Our Baby Shower

On Sunday Aug. 14th, we had our baby shower. It was a coed affair... which turned out AWESOME! The original intention was to have it at the Blue Crabs Stadium so that the guys could sit outside of the clubhouse and watch the game!!.. while us ladies did baby shower stuff inside.. but Mother Nature had other plans. It poured hours before and due to the muddy conditions of the field, they cancelled the game. However, the guys still had a great time. Mom and Carey did a GREAT job planning out games that were really fun including "tinkle in the pot" and the fan favorite... "the pregnant man relay race".

Below are pictures from the guy's game - I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time.

"Big Daddy" and "Papa Joe" doing the Pregnant Man Relay

Daddy appears to be birthing his baby outward!

Here are some "Tinkle in the Pot" pictures...

Not only does Wendy make a great looking pregnant woman - she's spectacular at holding her bladder too - and aiming for that pot SPOT on!

"Gi Gi" was too quick to even get a good picture of her - she is super-competitive and ALSO a great pregnant woman!

I had an unfair disadvantage... I'M ACTUALLY PREGNANT and didn't get the coin in the bucket until my 6th try...

"Iggy" did a great job holding that coin between her knees and was determined to make it into the pot the first shot!

 The cake was AWESOME! Thanks to Katrina for doing such a great job!

We were QUITE overwhelmed with presents... but appreciative of all of them!!!

A great time was had by all and then we were off to sort through all of the goodies........ and find places to put it all!!!!!

 

I'm not sure why I'm making this face... but the present was AWESOME!



Keith showing off his pirate diaper bag, made by Wendy



Reading a card from "Gi Gi and Big Daddy"

















I got Keith this Redskins 101 book so that he can teach Spencer about the important things...

I also got him this shirt to wear when I'm in labor and delivery  :)

  

Mom & Amy hung up all of the cute little outfits on a clothesline as I opened them!



4D Sonogram

We had our 3rd 4D sonogram on Aug. 12th - but this one we did for fun because we were able to bring the family!  It was incredible!  My parents, Keith's parents and Ben & Carey were able to come.  The technician had told us at our prior appointment to come back with an iPod playlist of 6-7 songs that she could play during the sonogram.  We opted to buy the "fun" package that came with the DVD of his live-action movement.  It was worth every penny! I wish there was a way for me to upload the whole 25 min video onto here so everyone could see our active little man!  Here are some still shots that we were able to get... the technician had a hard time getting facial expressions because he is "the most active baby I've ever seen" (direct quote from technician).

Big Yawn

Sucking his thumb

Eyes wide open!

Giving us the finger... bad boy!

"Aren't we done YET?!?"

Another wide-eyed shot!

If you're ever around my house and you want to watch the DVD, just ask me :) I could watch it over and over and over and over and over....

30 weeks

Well we've made it to 30 weeks... I say it that way because I'm officially starting to really feel REALLY pregnant.  My back hurts constantly and I've been blessed with sciatic nerve pain that is radiating down my legs (mainly the right one).

Ugh... so sorry if this post sounds so negative.

Here is a quick update on how things are going:

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Size of Baby: 16.25 inches approx. - the size of four navel oranges (this is according to the average measurements --- I'm sure our boy is a LITTLE longer than this)

Total Weight Gain: 12 pounds - I haven't addressed the weight gain in a while... I lost all that weight at the beginning of my pregnancy and I've slowly gained it back +12.  The last appt I went to my doctor wasn't too happy with me - I had gained 6 pounds in a month... oh well - I feel like I'm doing pretty good - I don't look like a whale......... yet... hahaha - and we only have a few more weeks to go!

Maternity Clothes: Slowly growing out of the first set of maternity clothes I bought -- moving on to looser-fitting shirts... can no longer wear "regular" shirts.  I bought my first few nursing bras the other day -- just to be prepared... holy god.  Let's just say that this blog is brought to you by the letter F.................

Movement: Movement? Not the best way to describe it... how about internal earthquake?... this child never ever ever sits still - he is currently enjoying kicking the shit out of my ribs and frequently has hiccups.  All in all - I wouldn't trade these feelings for anything - it's soo cool to feel him moving inside of me.  My favorite is when he does what I like to call the "loch-ness monster move" when he rolls over and we see his little baby butt roll across my stomach... its like rippling waves

Sleep: sleep is on and off... some nights I sleep really well - most nights I am up 3-4 times to pee and about 20 to reposition myself.  Spencer has positions that he DOESNT like me to sleep in - like on my right side... he pushes hard on my ribs when I roll that way... so sleep is a challenge right now.  The good news is that Keith is sleeping great! hahahaha

Symptoms: Sciatic pain running down my leg and back pain... and tylenol doesn't really cut it.

What I Miss: sleep... guess I better get used to it.

Cravings: Dairy Queen or any ice cream for that matter...

Best Moment of the Week: beginning to get some packages in the mail that people are buying for us from our registry! Yay!!!

Okay so to backtrack - since I didn't mention this in the previous post -- we had our 2nd 4D sonogram last week - it was soooooo much fun! Spencer cooperated awesomely and we got to see his super-cute, adorable, chunky little face!  He even cracked a smile or too!... and it was confirmed again for sure that yes he is a BOY!

Cracked a little smirk for us

This one is my favorite - such a cute expression on his face.

The slimy looking thing is his cord that he is trying to push out of the way with his hand.

 

Next week is going to be a very eventful one!  Thursday is another appointment for me - starting to go twice a week now... and on Friday, Aug. 12th we're going for yet another 4D sonogram! - this time we get to take along grandparents - my parents are coming and Keith's mom is coming! I am SOOOOO excited for them to be able to see Spencer in live-action-time!

Then on Sunday - we're having a coed baby shower at the Blue Crabs Stadium so that the guys can watch the game while us girls do shower stuff - VERY VERY exciting!

 

Hopefully next blog will be filled with more pictures! 

Spencer's Nursery

The nursery is coming along... If I had it my way, it would be finished, furnished and READY - but I keep getting yelled at every time I make a purchase - since we haven't had a shower yet... Keith keeps saying "IF YOU KEEP BUYING THINGS, there won't be anything for anyone to buy us!" hahahaha

He's right... so I am trying to control myself.

Here are some pictures though of what we've done so far:

Keith putting crib together

Me posing with finished crib

Enjoying the new glider!

The crib with the new bedding on it!

Looking into the nursery - changing table and dresser on right - with Pooh friends on the wall above!

The shelves that we painted in the closet - just waiting for stuff to fill them with!

 Stay tuned for more updates as the nursery gets finished and stuffed with BABY STUFF!!

 

Milestones

Well as some of you have noticed --- I have been a little less than responsible, keeping up with this blog. I completely blame my lack of motivation. The good thing is - I do keep notes, so I can remember things that have happened in the last 10 weeks.

It makes me sick that 10 weeks have gone by and I haven't blogged about them... but I PROMISE that I will update weekly from now on!!!

Time is going by SOO quickly!

So here are some quick updates all within ONE blog entry:
Maternity Clothes - Around week 20, I was fully devoted to maternity clothes: mainly shorts and maternity t-shirts. I've quickly outgrown my favorite wife-beaters that now don't cover my quickly growing belly. Skirts, dresses and loose fitting clothes are a must.

Registering - We started to register right after we found out that we were having a boy. It made things much easier so that I could designate some blues rather than pinks. Being the cheapest person alive that I am, I had originally found the "ideal furniture" for the nursery that I wanted but it was waaay out of my price range. So, I shopped around and found VERY similar stuff for MUCH cheaper. We're registered at Babies-R-Us and Target. That was so much fun, after we got over being overwhelmed with all of the choices. Thankfully, I have some great friends that are new parents and were very helpful with making decisions.

Kicks - Baby boy started kicking big time around week 20 and its just been getting more intense. I've been feeling hiccups, punches and swift kicks to the bladder.

Heat - Who the hell planned this pregnancy?... clearly not someone in their right mind. It's been the hottest summer that I can remember - with days reaching a record of 114 degrees. My big pregnant butt has been spending ample time in the air-conditioning. It scares me to even think about the impending electric bill that we'll be getting soon. I can't stand to be out in this heat (normal people can't) - but it's been simply awful with this extra weight and added body heat... but all for a good cause!

Emotions - I've always been an emotional person, but recently my emotions have been out of control. I cry at commercials, songs.. anything having to do with parents and even when the dog does something cute. Recently here are some crazy things I've watched that have made me cry: A Baby Story on TLC (of course), Father of the Bride II, Lady & the Tramp, The Cosby Show, and Ellen (when she was dancing).... I know... I've lost it.

Dog - Speaking of the dog... she has been extra emotional lately too. I can't help but blame it on the fact that she is totally aware of what is going on. When mommy is busy - like cleaning the nursery or scheduling birthing classes on the computer, she rebels.... she has destroyed my comforter on the bed and other things... When mommy is not feeling good - she curls up with me and lays her head on my belly. Even one night when I was having horrible sciatic pain, I was laying on the floor and she laid next to me and barked at my stomach like, "BABY BROTHER STOP HURTING MOMMY!" and he moved!!!... instant relief!

Nursery - The nursery is coming along. Right around Father's Day, dad came over and helped Keith paint the nursery yellow. It is beautiful when the light hits the walls and it just makes me smile! (I better stop describing it or I'll start crying.. haha). We've decided to do the Winnie-the-Pooh theme. I can't wait to get more stuff so that we can get it completely ready for our little man.

 Belly - The belly continues to grow (see pictures to the right). People keep telling me "wow... you look great!" "You're such a cute pregnant!"... and then there's my mom -- "HOLY SHIT! You're huge!" every time she sees me... haha. Still have my innie belly button - I'm determined that if it hasn't popped yet, it's not going to - even though Keith claims that it gets shallower every day. It's getting more and more difficult to bend over and do things like shave my legs, but I'm still capable.

 Braxton-Hicks - I've had the pleasure recently of experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions. They come on usually when I stand up quickly or get out of the car and are very sharp. But, they go away quickly... I'm not looking forward to the real thing.

Glucose Test - I had my glucose test on July 15 and I was a nervous wreck. I have heard of so many people that don't pass the one-hour and then have to go through the ordeal of the 3-hour. I really watched what I was eating the day before and the day of and went ahead and drank the stuff... which really wasn't that bad. However, it did make me feel like I was on a sugar high. THANKFULLY, I did pass the 1-hour.... whew!

Black-Outs - I think I prayed too much asking for a passing 'grade' on the glucose test, because I was given something else to worry about a few days later. Jenny and I had plans to go to Alexandria Tuesday afternoon. I started to drive to her house and called Keith. (yes I was driving and talking on the phone....) A few minutes into our conversation I told Keith I had to go because I was having trouble concentrating on driving. I was slowly blacking out... right after hanging up with him, I pulled over on 488 and tried to concentrate on what was going on. I couldn't stop it though. I completely lost vision and hearing. Thankfully, I was right down the street from where my mom works and she was able to come pick me up. We went to the emergency room and they checked me in to the birthing center. THANK goodness, after MANY tests and a few hours, everything checked out okay. Dr. Aron said that its just part of pregnancy... I was probably dehydrated and my blood sugar dropped, and/or the baby was laying on a blood vessel.
I'm glad that everything was deemed okay but that was definitely SCARY.

Ben & Carey - Back to good news... Ben & Carey (my brother and sister-in-law) told us in early May that they were also expecting!  Carey is due almost 2 months exactly after me!  It's been fun going through pregnancy with her - I have someone to commiserate with!!!  The other day they found out that they're having a baby girl!  I cannot wait to become an aunt and for our kids to grow up together!  I have always been close to my cousins and I know that our kids will be just the same!

Maternity Leave - Excitingly (is that a word?) - I scheduled my maternity leave - I am going to take the full 12 weeks and if everything works out according to plan, my last day of work will be Sept. 23rd - then I won't have to return back to work until the day everyone comes back from Christmas break!

Planning for Baby - There is so much to do - so much to think about and prepare for in the next 10 weeks... but this time is so exciting.  It's hard to believe that in about 2 months, I'll have a BABY!!!!!!!!! I'm going to be a mom!!!! :-)

...now you're all caught up... except for one thing.

Baby Name - I said in a prior blog entry that we wouldn't be revealing the name, however I did succomb to blurting out the secret early so many people already know.
We've decided on a family name - our baby boy is going to be Spencer Michael.  Spencer is my maternal grandmother's middle name and the middle name of some of my cousins, after her.  Michael is Keith's middle name, Keith's dad's name, and my dad's middle name too!

We're beyond excited to welcome Spencer into this world! Time is going to fly by!  Stay tuned!

It's a...............BOY!

So let's all pretend and use our imaginations for a moment.. it's May 9th... (yes... it is May 9th -- see date above - it will help you picture yourself there)... humor me!

So the night before our much-awaited specialist appointment... we decided - it takes 3 hours to get to Rockville so rather than cut it close like we did last time, let's just leave at 6:00 for our 10:00 appointment... that way we'll have time to eat breakfast somewhere near the doctor's office and we won't feel rushed.
Well - we ended up leaving our house at 5:45 instead - we were just TOO anxious!  We got breakfast at Panera (near our house - also not in the plan) and then headed on our way.  Apparently getting on the road so early promptly excused us from all of the rush-hour traffic.  Our planned 3 hour trip ended up taking us about an hour and 15 minutes.  We arrived in Rockville at 7:20.... roughly 3 hours early.

What to do? What to do? Nothing is open anywhere at 7:20 in the morning.  We hung out in the parking lot until 8:00 and then decided to find SOMETHING to do.  Luckily, there was a nearby Target - so we wandered around there for a while.  I walked up and down the baby aisles looking at boy stuff and looking at girl stuff.  I was much more drawn to the girl stuff - since I was 100% sure that I was going to find out in a few hours that we're having a girl.

Two hours later (I'm not sure how the time eventually did go by...) we walked up to the specialist's office.  This time they took us straight back into the sonogram room.  I felt like I was in a movie and we should have some emotional soundtrack playing to go along with the building suspense.

The technician brought in another girl with her this time and said she was a "student - there to observe".  The student had a much better attitude than the technician - who was less than impressed with Keith's witty banter.

She measured everything - the head, the heart, the spine... which was all great!  And I hate to put this in writing but we were not worried about all of that - we wanted to know WHAT IT WAS!!!!

It seemed to take FOREVER and then finally she said "So mom... do you want to know what we're having here?" I said "Absolutely... I can't wait!" - she said well it is still kind of early but I can tell you that I am 110% sure you're having a boy!
Keith stood up and cheered. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I didn't say a word... I must have had a shocked look on my face because the student tech said "Mom... are you okay?" I said, "Yea... I just feel like I lost a bet. I was SO sure it was a girl."

After that, the tech left the room and let the student "play" - which was good for us - because she was just as excited as us to look around and print pictures!

We left there with about 18 pictures!!!... which I know we wouldn't have had if it were up to the tech.

When we got in the car and headed home I called my mom - "DONT TELL ME!" she screamed as soon as she heard my voice. I wasn't GOING to tell her over the phone!!! I just wanted to let her know that the appointment went well and that we were on our way home!

Our car ride was pretty quiet... we didn't turn on the radio - just sat there thinking of names.  You see... we were DEAD-SET on girl names before our appointment but never had any boy names picked out.  So... the whole way home we called out names that came to us and dismissed them all just as quickly.

That afternoon we met my mom and dad for lunch to show them the pictures and then took them right over to the quilt shop to share with the rest of the family :)

Everyone was SOOO excited to say the least and everything started to feel a little less surreal!

17 weeks!

I've been horrible... I really need to keep up with this more!  I'm making a dedicated effort from now on to do so.
So it's week 17 and we're getting VERY VERY excited!!!


The past few appointments have been uneventful... I've gone in hoping to have a sonogram, only to hear the baby's heartbeat and being sent on my way.  It's been disappointing to not see my little one in a while, but the good thing is, he or she is definitely in there movin around.
In fact, I've started feeling the movements A LOT!  We went to the Blue Crabs (our minor league baseball team) game the other night and stayed for the fireworks and Baby Henley went nuts!  I cannot believe (even though I know this early the baby is so small that its impossible) that with this much movement, we cannot see it from the outside.  I cannot WAIT until that happens!
The worst part recently is that I have a UTI - I won't go into details... I've never had one before and it's not necessarily the most fun.  The good news is that there are antibiotics that are safe for pregnancy - so I'm on one.. Everyone keeps saying 'so are you sleeping better now that you're not getting up every 5 minutes to pee at night?' and I just look at this blankly, because that has NOT happened.


Ok... so the exciting upcoming news is that Monday we have our second specialist appointment and we're pretty much guaranteed to have a sonogram.... which means.....   :-)
We SHOULD be able to find out the gender on Monday!!!!!!  ...if the baby cooperates... which I'm hoping he/she will!


Get your votes in soon! We have a poll on our page!  hehe


However, if we do find out.. though we will release THAT info... we've decided to keep our possible names a secret for now.  To be honest, I just don't want to hear other's comments/points of view on our choices... they're OUR choices.... and people will have opinions - some that I won't necessarily appreciate.  =)  so for now its a secret =)


Those of you that have seen me and have seen my recent picture on facebook see that the baby bump is QUITE a bump.  It's tight, hard and sore.  I can feel it stretching and itching and growing -- especially at night.


I have a sneaking suspicion that if I'm this big at 4 months... I'm going to be a WHALE at 9 months.  I know its silly but I'm afraid my belly button is going to 'pop' to an outty.. outties creep me out! haha - and mine is getting VERY shallow so I think its only a matter of time before Baby Henley PUSHES it out of her/his way.


I've even had some people say to me, "Are you sure you're not having twins?"... which I know they don't mean negatively... yes.. I'm sure.


The crazy thing is I haven't gained a single pound.  My doctor doesn't seem concerned... but I'm just baffled.  I'm huge! (for 4 months in my opinion)... and still maintaining my weight (which is still less than it was before I found out I was pregnant)... oh well!  I guess I should be thankful for it now because like I said - I'll probably be one of those women that ends up gaining like 100 pounds and needs a crane to lift her out of bed.


It's going to be a lonnnnnng summer I think.  =)


Ok - pregnancy highlights time:

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Size of Baby: 5-6 inches approx. - the size of a large onion (I'll have exact measurements on Monday I'm hoping)

Total Weight Gain: -9 pounds still  (see above in blog for explanation)... from now on I've decided I'm going to "restart" my starting weight at what I am now... so let's say that I've gained 0 as of right now.... so my fellow pregnancy buddies don't hate me

Maternity Clothes: There are still some clothes of my own (original clothes) that I can still wear - I'm trying to wear them as much as possible for now.  But pants I'm pretty much going full-maternity now.

Movement: Feels like popping popcorn inside of me - especially during fireworks!

Sleep: sleeping better now that I'm using my "Snoogle" pillow 100% of the time - cannot roll over on my stomach at all now and sleeping on my back wakes me up from back pain

Symptoms: worst one recently is that my stomach ITCHES and I can feel it stretching

What I Miss: Carib...mmm - and real pain medication.  Tylenol doesn't cut it for back pain... and lifting things... I feel totally helpless that I cannot clean and lift and move stuff

Cravings: Still craving the greasy fast food but not eating it as much... also majorly craving ice cream/smoothies (especially Dairy Queen strawberry smoothies)

Best Moment of the Week: finding out that a VERY good friend of mine is preggo TOO!!!! =)