Teatopia

Baby Boy in 4D

It wasn't quite as surreal to see baby boy in 4D since I'd already done it with Olivia, but it was still pretty weird. I can't believe we're going to have another baby, and a boy at that! I'm excited about experiencing something different. Boy clothes really are cuter than I'd initially thought. :-) We still have lots to do, and I've been somewhat of a slacker in that department. We've had so many relatives visiting lately and I'm just so much more sore this time than I was with Olivia.

Before I share his photos, just a quick update. I went to the diabetes clinic today, and they're "keeping an eye on me" because I'm losing weight instead of gaining. I have a solution for that: give me a freaking caramel frappucino with lots of whipped cream. Or, how about some french fries and bacon cheeseburger? :-) My blood sugar is consistantly on the low side too, which confuses me. If I have gestational diabetes, why the low numbers? They keep reminding me to watch for low blood sugar symptoms because it actually gets low enough that I could feel funny. I had a non-stress test today and everything is great. No contractions. Baby boy is in the right position, which is great because for a while there, although he was head down, he was in a posterior position. It could've caused back labor and for him to come out face up, but he's a good boy and moved to the correct position. :-)

The ultrasound revealed that we may have another big baby. At 33 weeks, he was already over 5 pounds, we it'll be iteresting to see how much bigger he gets. Luckily, I'll be having a Bradley birth and won't be numb, so it'll be easier to push him out than it was with Olivia.

Ok, now for some pictures!

He was determined to keep his hand by his face . . .

He seems more fine-featured, like his Daddy.

Although you can't see it, he already has some hair. I wonder if it'll be dark like Olivia's? She's so blonde now though.

Notice the attached earlobes? Another Daddy trait. Olivia has ears like mine. Isn't it neat that such small details can be seen by ultrasound?

We think we've decided on a double stroller with a matching car seat. I still need to go through Olivia's old clothes and pull out the gender neutral stuff.

Oh, and BTW, in reference to my towel-washing question: we do re-use our towels, but we could probably use them a couple more times and still reduce the amount of washing. I grew up in a house where we used towels just once, and when we stayed with my parents, my mom would come and take the towel out of our bathroom after one or two uses, but I see nothing wrong with using the same towel for several days as long as it isn't funky. I was just curious what you all did. :-)

We're going to see the little guy!

I'm really, really excited! We're having a 4D ultrasound to see the little guy this afternoon! Then it's off to our Bradley Class, which was rescheduled from Monday. I'll be sure to post pictures of our little man later. I wonder if he'll look like Olivia? We definitely got an idea of what Olivia really would look like from her 4D ultrasound. We could see her perfectly defined lip-line and also that her upper lip stuck out a tiny bit more than her lower lip, which it does. I wonder if he has hair? Olivia had a few strands, which was about all she had when she was born.

And now for the Q&A part of this entry . . . Some things I've been thinking about.

-- how do you keep bugs from eating your herbs when you want to keep the garden organic? Isn't there something you can plant around the herbs that bugs don't like? I think I heard there was. If no one knows, I'll have to consult Prof. Google.

-- Do you re-use your bath towels or wash them after one use? I'm thinking of ways to save water, especially since James wants a sprinkler system. Gah.

-- For those of you who had a drug-free birth, did you use a certain "method" to help you tolerate the contractions?

Bookworm

I've been finding some time to read at night (and yesterday evening while I got a pedicure and James watched Olivia!) :-)

I was sent a few books to read and review and one of my favorites is "Dr. Gotts No Flour, No Sugar Cookbook". I've found that it fits in perfectly with my new GD diet. The recipes are really yummy and easy to make, and you don't miss the flour or sugar. These recipes aren't carb free, which isn't healthy anyway, but the carbs come from healthy sources, like beans and corn, rather than from a more empty source like plain white flour.

Another they sent that I really enjoyed is "A Confident Woman" by Joyce Meyers. I don't think I have any major issues with confidence, but we can all use a little boost, and Joyce Meyer is awesome! I'd actually like to check out some more books by her. She's also writes on Christianity, I believe.

On the same note, I just finished "The Other Boleyn Girl" (not sent my the publishers) and loved it. Although from now on, and until baby boy arrives, it's birthing books for me. I'm almost done Ina May's "Guide to Childbirth" and next I'm on to the "Husband Coached Bradley Method" book. :-)

What have you read lately that I should check out?

Woo-hoo! Grey's is back!

I just read that Grey's Anatomy is back this Thursday and for the next 5 weeks with all new episodes!

Know what other show we are totally hooked on? Dexter. When I first heard about it, the idea didn't vaguely interest me. Well, I saw one episode and now I'm hooked. We just finished the first season last night and are about to start the second.

I also love the Tudors. Henry is very yummy.

Welcome to our abode (and other stuff)

Since I've pretty much caught up on blogging about other stuff, I figure it's a good time to share some pics of the new house. I'll be sharing more of baby boy's nursery as it comes along, but it's not quite done, so I'll wait. Same with the office/guest room, which isn't neat enough to share. James needs to clean out his clutter, which he'd better do soon since I'm getting more and more in nesting mode. :-)

I'm going to share one of my favorite rooms with you first, our master bathroom. Weird, I know, but I'm hooked on the jaccuzi tub. I haven't use the jets yet (a big no-no for pregnancy), but soaking in the deep tub has been great for my aching muscles. Also, I've had some great mother/daughter bonding time with Olivia in there. We bring toys, wash each other's backs, laugh, sing songs, and she feels so grown-up when I (carefully) wash her hair with my Aveda shampoo. She usually puts up a fight when it's time to get out. I also figure this will be a great place to labor before I go to the hospital. The shower is nice, too.

I'm sure some people would love the private toilet, but since I always have an audience, I wish it was more open so Olivia could spread out her toys and coloring books easier. I'm sure when I no longer have little ones accompanying me, I'll appreciate it more. :-)

This is the other bathroom that's located on the other side of the house with the 3 bedrooms. We have a split plan, so our room is on one side and the other 3 bedrooms are on the other. I don't think I like the split plan all that much (although everyone says I will later) because I'm too far from the babies.

My other favorite room is the kitchen. We had a tiny kitchen before, and although our new kitchen isn't huge, there's definitely enough room for me to move around and leave my most-used appliances out.

And here's the breakfast area on the other side of the bar. It gets a lot of natural light, which is nice in the morning.

This is the dining room, which is too the right of the foyer.

This is our bedroom, which is still needing a great picture above the bed. Most likely, we'll be using something created by my talented uncle. Olivia was snuggling on the bed while I snapped pictures. :-) James has a matching chest-of-drawers on the other side of the room. It's not a big room really, but it works. I love the color we chose. It's a very pale blue-- something different for us since everything was beige/neutral in our first house.

This is the living room. It's amazing how much bigger it looked after we got rid of the dark carpet from the previous owners and painted the walls a light brown rather than their yellowish color.

You can see the foyer here as well as part of the living room. To the right is the nursery. :-)

I planted herbs in the backyard, but I haven't taken many pictures of the yard yet. I think this is the only one I have since we've moved in and finished the fence. Sorry about the shadows. I took this through the blinds.

I'll have to post pictures of the nursery and guest room/office later. I didn't think you'd care about the laundry room or garage. They're not that interesting really.

I love our new neighborhood, although the neighbors could be better. WE have really nice, friendly people on either side of us, but they're both about to put their houses up for sale. No one else has talked to us or welcomed us. I actually waved and yelled hello to someone the other day (he definitely heard me) and he totally ignored me. I like that it's a safe neighborhood and there's a lake for our community that we can walk to and see the ducks. Olivia of course loves it! They're also building a playgroud somewhere. Not sure how close it'll be to our house because it's a big development, but it'll be good exercise if it's a couple streets away.

I want to blog more about pregnancy later and also the totally amazing Bradley class we're taking, but that can wait.

Getting Close

This morning, Olivia and I made a trip to the hospital to register for my delivery. Hard to believe the little guy could be here in 6 weeks! I can't believe it! The nursery is mostly done, but we still need to hang pictures, sort through Olivia's old clothes for stuff he can use, wash the new stuff we bought, get a stroller (Olivia's is pink), and buy a co-sleeper to attach to the side of our bed. At least, we think that's what we want to use for him. Otherwise, we'll keep him in the pack 'n play bassinet for the first couple months.

Here's a 31.5 week belly shot. I've been pretty slack about taking belly pics, and I feel really badly about it. I'm going to try to be more diligent in the coming weeks . . .

Know what's awesome? I unintentionally managed to cut my rear end out of the picture. That's always a plus, and you get to see our new master bedroom counter top. :-) For the sake of comparison, here's a belly shot at 32 weeks when I was pregnant with Olivia. I look smaller with Olivia.

But then I found this one taken the week before the above picture when I was pregnant with Olivia, so I really think my belly looks bigger/smaller depending on what I wear.

Even now, one day someone will ask me when I was due, and the next, someone will be surprised I'm so small for how pregnant I am. I've only gained 13 pounds, so I shouldn't look too big.

I'm trying to wrap up everything that still needs to be done in the next few weeks. James is going to San Franciso for a week in early May, and although we both agreed it's safe for him to go (I'll be 35.5 weeks), I am scared that his leaving is tempting fate, so I want to have everything ready to go. His company knows I'm pregnant, so if there's any question, he'll come home immediately. Still, I really think we'll be ok or I wouldn't have told him to go. I'll have already have 2 non-stress tests before he leaves and other monitoring because of the GD, so if they pick up anything, he won't be going.

I'm still trying to decide between a double stroller or single stroller. Either way, I need to buy something, and I just don't know what to get. I'd rather buy a single so it takes up less room in my trunk, and also it's easier to manuever, but Olivia isn't good about staying with me when she walks. I can't be chasing her in stores while pushing around baby boy in his stroller. Of course, Olivia doesn't like her stroller anymore, so maybe buying a double is a waste if she won't sit in it. Maybe I just won't go anywhere at all. :-) So many things to consider!

I love this color for a single stroller and carseat combo:

If I buy a double, I might go with the light green "Winnie the Pooh" option since Olivia loves Pooh.

I just don't want to buy a single or double and end up regretting my choice and having to buy something else . . .

Happy Birthday, My Precious Girl!

I can't believe I'm the mother of a 2 year old. An amazing, smart, funny, compassionate, and completely awesome 2 year old! God has richly blessed us. I can't stop kissing Olivia's cheeks and thanking God she's here. I love her more than I can express. Hard to believe she's only been here 2 years.

I'm a couple days late posting this, but it's been a busy couple days and I just now found my laptop, which is where I upload and edit all my photos. I have tons more to post (belly pics, house, etc) but I want to just focus on Olivia right now.

It seems like Olivia's more like a little girl these days, even though she's still a baby. (toddlers are babies, right?) She understands humor, and we have conversations back and forth all day. She says sentences with 10 words regularly. It's so much fun to hear what she'll say.

The other night, I wasn't sure where she'd gone, so I called her, and she said, "okay, I'm coming out!" and this is what I saw. She asked me to take a picture of her, and gave me the goofiest smile, which I just loved! It's sad when a toddler can walk in heels better than her mama.

Olivia truly is a girly-girl, although I fully expect that she'll also be a tree climber and sports player because of her energy. In fact, a friend of ours wants to plant a magnolia tree in our yard as a house-warming gift because he said Olivia needs somewhere to climb. :-) She loves her dolls though, and jewelry, too. She got earrings in her Easter basket (clip-ons) and she wears them all the time. I put them on the other day and she told me, "No Mommy. You already have earrings on. I wear those." Ha!

We actually didn't tell Olivia it was her birthday on Friday (the actual day) because her party wasn't until the next day and we didn't want to confuse her. She knew she was getting presents, balloons, and cake and I knew she'd expect it Friday, so we told her yesterday was her special day. So, since we celebrated yesterday instead, I spent Friday in somewhat quiet thought about how this was her last birthday as an only child. I think reminiscing about giving birth to Olivia really brought out my anxieties about having another baby. I think in that sense, I'm glad to have a boy because Olivia can still be our little princess. :-)

We just had family for the party. I had a wedding to go to in the afternoon (go wish Rebecca congratualtions!) and we kept it small.

Here's our new dining room with Hello Kitty decor, which was what Olivia wanted.

It was so neat to be able to set a table and accommodate everyone. We only had a 4 person table at the old house, which is now in the breakfast area. I'm used to squishing everyone in, so it was exciting to have my first "big dinner." :-)

Olivia was so excited by her presents and wouldn't leave them alone!

She didn't want to unwrap them. She was too focused on whatever had just been opened, so I had to help out with the unwrapping. She wanted everything out of the box right away. We took some of the stuff out for her to play with while I cleaned up dinner and got the cake and ice cream set out, and when I called everyone to come to the table, Olivia took 5 minutes because she was trying to carry everything with her. :-)

Here's the cake:

My blood sugar results are always so good (I test at least 5 times a day) that as my bedtime snack (which I am required to eat about 2 hours after dinner), I had a small piece of cake with not too much icing. It was divine! Now the stupid cake is sitting on the counter calling my name, and I am trying so hard not to look at it. I am definitely taking it to my parents' tonight and leaving it there until it's gone.

Olivia got a doll from my aunt and uncle that cries and makes noises when she drinks. My sister bought her an "Alice in Wonderland" doll and the movie, my parents got her a tricycle and an "Ariel" doll, she got a wooden puzzle (she loves them!) from my grandma and some books, and from us, a Leapfrog toy that teaches ABC's, a cash register, Barbie DoodlePro, a stuffed dog that comes with all the stuff to care for him, and some other things. All morning, she's been changing various dolls' diapers, feeding them, and styling their hair. I love to watch her! James joked that Olivia got so much stuff that we might have to buy a bigger house, which of course we couldn't afford anyway. :-) Besides, I'm never moving again, at least not until my kids are old enough to help. LOL! We managed to create a good space for Olivia with all her toys. Her room is bigger at this new house, which is nice. I just wish she had some little girls to play with. My 2 closest girl friends have boys, and she adores them, but they aren't doll players. Olivia likes to brush their hair, put "product" in it (she sees me use leave-in conditioner and sometimes other stuff).

Olivia's new room:

There's another wall with a closet and a few baskets of toys and small fort, and then the other wall has a small Princess themed couch (just Olivia's size) and a toy box. For some reason, I didn't take pictures of the rest of the room, but you get the idea: crowded and pink. :-)

I'll do another entry with the almost-done nursery and other rooms, but I wanted this entry to be about Olivia.

Here are some other recent things I want to remember:

-- the other morning, I was getting dressed, and I put on a pair of V's Secret underwear with purple and pink polka dots. Olivia took one look and said, "Mommy, there's pictures of moles on your panties." HA!

-- Yesterday morning, she shook me, saying, "Mommy get up!" and then she told me (which is what we've been telling her) "I say "K kkk cookie, NOT tookie!" (she often says "t" for "c/k")

-- In typical 2 year old fashion, Olivia is getting a little bit of an attitude. When ever James and I are talking to each other, or my mom and I are talking, Olivia yells, "No talking. Just talk me!"

-- Although Olivia LOVES dolls, she doesn't like anything that makes noise or moves. They scare her, so we keep all the dolls turned off mostly. Whenever a doll gets turned on and makes a noise, Olivia throws them and says, "Mommy, I scared when dolly cries. Turn off!" We're working on leaving them on. There are such neat toys out there and it seems wasteful to keep them all off. I'm trying gradually to make her feel more comfortable, so I hold her when we turn on the doll, and then she's ok with it.

-- Almost every night, when James bathes her, she knocks the towel off his shoulder and snuggles into his neck, saying, "this is my favorite!" I think it's his favorite, too.

And I'll leave you with that. I won't be a stranger, promise. I've got my laptop back!

Do you have a TV in your bedroom?

When I got married, my aunt gave me this advice: "Never keep a TV in your bedroom. Bedrooms are for sleeping and loving."

We actually did end up putting a TV in our bedroom, but it was rather bulky and out-of-place looking, so we gave it to my sister when we moved. Now, we're trying to decide whether or not to get another one (a smaller, nicer looking one that won't require a large stand or armoir like the last one did). James said he kind of likes not having one, but I miss not being able to watch the weather every morning to help me dress accordingly. I also miss watching shows in bed after James and Olivia are asleep, but I also see reasons for not having one. It is nice to lay in bed and talk before falling asleep rather than finishing up a show.

So, I'm wondering, do you have a TV in your bedroom?

Feeling better...

Wow.

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. My last post was kind of depressing, but things are much better now. Everything is almost done in the new house. I'm having to twist James's arm to do little things like help me hang pictures. Since things are mostly done, he's comfortable and not in any hurry to finish the last details, but I just want it all done. The next two things on my agenda are gardening and getting the baby's nursery done, but even that is somewhat set up.

The gestational diabetes thing really isn't too bad. I went for my first session at the clinic on Monday. They taught me how to check my blood sugar and went over my diet. It's not as restrictive as I would've thought. I miss my frequent trips through the Starbucks drive-thru, but I'm learning to appreciate healthier eating. I'm actually getting consistently lower blodd sugar readings whenever I test, which is weird since they put me on this for high blood sugar. I'm getting low enough numbers that I need to watch for signs of needing a sugar pill, so that's kind of surprising. I seem to feel ok even when my blood sugar is kind of low, and I shouldn't have any pregnancy complications (pre-term labor, huge baby, toxemia, etc) since my numbers are great (if not too low). There are just a million extra appointments that come with the GD, and it's hard to manage them all with Olivia. James can't take off that much and everyone in my family works.

I feel badly that I haven't posted pictures lately. I've barely taken any belly shots with all the chaos, and I know I'll regret that later. I'm measuring right on schedule, but I feel pretty big. There's no mistaking that I'm pregnant at 7 months along. I have a nice big belly that is constantly twitching and moving. :-)

I need to get busy getting everything ready for the little guy. He could easily be here next month! I'm trying to decide if I should buy a double stroller. I have to buy one regardless since Olivia's is pink, and I can't decide if I should buy a single or a double. Olivia doesn't like her stroller anymore, but she'll ride in it when she's tired and sometimes I put her in it anyway because she's going through a stage where she runs off.

OK, pictures coming soon. Promise.