt he is going to run this household once he gets here!
-S
I then spent a few hours fussing with Jude’s stuff. We got a toy box, so now all his toys are in it. I took the tags off of his clothing and cleared a cabinet in the bathroom and in the kitchen for his stuff. It really feels like he is coming soon to me now. I don’t know why the fact that he has a cabinet in the kitchen and bathroom makes it feel more immediate, but it does.
I don’t think there is much left on the registry at this point. We still have our biggest shower, the Austin shower, and we have so much of what we need for Jude already. People were even smart about it and got him larger sized clothes, not just newborn, so he has outfits thru 6 months at this point. I am very excited to go on a baby shopping spree with all the gift cards we received at this point. Liz and I have not bought much baby stuff, so it will be fun after our last shower to go baby buying crazy and get the last of what we need for our little man. Speaking of, have you seen the new Gwen Stefani line of stuff at Target. So very cute!!
I am starting to feel really pregnant. I don’t think the next month or two will be very fun for me to run around the spa. My feet swell, my hips hurt off and on and this belly is now something to be reckoned with. It takes a bit to get up and down and I can no longer really bend down and pick stuff up. Fortunately my spa family is very supportive not only in their gift giving and love, but also in helping me with stuff. I have not had a single person complain when I ask them to move a box and have even had people get mad at me when I do things they believe I should not be doing at this point.
Jude is active as ever. We went and saw Breaking Dawn last night and he was kicking thru a large part of the movie. There was one scene when the wolves were running and howling and he went nuts. I think that makes him Team Jacob like me! :) I think between the milkshake and the loud noise and I was sitting still after being on my feet all day, he was ready to do somersaults thru the movie. I thought the movie was okay. I liked it the least out of all of them, but am still happy we went and saw it. There are only so many movies left until Jude is here and it will be harder to go then.
I think they are going to start a pool at work on when Jude is going to get here. I am happy for him to arrive any time after January 8th. He is not due until January 23rd and my psychic at work said he would come on January 27th. We will see. I just hope he makes it in the oven thru the holidays as no one likes to have their birthday around a major holiday. I just really don’t want him to go all the way thru February since that means he will be late and I imagine the bigger he gets, the more I will want to take off work before his arrival. I am trying to work until he gets here so I have the full 12 weeks with him. I don’t see the point in staying home and waiting on him to come, but I imagine that will sound really nice as I get bigger and bigger.
All in all, I am to the moon in love with this little boy. I am so excited to make him and meet him when he finally gets here. He recognizes Liz’s voice and goes crazy for her. She has been laying on my stomach and talking to him and he kicks her face all over the place. It is really cute. This little man is going to turn our world upsidown and I am excited for it! I have no doubt he is going to run this household once he gets here!
-S
Friday, November 18, 2011
31 Week Bump Picture!
OK so it has been a while since we posted a bump picture and honestly, it's because we haven't been very on the ball with taking belly shots recently. So here it is, in all of it's roundness, S at 31 weeks.
Behind S you can see some of the letters for our alphabet wall. All of the letters are in and hanging up. They are so far just put up with push pins because we are still waiting to get them just right before we hang them up with nails. But they look great. Hopefully I will get them up and take some pictures to post next week.
And as of last night, I think it is official, S is finally nesting. So far with a few exceptions I have been the one doing all of the nesting around the house but this week S put together the stroller and last night spent an hour or two putting things away and cleaning out cupboards in the kitchen and bathroom and filling them with baby stuff. It's cute to see her nesting and wanting to get stuff done. And now that the stroller is put together, we let our first "baby" take it out for a test drive.
This is our pug, Pedro. Pedro thought that the whole thing was pretty weird. He didn't really get what we were up to and was nervous the whole time he was in the stroller. Oh, and what is the deal with strollers being so very hard to open and close and car seats being so confusing? I swear our car seat has at least 10 different buttons on it and I have no idea what most of them do. Better start practicing soon!
Also, a big congrats to our friends Kayan and Marc! Their baby girl was born yesterday and boy oh boy is she a cutie!
-Liz
And as of last night, I think it is official, S is finally nesting. So far with a few exceptions I have been the one doing all of the nesting around the house but this week S put together the stroller and last night spent an hour or two putting things away and cleaning out cupboards in the kitchen and bathroom and filling them with baby stuff. It's cute to see her nesting and wanting to get stuff done. And now that the stroller is put together, we let our first "baby" take it out for a test drive.
Also, a big congrats to our friends Kayan and Marc! Their baby girl was born yesterday and boy oh boy is she a cutie!
-Liz
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Peaceful Saturday Night
It’s 9:30 on Saturday night and I’m drinking a glass of cold, sweet sangria in my living room. The windows are open and there is a slight cool breeze coming in. The house is so quite, the little lady went to bed five minutes ago, I have a new book downloaded to the kindle and Saturday Night Live is on in an hour. I spent the afternoon making delicious carnitas and then after dinner curled up in bed with the little lady to watch a movie in bed. It has been a wonderful, quiet, peaceful Saturday night and I couldn’t be happier.
I’m really making an effort to treasure this time, as it fully hit me earlier today just how little of this time we have left. And don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be more excited to have this baby on the way, to be a mother in ten short weeks. I can’t wait for everything to change and get flipped upside down by my little Jude. And it’s happening so soon that I can’t help but feel like my days like this are numbered and not to be squandered.
Ten more weeks till our little one is here, ten more Saturdays like this one. It also freaks me out that I still have so much left to do around the house before he is here and I don’t actually have ten Saturdays to do it all, I actually only have six. Between Thanksgiving, a baby shower, Christmas, and New Years, all being such busy times, I’m crossing them off the list of potential days to get anything done. So tomorrow it’s time to crack the whip and get to work. So that is the plan, to get started tomorrow.
But tonight, tonight is for drinking sangria, enjoying the breeze, and crossing my fingers that Saturday Night Live is actually funny tonight.
Hope your evening is as pleasant as mine.
Liz
I’m really making an effort to treasure this time, as it fully hit me earlier today just how little of this time we have left. And don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be more excited to have this baby on the way, to be a mother in ten short weeks. I can’t wait for everything to change and get flipped upside down by my little Jude. And it’s happening so soon that I can’t help but feel like my days like this are numbered and not to be squandered.
Ten more weeks till our little one is here, ten more Saturdays like this one. It also freaks me out that I still have so much left to do around the house before he is here and I don’t actually have ten Saturdays to do it all, I actually only have six. Between Thanksgiving, a baby shower, Christmas, and New Years, all being such busy times, I’m crossing them off the list of potential days to get anything done. So tomorrow it’s time to crack the whip and get to work. So that is the plan, to get started tomorrow.
But tonight, tonight is for drinking sangria, enjoying the breeze, and crossing my fingers that Saturday Night Live is actually funny tonight.
Hope your evening is as pleasant as mine.
Liz
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Baby shower-yeah! Contraction- Ouch!
We had our first baby shower this weekend. It was great! We caught up with old friends and got tons of great baby stuff! People cannot resist buying outfits for Jude! We got tons of REALLY cute outfits for him. Along with a bunch of other things. It was great to see everyone that was there and there were 4 babies and some kiddos in attendance (not including another preggie that was there too!). The babies ranged from 5 days old to 2 years old. So cute and so many different personalities and all of them were chill thru the shower.
We also went to the lawyer today and signed all of our documents from Wills to Rights of Attorney to who Jude goes to. Crazy! I think I was more nervous for the second part we did, which was Liz is officially on my account and closes her account this week. After 9 years, we finally have joint accounts! Money makes me nervous and I am very intense about it, so it is good to combine now and work out all the kinks before Jude is here on top of that.
On a negative note, it was a long drive home. It was raining the whole way back and I had my first major contraction. It was weird. I had a belly ache all day (which I don’t really get) but figured it was from Jude’s feet being in my belly or a burger I ate earlier. It hurt off and on the whole drive, so I made Liz drive and stretched out. It felt better, so I volunteered to drive and blam-o, insane pain. The strange part was it was my stomach, not low down, so I knew I was not in labor, but that was about all I knew. I got off the highway as quickly as I could and paced, cussing and confused until it passed. I called my Dr. and she said it was “false labor” and that it it fine unless it starts to happen at regular intervals and then I would need to go in for monitoring. I was not happy with that since I was on my way back from Oklahoma in the middle of nowhere Texas. I was crossing my fingers it would not continue. It felt fine and then we stopped to get gas and I threw up for what felt like forever, right there at the pump. Yuck! After that, I felt fine. The Dr said to hydrate and relax, so that is what I have been doing. I feel fine today and we ran around and took care of all kinds of things, so I think it is just going to happen sometimes. What sucked about it (well on top of it in general) is is hurt to breathe during it. There was no way I could do stomach breathing thru it when it hurt to breathe during and after it.
Jude is non the wiser. He is crazy kicking around in there today. He gave Liz a good kick fest for the past few hours and is still going at it. Crazy baby! Or as I like to say: “cwazy baby!”. He even got the hiccups earlier. This week he practices breathing, so he is more likely to get them due to that. How cute is that?!
Thank you everyone who came to Jude’s first party! I just hope in the future he does not party so hard he has contractions the next day!
-S
We also went to the lawyer today and signed all of our documents from Wills to Rights of Attorney to who Jude goes to. Crazy! I think I was more nervous for the second part we did, which was Liz is officially on my account and closes her account this week. After 9 years, we finally have joint accounts! Money makes me nervous and I am very intense about it, so it is good to combine now and work out all the kinks before Jude is here on top of that.
On a negative note, it was a long drive home. It was raining the whole way back and I had my first major contraction. It was weird. I had a belly ache all day (which I don’t really get) but figured it was from Jude’s feet being in my belly or a burger I ate earlier. It hurt off and on the whole drive, so I made Liz drive and stretched out. It felt better, so I volunteered to drive and blam-o, insane pain. The strange part was it was my stomach, not low down, so I knew I was not in labor, but that was about all I knew. I got off the highway as quickly as I could and paced, cussing and confused until it passed. I called my Dr. and she said it was “false labor” and that it it fine unless it starts to happen at regular intervals and then I would need to go in for monitoring. I was not happy with that since I was on my way back from Oklahoma in the middle of nowhere Texas. I was crossing my fingers it would not continue. It felt fine and then we stopped to get gas and I threw up for what felt like forever, right there at the pump. Yuck! After that, I felt fine. The Dr said to hydrate and relax, so that is what I have been doing. I feel fine today and we ran around and took care of all kinds of things, so I think it is just going to happen sometimes. What sucked about it (well on top of it in general) is is hurt to breathe during it. There was no way I could do stomach breathing thru it when it hurt to breathe during and after it.
Jude is non the wiser. He is crazy kicking around in there today. He gave Liz a good kick fest for the past few hours and is still going at it. Crazy baby! Or as I like to say: “cwazy baby!”. He even got the hiccups earlier. This week he practices breathing, so he is more likely to get them due to that. How cute is that?!
Thank you everyone who came to Jude’s first party! I just hope in the future he does not party so hard he has contractions the next day!
-S
Friday, November 4, 2011
Getting Excited
As soon as this boring work day wraps up, the little lady and I are hopping in the car for the drive to Tulsa, and we couldn't be more excited. It's going to be a long drive, a little over 8 hours of road trip fun, but the last few hours of the drive we pick up my brother who will graciously drive the rest of the way for us. Hurray for baby showers and hurray for seeing everyone! It's going to be so fun and we have a lot of good times to pack into this short weekend. Saturday night I'm really excited to go see my little brother play in the Tulsa Symphony. I haven't ever gotten to see him play before and he is really a talented musician. We are also meeting up with my childhood BFF for pizza at the restaurant where S and I met (not the exact one, but one of them), the Hideaway. If you are ever in Oklahoma, the Hideaway is some seriously great pizza. And then on Sunday the main event, our first baby shower. We've got friends, a sister in law, family, childhood BFFs, and even a friend flying in from Colorado who are all going to be at the event. It's going to be epic.
We have also gotten a lot of great stuff for Jude this week. I wish I had pictures to show you all, maybe next week, but we got all of our letters for our alphabet wall. They are all so amazing, it's going to be the coolest thing ever. And also a guy that S works with got us these two little paintings made by a local artist that are really cool and match Jude's room. Then yesterday we got home and there was the sweetest package from one of our friends who doesn't live in town. She sent us the cutest hand made dinosaur onesie, along with lots of other cute clothes, these awesome baby books that have art by famous artist, along with some other fun baby toys. It was like mini Christmas opening up all of the fun stuff she sent. It is just amazing to see all of the love that our friends and family already have for little Jude, who they haven't even met yet. It really touches my heart to see it. He is going to be so happy and loved!
I'll post updates about the baby shower next week, so stay tuned and have a happy weekend yourself!
-Liz
We have also gotten a lot of great stuff for Jude this week. I wish I had pictures to show you all, maybe next week, but we got all of our letters for our alphabet wall. They are all so amazing, it's going to be the coolest thing ever. And also a guy that S works with got us these two little paintings made by a local artist that are really cool and match Jude's room. Then yesterday we got home and there was the sweetest package from one of our friends who doesn't live in town. She sent us the cutest hand made dinosaur onesie, along with lots of other cute clothes, these awesome baby books that have art by famous artist, along with some other fun baby toys. It was like mini Christmas opening up all of the fun stuff she sent. It is just amazing to see all of the love that our friends and family already have for little Jude, who they haven't even met yet. It really touches my heart to see it. He is going to be so happy and loved!
I'll post updates about the baby shower next week, so stay tuned and have a happy weekend yourself!
-Liz
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Halloween Fun
I think that our party last night was a success. S even stayed up until 1:30 am! Pretty darn good for a lady who is 7 months pregnant. Not much to say about it other than it was a blast. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the night.
There were lots of other great costumes, but I don’t feel like I can post pictures of them without asking everyone’s permission. We also on Saturday got almost all of the letters for our ABC wall, we are only missing a few. They are all so amazing, I can’t wait to show them all to you. I’ll have to reveal it one letter at a time, because they each deserve their own blog post.
Happy Halloween everyone!
-Liz
S was Gumby and her friend Cam was Pokey. It was pretty much the funniest thing ever.
I was a plant/Mother Earth, which was really just a lame excuse to buy the pretty green flowery dress that I wore.
Our spooky bathroom. The giant bug's name is Frank, he is creepy.
There were lots of other great costumes, but I don’t feel like I can post pictures of them without asking everyone’s permission. We also on Saturday got almost all of the letters for our ABC wall, we are only missing a few. They are all so amazing, I can’t wait to show them all to you. I’ll have to reveal it one letter at a time, because they each deserve their own blog post.
Happy Halloween everyone!
-Liz
Friday, October 28, 2011
Pushy Little Baby
We learned this week a little trick that our sweet baby Jude will do. If you push lightly on S’s stomach, if Jude is awake, he will kick/push you back! It is so crazy that he is now aware enough to respond to something like that. And his baby kicks keep getting stronger and stronger. I can pretty much always feel him know if he is up and at it, and I just love it. I can’t wait to meet this little baby!
Our Tulsa Austin baby shower, which is going to be even better than the Tulsa
We are having a Halloween costume party tomorrow night and I have LOTS that I need to get done tonight and tomorrow before it happens. It’s weird to think that this will be the last big party we have for quite a while. We normally every year throw at least a Halloween and New Year’s party but this year New Year’s Eve will be so very close to Jude’s due date that it would be just craziness to try to have a party. It’s even possible that he will be born by then or close to then (He would only have to be about 2 ½-3 weeks early for that to happen). I’m hoping he will be a little bit early, but not that early, more like a week early, just because I’m so excited to meet him. I’ll post pictures from our Halloween party on Sunday or Monday.
Have a happy weekend!
Liz
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Yesterday's Tiny Scare
We had a small scare with Jude yesterday. S had called the doctor to ask about a few things for her next appointment and at the end of the call she mentioned how Jude sometimes felt like he was shaking really hard and was wondering if that was normal. They told her they’d get back to her and little bit later a nurse from the office called and said that they wanted her to go in for an ultrasound that afternoon to be sure there wasn’t something wrong with Jude, which naturally freaked S out. Luckily I was able to get off work and go with her and her work was accommodating enough to let her come in late after the appointment. We were so scared. The thought that something could be wrong with our little boy had us both in tears at different points. We went in and they did an ultrasound and measured everything again on him and everything looks fine. Whew. Totally normal looking according to the tech and no issues. He is weighing in at 2.5 lbs and is the perfect size for his age. I could not have been more relieved. It was nice after we realized nothing was wrong to get another look at our boy. I was joking with S afterwards that if Jude could talk he would say, “Can’t a guy get any privacy around here? Geez,” because including yesterday’s scan we have now had 6 ultrasounds and still have one more, another 3D/4D, scheduled for December, which will bring the total to 7. I’m pretty sure most people only have 2-3 ultrasounds for a normal, non-issue, no multiples sort of pregnancy, so it has been nice to see our little dude so often. They only gave us one picture this time though and honestly it doesn’t look like anything at all so I’m not going to bother to post it. I think in the end S and determined that the shaking she is feeling is probably him coughing or hiccuping. Just so glad he is ok!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Hello 3rd trimester!
Come one, come all to feel the amazing acrobat Jude! I am unsure of what he is doing in there, so I have to guess he is practicing his acrobatic and tumbling skills or doing baby aerobics. About 3 days a week, he goes NUTS! I mean, rippling and popping out my belly. It looks like my belly is under attack! People can now not only feel his little kicks, but also can feel him shifting around. He will punch and kick and go crazy and then he does a crazy shaking thing that feels kind of like he is having a tiny seizure in there! It it nuts. Liz got to feel it last night and this morning. People at work have been able to feel him moving all around now. The reactions are funny. I thought a few of them were going to cry and then a few of them just looked at me like I had an alien in my belly. New flash people- there is a little dude in my belly! :)
I have been busy with baby prep today. I called my insurance agent about life insurance rates. Not something I have ever thought about, but our lawyer suggested it and it makes sense. At least enough to cover the mortgage if something happened to one of us. I also called about signing up for a breast feeding class. I have still not found an infant care class that is at the right time for us, but I am working on that too. I am almost done with the first bit of lawyer paperwork for our will and such. So much to think about!
Our first baby shower is in a few weeks and I am super excited! Not only do we get to go and celebrate Jude, but it is in Oklahoma, which means seeing a lot of our friends that we do not generally get to see on a regular basis. Liz’s mom just bought us our car seat and stroller combo. We are working on getting the invites out for the Austin baby shower.
Latest craving- Dijon mustard! Yum! I love tangy flavors still. I also had a bowl of broccoli cheese soup yesterday that was delicious, so I guess that still tastes good to me. I also have wanted salty fries lately. I am not really a fries person usually, so it is strange. I have only given in twice because I am sure the salt is not good for my swollen feet.
My poor little feet are so swollen after work! They are fine when I am not on them, but when I am for 9 hrs, they become fat little feet and ankles. Liz gave me a nice foot massage yesterday because they were so big. It made them feel so much better!
The third trimester is going to be a doozy I am sure. I am so very tired all of the time already. If I don’t get a short nap in the afternoon, it is hard to survive until 10pm for me. Unfortunately, most days do not come with a nap, so I drag thru the last part of the day at work. When I work until 10pm, I am fighting to keep my eyes open. Working an hour away from home is not great right now. I feel very unmotivated most days. I am currently working up the motivation to do the dishes:)
I have my bathing suit at work so that I can swim after work, but most days, I am just dragging my feet to the car to go home! Building a little human is hard work! I think he stole all my energy since he seems to not have any problem doing his baby aerobics in there!
My belly is big! Well, it feels big to me. I will have Liz add a photo soon. It is only going to get bigger. I am also starving all the time! I guess it is time for Jude to grow. It is strange the days I am starving, but nothing sounds good to eat.
I told Liz that I am unsure of this whole birth thing. She said I have 3 options: 1. I can stay pregnant forever 2. He can burst out of me like in the movie aliens or 3. I can give birth. I guess the 3rd option is the best one on the list:)
We are having our annual Halloween party on Saturday. Last big throw down until Jude is here. i will be Gumby. My friend and I got matching Gumby and Pokey costumes at the sales last year. I guess I will actually be pregnant Gumby, but the costume is big, so it should not show all that much. I will have Liz post pics of our costumes too because it is sure to be funny.
-S
I have been busy with baby prep today. I called my insurance agent about life insurance rates. Not something I have ever thought about, but our lawyer suggested it and it makes sense. At least enough to cover the mortgage if something happened to one of us. I also called about signing up for a breast feeding class. I have still not found an infant care class that is at the right time for us, but I am working on that too. I am almost done with the first bit of lawyer paperwork for our will and such. So much to think about!
Our first baby shower is in a few weeks and I am super excited! Not only do we get to go and celebrate Jude, but it is in Oklahoma, which means seeing a lot of our friends that we do not generally get to see on a regular basis. Liz’s mom just bought us our car seat and stroller combo. We are working on getting the invites out for the Austin baby shower.
Latest craving- Dijon mustard! Yum! I love tangy flavors still. I also had a bowl of broccoli cheese soup yesterday that was delicious, so I guess that still tastes good to me. I also have wanted salty fries lately. I am not really a fries person usually, so it is strange. I have only given in twice because I am sure the salt is not good for my swollen feet.
My poor little feet are so swollen after work! They are fine when I am not on them, but when I am for 9 hrs, they become fat little feet and ankles. Liz gave me a nice foot massage yesterday because they were so big. It made them feel so much better!
The third trimester is going to be a doozy I am sure. I am so very tired all of the time already. If I don’t get a short nap in the afternoon, it is hard to survive until 10pm for me. Unfortunately, most days do not come with a nap, so I drag thru the last part of the day at work. When I work until 10pm, I am fighting to keep my eyes open. Working an hour away from home is not great right now. I feel very unmotivated most days. I am currently working up the motivation to do the dishes:)
I have my bathing suit at work so that I can swim after work, but most days, I am just dragging my feet to the car to go home! Building a little human is hard work! I think he stole all my energy since he seems to not have any problem doing his baby aerobics in there!
My belly is big! Well, it feels big to me. I will have Liz add a photo soon. It is only going to get bigger. I am also starving all the time! I guess it is time for Jude to grow. It is strange the days I am starving, but nothing sounds good to eat.
I told Liz that I am unsure of this whole birth thing. She said I have 3 options: 1. I can stay pregnant forever 2. He can burst out of me like in the movie aliens or 3. I can give birth. I guess the 3rd option is the best one on the list:)
We are having our annual Halloween party on Saturday. Last big throw down until Jude is here. i will be Gumby. My friend and I got matching Gumby and Pokey costumes at the sales last year. I guess I will actually be pregnant Gumby, but the costume is big, so it should not show all that much. I will have Liz post pics of our costumes too because it is sure to be funny.
-S
Saturday, October 22, 2011
3D Ultrasound
This has been a baby filled few days around here. My mom came into town late Wednesday night to spend a few days with us and it was great. We went on Thursday morning with her to a 3D/4D ultrasound to see little Jude. It was really cool, but of course he wasn’t being very cooperative and was breach, meaning his face was turned towards S’s spine and he had his hands up on his face just about the whole time. I guess his hands are the most interesting thing in there right now. The lady doing the ultrasound was funny, she tired really hard to get some good shots of him. She had S lay in a few funny positions, jiggled and lightly smacked S’s belly and had her get up to do some stretches and had her eat tiny piece of chocolate. He moved some eventually and we got 1-2 shots of his face. There is only really one though that looks all that great in photo though. We got a CD of the pictures, a few printed out and then a DVD of the whole thing. The DVD is pretty cool. Here is the best picture from it.
Isn’t he a cutie? We have another appointment set up for the beginning of December when S’s mom will be here for our Austin baby shower. He will be pretty big then and the ultrasound lady said that then we will get some really good shots. Very exciting.
While my mom was here we also did some baby shopping. We got S some new maternity clothes and a few outfits for Jude. We also tried to get a glider but were unsuccessful. They are just either super ugly, uncomfortable, or $800. I think that we are going to keep our eyes open for something used for the next few months and if nothing comes up I think we are just going to get a rocker chair from Ikea and have my mom get us the travel system instead. Also it was annoying to go to every baby store ever pretty much and they just don’t have much cute boy stuff. It was all so full of girl stuff, but the boy stuff was either nothing or just pastel blue sports themed or pastel blue cars and trucks. I want a few more crib sheets and our nursery is all about bright colors and there just isn’t much of anything out there that is bright. I think that’s weird too because babies can’t really see pastel colors, they like bright high contrast stuff anyway. I think I’m going to have to just make my own crib skirt and possibly learn how to actually sew and make my own crib sheets. I have a sewing machine, I just don’t know how to use it (also not sure if it works, it’s old and I’ve never looked under the case).
Our Tulsa baby shower is only two weeks and a day away, I’m so excited! It will be so nice to see everyone we love and have a quick weekend away.
Time to clean the kitchen.
-Liz
While my mom was here we also did some baby shopping. We got S some new maternity clothes and a few outfits for Jude. We also tried to get a glider but were unsuccessful. They are just either super ugly, uncomfortable, or $800. I think that we are going to keep our eyes open for something used for the next few months and if nothing comes up I think we are just going to get a rocker chair from Ikea and have my mom get us the travel system instead. Also it was annoying to go to every baby store ever pretty much and they just don’t have much cute boy stuff. It was all so full of girl stuff, but the boy stuff was either nothing or just pastel blue sports themed or pastel blue cars and trucks. I want a few more crib sheets and our nursery is all about bright colors and there just isn’t much of anything out there that is bright. I think that’s weird too because babies can’t really see pastel colors, they like bright high contrast stuff anyway. I think I’m going to have to just make my own crib skirt and possibly learn how to actually sew and make my own crib sheets. I have a sewing machine, I just don’t know how to use it (also not sure if it works, it’s old and I’ve never looked under the case).
Our Tulsa baby shower is only two weeks and a day away, I’m so excited! It will be so nice to see everyone we love and have a quick weekend away.
Time to clean the kitchen.
-Liz
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Fall is here!
The wind is blowing and the weather is cool. Fall is officially here. To Jude fall means he is rearranging his house. That’s what Liz and I say when he is moving around all crazy like. The past 2 days he has been moving my whole belly around, doing multiple kicks or punches and just moving in new ways. I think he flipped upside down, decided he didn’t like it, moved back and then decided he did like it and moved upside down again today. He has been testing out his space. He usually hangs out on my left side with his feet down low. The past few days he has moved to the right and then the middle. I do not know what has prompted all this movement, but I am loving it!
I am currently obsessed with cherry lime gum. It is so tart and delicious! I did forget to get some more if it at the store today…sad day:( I am currently out because I keep sharing it…I need to stop doing that;)
We met with the lawyer this last week. She is a little goofy, but seems to know what she is talking about. We will set up a “Partner package” in the next few weeks. This includes wills, rights of attorney(i think that is what it is called), and all kinds of legal stuff for not only the house and such, but also little Jude if something were to happen to one or both of us. We then will start the adoption process for Liz to be able to adopt little Jude. It will not finalize until after he is here, but we can start gathering papers and get set up with a social worker. I think that is a little freaky to have a social worker in on our babies life at all, but it is a necessary step for Liz to be able to adopt him. I think my fear stems from the whole lesbians in the state of Texas fear. I always assume the legal system will blast us for that fact alone. The lawyer knows the different social workers, so I am sure she will not set us up with one that will care about that. She also said we have to go to San Antonio court as the are more likely to pass it. Here, it just depends on the judge and after all the work, we don’t want to take the chance to get one that is move conservative. Sigh..such work just because we are both women!
I have been starving lately! I think he must be growing in there because some days I cannot get enough to eat! On the flip side, I have thrown up 4 times in the past few weeks. I am not sure why my belly is unsettled again, but I am pretty used to it at this point. People at work are already starting to try and feed me. A girl came up to me and said that a group of them were talking and decided that baby Jude and I needed a cookie an employee brought in and put it on my desk. It was cute and strange at the same time.
Guests are starting to notice I am pregnant. I still have not had anyone come up and touch my tummy when I don’t know them, but I think I will in the next month. My belly feels so big! Liz says it is still small, but it is a change for me and feels huge some days. It is so packed full! It is funny how firm it is.
Jude is going to be here so soon! Granted, I am not even in my 3rd trimester yet, but the next few months are packed full of stuff and will fly by! Liz’s mom is coming into town this week and shopping for baby stuff. We are going to do a 3D ultrasound while she is here and I am so excited to see our little boy’s face! Hopefully he will cooperate. He is known for being stubborn about things like that, but we will see. We will have our annual Halloween party at the end of October. Then, our first baby shower is on Nov. 6th in Tulsa…that is only a few weeks away! Then it is Thanksgiving. Our second baby shower is on Dec 4th here in Austin. Then it is Christmas and New Years and Jude’s entrance!! Packed full last couple of months before Jude gets here.
I am really loving our birthing class. It is so focused on Liz being a huge part of the birth, which makes me feel so much better about the birth process. I always looked at it as a very independent thing that I would have to go thru. Now it seems like a process we will both be a part of. I feel much better about it knowing Liz will be there supporting me and encouraging me every step of the way!
-S
I am currently obsessed with cherry lime gum. It is so tart and delicious! I did forget to get some more if it at the store today…sad day:( I am currently out because I keep sharing it…I need to stop doing that;)
We met with the lawyer this last week. She is a little goofy, but seems to know what she is talking about. We will set up a “Partner package” in the next few weeks. This includes wills, rights of attorney(i think that is what it is called), and all kinds of legal stuff for not only the house and such, but also little Jude if something were to happen to one or both of us. We then will start the adoption process for Liz to be able to adopt little Jude. It will not finalize until after he is here, but we can start gathering papers and get set up with a social worker. I think that is a little freaky to have a social worker in on our babies life at all, but it is a necessary step for Liz to be able to adopt him. I think my fear stems from the whole lesbians in the state of Texas fear. I always assume the legal system will blast us for that fact alone. The lawyer knows the different social workers, so I am sure she will not set us up with one that will care about that. She also said we have to go to San Antonio court as the are more likely to pass it. Here, it just depends on the judge and after all the work, we don’t want to take the chance to get one that is move conservative. Sigh..such work just because we are both women!
I have been starving lately! I think he must be growing in there because some days I cannot get enough to eat! On the flip side, I have thrown up 4 times in the past few weeks. I am not sure why my belly is unsettled again, but I am pretty used to it at this point. People at work are already starting to try and feed me. A girl came up to me and said that a group of them were talking and decided that baby Jude and I needed a cookie an employee brought in and put it on my desk. It was cute and strange at the same time.
Guests are starting to notice I am pregnant. I still have not had anyone come up and touch my tummy when I don’t know them, but I think I will in the next month. My belly feels so big! Liz says it is still small, but it is a change for me and feels huge some days. It is so packed full! It is funny how firm it is.
Jude is going to be here so soon! Granted, I am not even in my 3rd trimester yet, but the next few months are packed full of stuff and will fly by! Liz’s mom is coming into town this week and shopping for baby stuff. We are going to do a 3D ultrasound while she is here and I am so excited to see our little boy’s face! Hopefully he will cooperate. He is known for being stubborn about things like that, but we will see. We will have our annual Halloween party at the end of October. Then, our first baby shower is on Nov. 6th in Tulsa…that is only a few weeks away! Then it is Thanksgiving. Our second baby shower is on Dec 4th here in Austin. Then it is Christmas and New Years and Jude’s entrance!! Packed full last couple of months before Jude gets here.
I am really loving our birthing class. It is so focused on Liz being a huge part of the birth, which makes me feel so much better about the birth process. I always looked at it as a very independent thing that I would have to go thru. Now it seems like a process we will both be a part of. I feel much better about it knowing Liz will be there supporting me and encouraging me every step of the way!
-S
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Photo-palooza
It seems like I have so much to update you all on, our second birthing class, our visit with a lawyer about estate planning and second parent adoption, S’s pregnancy….but instead, because it’s Saturday and because I’m in the middle of making a birthday cake and cleaning my house for a small dinner party tonight, I think I’ll just share some pictures of what we have been up to this week. Oh, and S officially has less than 100 days till Jude’s due date! Can you believe it? I was telling S last night that it seems like just yesterday that it was May and she was telling me she was pregnant. Time is going by so fast, I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that she is almost 7 months pregnant and I’m going to get to see my little baby boy’s face in less than 100 days. Yay!
Back to pictures. I’ve been wanting to hang a mirror in the nursery to open it up a bit and reflect some of the light from the window, but I’ve been having a hard time finding anything that wasn’t like $150. Then I realized I had the perfect mirror already hanging in our guest room. The mirror actually used to be my friend Brandon’s in high school and then when we lived together I ended up with it. It used to be black and I spray painted the frame red to match the room better.
Another awesome update to the nursery is my friend Jason made an amazing lamp for Jude’s room. Jason has a knack for lamps and I couldn’t love the one he made for us more, it fits the room perfectly.
In case it’s hard to see, it’s covered in plastic dinosaurs! Jude’s going to love it! I also made some more art for the nursery last night that I think turned out pretty good.
Lastly, I will leave you with a picture of S this week, looking very cute and pregnant!
-Liz
Back to pictures. I’ve been wanting to hang a mirror in the nursery to open it up a bit and reflect some of the light from the window, but I’ve been having a hard time finding anything that wasn’t like $150. Then I realized I had the perfect mirror already hanging in our guest room. The mirror actually used to be my friend Brandon’s in high school and then when we lived together I ended up with it. It used to be black and I spray painted the frame red to match the room better.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Baby Shower Invites!
My mom is throwing us a baby shower next month in Oklahoma where I mostly grew up and where S and I met and went to college. It's going to be filled with lots of old friends and family and I am so excited. My mom ordered our baby shower invites last night and I thought I'd share a sample of what they will look like. Of course, this is an edited version with all of the exact details taken out, but you can still see how cute they will be!
I love them!
-Liz
Monday, October 10, 2011
Jude’s kicking debut
Jude has now kicked 2 people other than Liz and me. The other night, we were at a friends house when he had a good kick fest, so I laid down and let her feel him kick. She was delighted and he put on a good show for her. A few nights later, she kicked B-man 2 solid times. It was really funny because each time he did it, B-man jumped back like he was burned. I think he was really shocked by how well you can feel the little guy. He was kicking like crazy earlier when I was debating on taking the dogs for a walk and is even kicking now. Note to self- maybe not take dogs for a walk on trash day. The whole neighborhood is stinky. We even got behind the trash truck at one point and yuck!
Jude is a very active boy and he is growing! There is no doubt that I am preggie any more. My belly is always out and round:) We have been doing a relaxation technique at night where I tense a muscle and then release (part of our Bradley training) and Liz always says, “now tense Jude’s house” meaning my belly, but honestly, at this point, my whole body feels like Jude’s house! This little baby has taken over. The other night, I had my first charlie horse…that was not fun and my calf is still a little bit sore. My feet have been very swollen at the end of the day, my breathing is restricted if I eat a full meal, and my belly is out a proud:) My whole body is taken over by baby Jude. I am 6 1/2 months now, so I am 2 weeks away from the famous 3rd trimester. I think it is going to be a doozy with how nuts it gets at work and me already feeling pretty full of baby.
The only craving I have been having is salads (I think for the tangy dressing) and pumpkin things. Liz let me pick out any recipe I wanted and she said she would make it. I picked out pumpkin bars from Joy the Baker, and man o man, they are delicious! They are like pumpkin pie with a delicious crust and chocolate chips on top. I am at the point where I am starving all the time and cannot get enough to eat. I did gain 2 lbs. this week. It is time to grow, so I am not too worried about it. That brings my total weight gain to 15 lbs. now. The dr. at my last appointment said I should gain an average of a pound a week at this point. Oh little Jude-you are going to get so big! Right now he is about 2 lbs. It is very strange to carry his 2 lbs. self and all his stuff on the front of me all the time!
I really like the Bradley class. It is very informative and I like the exercises. It makes me feel like I am doing something now for the birth later on down the road. I have been pretty good about them, but did slack off a few days because I was just too tired after work to do anything other than put my feet up. Liz says I am still doing more than I was, so it is good:)
I am not looking forward to my next Drs. apt. This is the one where they do the diabetes test. I am not worried about the test, but I have to fast from 12pm-10am the next day. I go in and they make me drink a sugary drink and then I have to stay there for 2 hours and they draw blood every hour. I am not going to feel very good not eating for that long. Plus, I am not excited to hang out in their waiting room for 2 hours! I guess once this one is done, as long as the results come back fine, I won’t have to do it again, so that is good. I am going to bring the computer with some shows to watch, so I am hoping the time flies!
I am still enjoying being pregnant. I love his little kicks. I am happy to grow our little baby inside of me. Liz is a good partner and gives me foot rubs and thanks me for growing our baby all the time. She is encouraging and sweet and loves me pregnant. She even likes how forgetful I am and says it makes her feel more together which is funny. I am looking forward to our baby showers and Liz and I are both excited to meet our little boy. I keep telling her to quit telling him that so that he stays in for a few more months, but I am just as excited about his arrival as she is.
I am a little nervous about the birth, but the Bradley class is helping by educating me on what is going to happen. I also had one of my employees the other day say that by the end, you are so ready to not be pregnant, that birth becomes less scary. I still have time to settle into the idea of how he is going to enter the world:)
-S
Jude is a very active boy and he is growing! There is no doubt that I am preggie any more. My belly is always out and round:) We have been doing a relaxation technique at night where I tense a muscle and then release (part of our Bradley training) and Liz always says, “now tense Jude’s house” meaning my belly, but honestly, at this point, my whole body feels like Jude’s house! This little baby has taken over. The other night, I had my first charlie horse…that was not fun and my calf is still a little bit sore. My feet have been very swollen at the end of the day, my breathing is restricted if I eat a full meal, and my belly is out a proud:) My whole body is taken over by baby Jude. I am 6 1/2 months now, so I am 2 weeks away from the famous 3rd trimester. I think it is going to be a doozy with how nuts it gets at work and me already feeling pretty full of baby.
The only craving I have been having is salads (I think for the tangy dressing) and pumpkin things. Liz let me pick out any recipe I wanted and she said she would make it. I picked out pumpkin bars from Joy the Baker, and man o man, they are delicious! They are like pumpkin pie with a delicious crust and chocolate chips on top. I am at the point where I am starving all the time and cannot get enough to eat. I did gain 2 lbs. this week. It is time to grow, so I am not too worried about it. That brings my total weight gain to 15 lbs. now. The dr. at my last appointment said I should gain an average of a pound a week at this point. Oh little Jude-you are going to get so big! Right now he is about 2 lbs. It is very strange to carry his 2 lbs. self and all his stuff on the front of me all the time!
I really like the Bradley class. It is very informative and I like the exercises. It makes me feel like I am doing something now for the birth later on down the road. I have been pretty good about them, but did slack off a few days because I was just too tired after work to do anything other than put my feet up. Liz says I am still doing more than I was, so it is good:)
I am not looking forward to my next Drs. apt. This is the one where they do the diabetes test. I am not worried about the test, but I have to fast from 12pm-10am the next day. I go in and they make me drink a sugary drink and then I have to stay there for 2 hours and they draw blood every hour. I am not going to feel very good not eating for that long. Plus, I am not excited to hang out in their waiting room for 2 hours! I guess once this one is done, as long as the results come back fine, I won’t have to do it again, so that is good. I am going to bring the computer with some shows to watch, so I am hoping the time flies!
I am still enjoying being pregnant. I love his little kicks. I am happy to grow our little baby inside of me. Liz is a good partner and gives me foot rubs and thanks me for growing our baby all the time. She is encouraging and sweet and loves me pregnant. She even likes how forgetful I am and says it makes her feel more together which is funny. I am looking forward to our baby showers and Liz and I are both excited to meet our little boy. I keep telling her to quit telling him that so that he stays in for a few more months, but I am just as excited about his arrival as she is.
I am a little nervous about the birth, but the Bradley class is helping by educating me on what is going to happen. I also had one of my employees the other day say that by the end, you are so ready to not be pregnant, that birth becomes less scary. I still have time to settle into the idea of how he is going to enter the world:)
-S
Friday, October 7, 2011
Bradley Birthing Class and A Belly Pic!
Wednesday was a big day in our pregnancy filled world. Wednesday morning S had a doctor’s appointment, the last monthly doctors appointment. Dang, can’t believe that starting next month she will be in her 3rd trimester and going to doctor’s appointments every other week. It all goes by so fast (yet at the same time, not fast enough). This was the first one that I haven’t been able to go with her to, which made me a little sad. She got to hear Jude’s strong steady heartbeat (this time he did not kick the machine) and they did all of the normal measuring the belly sort of stuff and everything looks good.
Then Wednesday night we had our first Bradley Birthing Class and it was awesome! If you are unfamiliar with the Bradley method, here is a tiny quote from the Wikipedia page, “The Bradley Method emphasizes that birth is a natural process: mothers are encouraged to trust their body and focus on diet and exercise throughout pregnancy; and it teaches couples to manage labor through deep breathing and the support of a partner or labor coach.” So basically, there are 12 classes and we meet every Wednesday for two hours each time. In order to be a Bradley teacher you have to have had a “Bradley” birth yourself, do tons of academic work and go to a week long Bradley teaching seminar amongst other things. One exciting thing about it is that just by coincidence our teacher (who teaches out of her house) lives about two blocks away from us. We drove to the first class just to be sure we knew where we were going, but I think that weather permitting (and it’s Austin, so I’m sure the weather will allow) we will walk to and from the rest of the classes, which is cool. We don’t get to walk to anything, we live in a rather suburban part of Austin, so the only thing we could really walk to is a gas station, which isn’t that exciting. There are 3 other couples in the class (but only two of the other three were there for this first class) and so far everyone has seemed pretty fine with us being in the class. We really enjoyed the class, it was fun to hang out with other couples expecting their first baby and of the three of us couples that were there this week we are all expecting boys. This first class was more of an introduction, so we didn’t do too much but we got sent home with homework- mostly exercises for S to do and a few relaxation things for us to practice each night together. Over all I think it’s going to be a really good thing for us and I’m excited to keep going.
And I’ve been meaning to post a new belly shot of S for a week or two now, so here is her most recent photo, though it is a few days if not almost a week old at this point. Gotta love that beautiful round belly!
-Liz
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Jude’s Jams
Well I’ve been working on a mix CD for baby Jude for quite a while now and I’ve finally made it. I was feeling a lot of pressure (from myself) to make the perfect mix and have just the right songs with just the right messages and it was too much, so I went a different direction. I decided to make a mix of some of my favorite songs, after all the point of this CD is to introduce Jude to the music I love in hopes that he will love it as well. So I just sat down and pulled up what I have today available in my itunes and this is the mix I came up with. I’m sure it’s not to everyone’s taste, but I really only made it for one person and well, he can’t exactly complain about it yet.
Jude’s Jams
1. Lucky Star- Madonna
2. Sparks- Coldplay
3. Wonderwall- Oasis
4. Home- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
5. Hello Goodbye- The Beatles
6. Flashdance- Irene Cara
7. Fortunate Fool- Jack Johnson
8. Young Forever- Jay-Z
9. Stay (I Missed You)- Lisa Loeb
10. Cherish- Madonna
11. Kids- MGMT
12. Clocks- Coldplay
13. Sweet Surrender- Sarah McLachlan
14. Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve
15. A Rush of Blood to the Head- Coldplay
16. Hold On- Wilson Phillips
17. Hey Jude- The Beatles
So there you have it. And by the way, did anyone watch Glee tonight? The end with them singing Coldplay- Fix You totally made me cry. Anyone else?
-Liz
Jude’s Jams
1. Lucky Star- Madonna
2. Sparks- Coldplay
3. Wonderwall- Oasis
4. Home- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
5. Hello Goodbye- The Beatles
6. Flashdance- Irene Cara
7. Fortunate Fool- Jack Johnson
8. Young Forever- Jay-Z
9. Stay (I Missed You)- Lisa Loeb
10. Cherish- Madonna
11. Kids- MGMT
12. Clocks- Coldplay
13. Sweet Surrender- Sarah McLachlan
14. Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve
15. A Rush of Blood to the Head- Coldplay
16. Hold On- Wilson Phillips
17. Hey Jude- The Beatles
So there you have it. And by the way, did anyone watch Glee tonight? The end with them singing Coldplay- Fix You totally made me cry. Anyone else?
-Liz
Friday, September 30, 2011
Confession
I have a small confession to make; I’m addicted to the show Teen Mom. I know, I know, it’s a ridiculous fake reality TV show and they are making money off of these poor teenagers who got themselves in this bad situation. But, I can’t help but enjoy it. You see, when we first found out S was pregnant, I went and put EVERYTHING even slightly baby related into our Netflix watch instantly queue and have watched all sorts of silly (and some great) movies. So far I/we have watched (from what I can remember): Look Whose Talking, Babies, In The Womb, about 5 minutes worth of Baby Geniuses, Junior, Making Grace, For Keeps, Accidentally on Purpose, Nine Months, The Object of My Affection, The Business of Being Born, Science of Babies, and now Teen Mom. And while I’m totally into Teen Mom, it is making me a bit nervous about being a stay at home mom. I think that it’s given me at least a little bit more of an idea of what it will be like to be at home alone with a baby, and frankly, it looks hard. It’s been a really long time since I was last around a baby for more than just an hour or two, so I’m starting to think that I’m not remembering all of the crying and diapers and stress a baby can bring quite a clearly as I think that I do. Hopefully little Jude isn’t a colicky baby who cries all day and hates life, hopefully he will be the happy little joyful boy that I’ve imagined him to be. And if not, well at least I’m not a broke, futureless18 year old with a looser boyfriend who I fight with all of the time and who doesn’t help with anything. And at least I won’t be crying on TV if I am crying at all (it’s one of my goals in life to never be on TV crying). So, anyone else a Teen Mom fan that will admit it? Oh and by the way, S thinks I’m totally ridiculous and refuses to watch it at all
-Liz
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Who’s belly button is that and the ninja inside
There are a lot of things that change when your pregnant. The one I find the strangest so far is my belly button. It used to be a huge cave and is almost flush right now. I imagine I will have the “turkey’s done!” belly button before the end of this pregnancy. I always think those are so cute (and hilarious) on people, so I am not really worried about it.
Yesterday, I was a little worried about Jude. He only gave me 2 tiny kicks, that could have been something else, before about 1pm. He usually has 5 good kicking sessions by then. I decided the best thing to do was get a massage and relax, so in the middle of my work day, I went and had a preggo massage. What was funny about it was that the woman that massaged me was also pregnant, so we talked babies thru most of it. Jude decided that it was the perfect time to high kick me, so I felt better. That night, we were laying around watching Modern Family (brilliant show I might add) and Jude started really kicking. I laid on my back with the belly towards Liz and let her feel the craziness going on inside me:) I do love his little kicks, but the cool part was Liz felt each kick clearly. She even said he moved her hand a few times. He was kicking so hard that she is a little worried about what he is going to do once he weighs more than a pound and a half! I have to admit, I am a little scared too as some of his kicks take my breath away already. I love it so much though, that I am more excited then anything!
On a negative note, I got a message from my mom a night ago that really upset me. She said she was probably going to skip the baby shower. I felt so hurt that she would not be really excited about her first, and honestly maybe her only, grandbaby’s shower. With my mom, there are 2 ways to do things. 1. I can spare her feelings like I have for years and just say, “okay, it’s fine” or 2. my more recent approach of being honest with her. She has not taken the 2nd one very well, but as Liz pointed out, I should probably be honest with her even if it is not always great. So, I called her and told her I was very surprised she was not over the moon about going to the shower. She broke down and explained that she does not do social gatherings very well and it would cost a lot of money. We finally agreed on her coming to the shower in Austin instead of the one in Tulsa. She feels like she knows my friends (??) and would feel more comfortable there than at the one with people she doesn’t know. Okay, that’s fine. I thought it was a good conversation and then she sent me an e-mail being her usual dramatic self. Sigh, and then she wonders why we don’t jump on the chance to come for a visit.
All in all the pregnancy is going well at this point. I do keep staring at this big belly in the mirror. It is so funny to me. Liz is taking good care of me. The other night, we were going to go to a movie, but I was too tired and then I was upset I was so tired. She suggested we just rent a movie and make a cozy palate to cuddle up on. We did that and then she rubbed my shoulders and feet and read me to sleep. It was a nice, preggie chill, date night for us.
I did weigh myself this morning and have lost a pound and a half. Not intentional, but I think between my stomach not feeling great most of the time and being busy, I am just not eating enough. I even packed in some high calorie foods this week, but it did not seem to be enough. I am not really all that worried about it since I was overweight to begin with. I know that Jude is getting what he needs and I am the one missing out. But still, at 6 months pregnant, weight should be going up, not down.
I am really enjoying little Jude being with me all the time. I am at the point where I am feel pretty good, and he is active, so it is pretty amazing and fun right now. I am really excited that Liz is starting to clearly feel him move around too. I don’t think it will be very long until others can feel him also. I have a whole bunch of people at work just dying to feel the little guy. I think work is going to throw me a baby shower also. That will be 3 showers! Already little Jude has so much love around him!
-S
Yesterday, I was a little worried about Jude. He only gave me 2 tiny kicks, that could have been something else, before about 1pm. He usually has 5 good kicking sessions by then. I decided the best thing to do was get a massage and relax, so in the middle of my work day, I went and had a preggo massage. What was funny about it was that the woman that massaged me was also pregnant, so we talked babies thru most of it. Jude decided that it was the perfect time to high kick me, so I felt better. That night, we were laying around watching Modern Family (brilliant show I might add) and Jude started really kicking. I laid on my back with the belly towards Liz and let her feel the craziness going on inside me:) I do love his little kicks, but the cool part was Liz felt each kick clearly. She even said he moved her hand a few times. He was kicking so hard that she is a little worried about what he is going to do once he weighs more than a pound and a half! I have to admit, I am a little scared too as some of his kicks take my breath away already. I love it so much though, that I am more excited then anything!
On a negative note, I got a message from my mom a night ago that really upset me. She said she was probably going to skip the baby shower. I felt so hurt that she would not be really excited about her first, and honestly maybe her only, grandbaby’s shower. With my mom, there are 2 ways to do things. 1. I can spare her feelings like I have for years and just say, “okay, it’s fine” or 2. my more recent approach of being honest with her. She has not taken the 2nd one very well, but as Liz pointed out, I should probably be honest with her even if it is not always great. So, I called her and told her I was very surprised she was not over the moon about going to the shower. She broke down and explained that she does not do social gatherings very well and it would cost a lot of money. We finally agreed on her coming to the shower in Austin instead of the one in Tulsa. She feels like she knows my friends (??) and would feel more comfortable there than at the one with people she doesn’t know. Okay, that’s fine. I thought it was a good conversation and then she sent me an e-mail being her usual dramatic self. Sigh, and then she wonders why we don’t jump on the chance to come for a visit.
All in all the pregnancy is going well at this point. I do keep staring at this big belly in the mirror. It is so funny to me. Liz is taking good care of me. The other night, we were going to go to a movie, but I was too tired and then I was upset I was so tired. She suggested we just rent a movie and make a cozy palate to cuddle up on. We did that and then she rubbed my shoulders and feet and read me to sleep. It was a nice, preggie chill, date night for us.
I did weigh myself this morning and have lost a pound and a half. Not intentional, but I think between my stomach not feeling great most of the time and being busy, I am just not eating enough. I even packed in some high calorie foods this week, but it did not seem to be enough. I am not really all that worried about it since I was overweight to begin with. I know that Jude is getting what he needs and I am the one missing out. But still, at 6 months pregnant, weight should be going up, not down.
I am really enjoying little Jude being with me all the time. I am at the point where I am feel pretty good, and he is active, so it is pretty amazing and fun right now. I am really excited that Liz is starting to clearly feel him move around too. I don’t think it will be very long until others can feel him also. I have a whole bunch of people at work just dying to feel the little guy. I think work is going to throw me a baby shower also. That will be 3 showers! Already little Jude has so much love around him!
-S
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