Here's the Story of a Lovely Lady, Her Handsome Husband, and Their Beautiful Daughters....

My big girl

2011-06-22T14:23:00.000-04:00

Hiding Sisters

2011-05-23T19:58:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day at the Beach

2011-05-23T19:56:00.001-04:00

Concert at the Park

2011-05-23T19:55:00.001-04:00

My Labor and Amelia's Delivery

2010-07-03T23:28:00.002-04:00

The Story of My Labor and Amelia’s Delivery

April 8, 2010

I was induced 10 days early with this baby. It was elective, and my reasons for doing so are 1. I wanted to have Dr. Benezra deliver my second child and 2. I was over being pregnant. It’s tough being pregnant when you have a toddler at home.
We checked into the hospital at 6:35, we didn’t have to be there until 7 a.m. but we knew we had a better chance of getting a bigger room if we got there early. Again, our neighbor knew we were coming and gave us the third biggest room! It was room 412. She also gave us the BEST nurse, Jane. She was absolutely wonderful.

Dr. Benezra comes into to check me at 7:30 am. He says I need the cervix softener (Misopros) because my cervix was not favorable for birthing a child. He considered having us check in the night before for this to happen, but decided that we should be home with Brooke on her last night as an only child.
The Misopros was inserted at 8:00 am and you must wait 2 hours to see if it did its job. While this happens, you must stay in bed. Chris and I watched “The Blind Side.” At 10:17, Dr. B checks again and my cervix still isn’t ready, so we have another two hour wait. According to my notes, my contractions are increasing, which can happen with the Misopros. The nurse started my penicillin drip at 10:30 because I tested positive for Group B strep.

Dr. B checks me at 12:10 pm and I am finally dilated. It’s only a centimeter, but that is better than nothing! I was able to have some chicken broth and jello, which was wonderful. It’s amazing what tastes good when you haven’t eaten for hours! The pitocin was started at 12:24 p.m. at 6 units. 45 minutes later, it was increased to 12 units. By 2:21 p.m., the pitocin was at 36 units.

We still didn’t have a final name picked for either a girl or boy. I think we were down to three final names for a girl and two for a boy. It’s funny to think we were still indecisive just a couple hours before the birth.

Dr. B came in to check me again at 2:29 p.m., I was 1-2 cm. At this point, he broke my water, luckily the fluid was clear. At 3:15 p.m., the pain was getting pretty bad, but just like my labor with Brooke, I really didn’t want to have an epidural. I asked for Stadol at this time. At 3:16, the pitocin was again increased to 48 units. By 3:18, I was seeing elephants all around the room. They were little tiny elephants and they were mostly situated on Chris’ checkered pattern shirt. I also started getting upset during this time, because I really wanted Brooke to be at the hospital. I didn’t want her in the delivery room, but I wanted her there as soon as the new baby came!

At 3:45 p.m., Dr. Benezra came in and reported everything was going smoothly. He predicted we would have a baby somewhere around 7-8 pm. I was really hoping for much sooner. A few minutes later, Dr. B came back in and did an internal exam, I was dilated 4 cm. He changed his time estimate to 6:15 p.m.

Around 4:30, I asked for more Stadol. The nurse had to check with Dr. Benezra because it had been less than 3 hours in between doses. Dr. Benezra confirmed the dose. As soon as she gave me the Stadol, I knew something was going on. I was in a tremendous amount of pain. The nurse checked me and said I was 9.5 cm. I heard her call Dr. Benezra and say “9 cm, no epidural, ready to have this baby now.” I could barely sit still; I was all over the bed, writhing in pain. Dr. Benezra came in, I pushed for about 8 minutes according to Chris, which was about 4 pushes and our sweet baby came into this world at 4:47 p.m. I was still a bit loopy from the Stadol because I had just gotten the dose immediately before pushing. I thought it took SO long for him to tell us if our baby was a boy or girl, but it was probably just a few seconds. He said girl, and I lit up! I was so happy to have another little girl and a little sister for Brooke. The nurses asked us her name and I said it will be Amelia Lloyd. She scored 9 on both the 1 minute and 5 minute APGAR.
Chris went out to the waiting room to tell our families. This time was different, everybody hadn’t arrived at the hospital yet because we thought we were delivering much later in the day, but I went from 4 cm to 10 cm in less than an hour. I remember answering my cell phone right after I had her. It was my brother, George; I told him the news and told him not to tell anyone because it was just moments before that she arrived in the world. In the waiting room, Chris had a pink and a blue puppy, he held them both up in the air, and again, like with Brooke, he dropped the blue puppy to the ground. He’s hoping that next time, he gets to hang onto the blue puppy, if there is a next time…

in the hospital

2010-04-08T08:42:00.002-04:00

For any of you who are checking the blog, we are checked in and just on a wait.

Getting the cervix softened right now.

Will write more later.

Pictures galore...

2010-02-11T11:31:00.005-05:00

Our little girl, definitely not a baby anymore!
28 or 29 weeks prego

She loves vacuuming and cleaning.

Brooke at the beach

Her baby doll

Daddy's birthday cake

Mommy and Brookie

Brooke and a jaguar

Christmas and King Ding Dong

The little Ham

Christmas morning, checking out the loot

Cleaning with a tissue

Brooke and Ellie, gotta keep an eye on Ellie

Wassup?!?!?!

I am officially the worst blogger (sounds familiar!)

2010-02-11T09:37:00.002-05:00

But, I seriously do not have time for it.

Do you want to know my schedule?

Wake up 6 am
Make my lunch and Brooke's lunch
Get ready for work
Leave house by 7:15 am
Drive to work (one hour commute)
Work from 8:30 till 4:30 or 5:00
Drive home (one hour commute)
Dinner
Dishes
Spend time with Brooke and Chris
Get Brooke to bed around 8 or 8:30
Clean up the house
Take a shower
Go to bed

I am absolutely exhausted by the end of the day and I have no desire to get on-line, write an email, pay a bill, edit my blog, etc.

So, maybe it will happen and maybe it won't. Maybe it will happen a little more frequently when the baby comes.

Speaking of that, everything is great with the baby. He/she is measuring right on target. I am due in 9.5 weeks.

Just some pictures

2009-12-07T16:14:00.001-05:00

Week 20 ultrasound

Sweet Brooke

Week 20

15 weeks

2009-10-27T16:51:00.002-04:00

Baby's now the size of a naval orange!
Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.

I wish the naval orange would let me enjoy hamburgers and chicken. We eat a lot of chicken in our house and if you can't keep it down, it's pretty hard!

Still have a few days off before I start my new job. I wonder if I blogged about that.
I resigned from Cochlear in the beginning of October to take a clinical audiology job so that I can be home every night. And, a 4 day work week. That's the best part! I have had a couple of weeks off in between jobs as well, that has also been nice. I haven't done anything exciting, but that's okay, it's nice to just hang out.

I have to post pictures from our NC trip, but that will have to come later.

Week 14 and vacation

2009-10-21T17:27:00.002-04:00

Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.

I am officially on vacation until 11/1 when I start my new job at an ENT clinic in Vero Beach. I resigned from my job because I wanted a more normal job where I could be home every night and see my daughter and husband every day. :)

It's week 13!

2009-10-11T22:21:00.000-04:00

Baby's now the size of a peach!
Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords...savor this, their nonfunctional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with his head now only one third the size of his body. And intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy -- much more convenient.

more to come later

Week 12

2009-10-05T09:49:00.000-04:00

Baby's now the size of a plum!
As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of her systems are fully formed.

12 week doctor appointment today....ready to not be nauseous anymore!

Lime

2009-09-28T10:10:00.000-04:00

Baby's now the size of a lime!
Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

10 weeks, 1 day

2009-09-22T09:12:00.002-04:00

According to the what to expect websites, the baby is the size of a prune. How cute! Here's some other information:

Your baby's growth is fast and furious now. He or she is nearly an inch and a half long and the size of a prune, but not nearly as shriveled (even with all the time it spends in water). In fact, your baby is really taking a human shape now. Bones and cartilage are forming, and small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. The arms (complete with elbows) can flex already, but don't run to the store for a baseball bat just yet. Though your baby's arms are taking shape and getting stronger, each one is only about the size of this number 1.

The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, heralding the arrival of your baby's little choppers, which are forming under the gums. (Those pearly whites won't break through the gums until your baby is close to six months old). Other systems are go, too. Your baby's stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if your baby's a boy, he's already producing testosterone (yikes!).

30 more weeks to go!

Ultrasound pics

2009-09-14T13:58:00.001-04:00

There's our baby, 167 beats/minute! Brooke was 171 beats a minute at her first ultrasound. Another girl??!?!?!?!? We'll see in April. :)

8 weeks 3 days

2009-09-08T12:09:00.000-04:00

Due date: April 20, 2010

Yep, we are having another!

Brooke our little doggie.

2009-08-31T14:11:00.006-04:00

Brooke figured out the doggie door last night. I was ready with the camera luckily.

She sees the dogs go out all the time and I have been waiting for her to crawl out!

So, here we go:

And, here's a picture looking all cute going to school today:

And, here are some pictures from Gymboree:

I am officially the worst blogger!

2009-08-29T20:41:00.003-04:00

But, who has time to write so much on here...not me!

Let's see...all I really want to say is that Brooke is finally saying MOM! It's more "ma'am" but I like it and she uses it almost appropriately. :)

She's inching up on 13 months old.

Been in baby school for about 3 weeks. It's going well, she seems to like it, I hate to leave her there, but I have to.

Will try to get some pictures up soon as well as a video of "ma'am."

Oh, and since baby school started, she goes to bed at 8 p.m. She is so tired from playing with her friends all day. Tonight, she went to bed at 7:45 p.m.

And, another oh, I love her more and more every day!

Perfect hips

2009-07-27T10:09:00.000-04:00

Can this kid be any cuter?

And, with perfect hips, we couldn't ask for more!

The orthopedist was very pleased with her walking and did a follow up x ray which Brooke was not too fond of, but it was worth it, because we are finished with follow ups for her "subluxable" hips! Yea for the harness!

Tomorrow

2009-07-22T21:52:00.002-04:00

We go back for a follow up with the orthopedist. The doctor wanted to see her when she was walking, so I gave it a month for her to become a "good" walker.

Let's hope that the harness did exactly what it was supposed to do!

Finally, the walking video that is 3 weeks old--you must turn your head to see it.

2009-07-17T16:20:00.001-04:00

Guess who is walking!

2009-06-16T09:41:00.002-04:00

Brooke! I would post video if I could (I have tried the YouTube way and it didn't work for me).

I will try to get it later on this week!

Welcome to the World, Baby Caudill

2009-06-16T09:39:00.003-04:00

Meredith and Ryan's baby entered this world early this morning.

Ryleigh Elizabeth Caudill.

She was born today at 12:37 am. 9 lbs, 1 oz. I forget how long, 21 inches maybe?

And, she is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

video upload help needed please

2009-06-11T15:45:00.000-04:00

I try and I try but the little video blog thing just never stops! Help!

Fun Filled Weekend

2009-06-08T21:06:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, we attended a wedding of a friend. Had a blast, Chris had a little too much fun. Ask him about it.

Here are some pics of the wedding. Brooke did not attend.

Disney World pictures from 4/16/09

2009-06-01T16:24:00.001-04:00

She is looking for more toys!

2009-06-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

Our little model

2009-06-01T16:21:00.000-04:00

Crawling and almost walking

2009-05-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

Brooke finally started crawling last week, Wednesday to be exact. I had a meeting for work over on Marco Island and since Chris had two weeks off before his new job, he and Brooke came with me. It's a good thing because if they hadn't come, I would have missed this developmental milestone. I have some video of the crawling, but have never uploaded a video so that might be awhile. She also has been pushing her little toy stroller all over and thinks about letting go, but then gets scared, so she is close to walking on her own.

So glad she started crawling and we don't have to visit a PT for therapy! She has also pulled herself to standing, just once, but she did it!

What a big girl she is! And, adorable, of course! Will post pics later on.

She's only nine months old...

2009-05-13T10:27:00.002-04:00

....and she is already trying to steal out of my purse.

Too Cute!

And, I bought a new camera cord on-line...

2009-05-12T20:22:00.014-04:00

I kept visiting the local store, but their shipment never arrived and I just needed to get some pictures uploaded.

So, I have some great pictures, but one of my favorites, I took today. It is awesome. Not sure if I will post it tonight.

We just got our pool fence installed, so now I feel very safe with having a little one and a pool.

Oh, and the best news we have received in a long time....Chris got a full time GOOD job! He will be doing marketing for a skilled nursing facility here in Melbourne. He starts on 5/26 and has a couple of weeks off until then. Lucky guy! Next week, he and Brooke are coming with me to Marco Island. I have to be there for the state speech and hearing meeting, and he and Brooke will spend the weekend with me! Yea!

So, now we need to have a party, a kid friendly party since we have pool safety!

And, I have spent about 1 hour or more uploading pictures, so it better not give me any errors tonight!

First time biking with Daddy.

Infant helmet that is too big!

Brooke with leaf and Mommy

Typical Brooke face with any food

Hamming it up for the camera.

Luau baby

Swings at the park

Magic Kingdom on my birthday

Brooke and the castle

Easter 2009

Daddy and B-dubbz in the pool

Daddy and Brooke Easter

Mommy, Brooke, Ellie on Easter

Sweet smiling girl on Easter

Brooke and Maddie Easter

cool baby with her glasses

Brooke and banana and peas

I can't my find my camera cord!

2009-04-28T20:52:00.002-04:00

So, I can't post any pictures. I have no idea where it could be!

Today, Chris took Brooke to her 9 month check up at the pediatrician.

She is 18.6 lbs, and 29 1/8 inches long. She's doing great.

She really dislikes baby food, but likes to eat solids and loves using her mesh bag, and the doctor said that is okay! She won't even open her mouth for anything pureed! She wants to hold her food, she's getting to be a big girl.

She also isn't crawling yet, I always thought she would walk before crawling and it seems that is her plan. But, I keep reading how important it is for babies to crawl, I just think she will do it second. I bet she will be walking soon. She loves holding our fingers and walking around the house. However, the doctor is concerned about the lack of crawling and said if she isn't crawling within 30-45 days, he wants us to call him to talk about a physical therapy evaluation. REALLY???

Other than that, things are just peachy. She is absolutely beautiful and once I find my cord, or go back to the store to see if they received their shipment, I will upload some pictures!

Pictures finally.

2009-04-01T17:46:00.003-04:00

Badass baby!

Got my shorts on my head!

Cool-ass baby!

Passed out because too much fun at the beach!

Eating sand at the beach

Wearing Mommy's hat

One at a time.

2009-03-23T15:36:00.001-04:00

Brooke and Zwiebach

Brooke and strawberries in mesh

Brooke and daddy in the pool

Her favorite thing, the activity center

Yet again.

2009-03-23T13:37:00.001-04:00

Avocado

Hanging with the jaguars at the zoo.

Looking at the bobcats with Da-Da.

Reaching for the camera.

Brooke's first word...

2009-03-21T10:25:00.003-04:00

is Da-da. She also says Ba-ba. And, she has said Ma-ma once, and of course, I am the only one who heard it, but I swear she said it! And Meredith, my best friend/SLP, says she will say it again and a lot of parents (moms) complain that they take forever to say it again.

And, I don't know what to do about loading pictures to this site, because obviously, it never works for me!

I am just about ready to give one, maybe two dogs away. Brooke has been sleeping for only 24 minutes and Maddie started barking thinking Chris was home and she woke Brooke up. I put the bark collar on , which makes her totally freak out! Anyway, the lab is 7 years old (yesterday) and if you want her, let me know (but, don't tell Chris!).

More pics....

2009-03-12T11:26:00.001-04:00

Tasting a lime.

The face after the lime.

Can someone tell me how to put more than 4 pics on at a time with Picasa???

The Beach

2009-03-12T11:25:00.001-04:00

Too funny.

The beach in the cabana.

The Zoo

2009-02-17T06:29:00.004-05:00

We have found Brooke's favorite past time. She absolutely loves the zoo. We bought a family membership on Sunday and the first animal she saw: the tapir. She was talking to it non-stop. So cute. She did the same for every other animal she saw....well, at least, the "bigger" animals. I think she had a hard time finding the little monkeys and the little fox, but she loved the jaguars, the birds, and the GIRAFFE. A girl after her own mother's heart. On Sunday, the giraffes were not around, but we went back on Monday (thank goodness for national holidays) and we got to see the giraffe, Raffiki. He even licked Brooke on the hand. We probably should have taken video of her talking to the giraffe. It was absolutely adorable...maybe next time.

I absolutely loved spending all of the last 3 days with her. We had such a great time. I used to think I missed her being a "newborn", but now I think this stage is so much better. She has so much personality and smiles all of the time.

Last night, Brooke and I went to Target. I decided to buy new cereal since she has been protesting her oatmeal for a good month now. We tried rice with mixed fruit last night and she could not get enough. She was screaming for more, so I made her two more bowls, and she didn't even get her tongue in the way. I thought it was amazing, and thought maybe that would help her sleep through the night last night, but it doesn't appear that way. Chris was on Brooke duty last night because I had to get up at 4:40 for my 7 am flight, and he ended up sleeping with her in the spare bedroom. After my shower, she seemed to be stirring and was still mostly asleep when I left my house at 5:40.

It's about time to board. I will post the pictures when I am back at home...late Wednesday night.

Congratulations to Lauren and Jerrod on the birth of their baby boy, Charlie August last Tuesday.

And congratulations to Melissa and Evan on the birth of their baby boy, Tyler Jake last Friday.

Four teeth

2009-02-11T22:47:00.003-05:00

Brooke has four teeth now. Two on the bottom, two on the top. When I left my house this morning, the top left tooth is coming out, I imagine when I see her on Friday that the top right will be out. Can you believe it? I doubt she will let me get a pic. This little baby is growing up so quick!

I'm in Macon, GA. My first time here...you should hear the Southern drawl at the hotel desk. Wow!

Congratulations to Lauren and Jerrod on the birth of their second child, Charlie! I can't wait to see pictures.

And, I am waiting (im)patiently on the birth of Melissa and Evan's baby in New York. Just a couple more days....

And, since I have stopped breastfeeding, I need to stop eating so much and I need to start doing crunches, but it's already 11 p.m. and I have a long day in front of me, so I guess that isn't starting today!

Good night!

Brooke's teeth on 12/24/08

2009-02-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

Still having issues....yes, I know the orientation is off. just turn your head. I am over this!

2009-02-10T12:26:00.001-05:00

Mommy and Brookie

Blue Eyed Girl

I like wearing shirts as hats.

Pics from a Calendar we made for our parents for Christmas

2009-02-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

2009-02-10T10:10:00.001-05:00

Brooke's two teeth on Christmas eve.

Hi Big Blue Eyes!

2009-02-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

I keep trying

2009-02-09T11:37:00.001-05:00

I have tried doing one at a time, 2, sometimes three, but the damn blog site isn't working! I tried to upload a video, but that took about 2 hours and I finally let it quit...

What's going on?

Brooke had avocado yesterday for the first time. Her parents don't like avocado, but we also don't want her to be picky, so she is going to eat food that we don't eat...like seafood. Well, Chris eats some seafood, but I do not eat any. I am going to start trying some fish though...I am such a big girl.

Let's keep our fingers crossed about uploading pictures. Oh, and keep your fingers crossed for me at 12:30 ET on Wednesday. I will let you know more about it later.

The pictures will come

2009-02-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

I have tried 6 times to upload pictures, even one at a time, and it didn't work, so I am done with it for now! So freaking annoying!

Yeah, we're still alive!

2009-02-05T06:27:00.004-05:00

I know...it's been a long time since I posted. I just have not had the time or motivation to get on here and then I think about how long it takes the pictures to upload and then I really don't want to think about it. But, I am sitting at the Melbourne airport at 6:28 this morning and I have a few minutes, so I thought I could at least write and then post pictures later.

So, you ask, what's been going on?

Well, we had Christmas and I had about 1.5 weeks off. It was wonderful to be home with Brooke that whole time. She enjoyed her first Christmas, even though we had a busy day. We started at our house, then went to Chris' mom's house, then back to our house, then to my brother's house, and then to Chris' aunt and uncle's house. We left in the morning at 9ish, and ended up back at home after 10 pm. I don't think we can do that again next year. Brooke was easy to transport this year, but next year, she will be ALL over the place so I think it might be best to be in a baby proofed house.

New Years was enjoyable. We laid pretty low. We went out to dinner with Meredith and Ryan and then just went back to our house to play the Wii.

Next up was Chris' 30th bday on January 16. Again, we laid pretty low, just went out to dinner with family and friends.

Last week, we found out Meredith and Ryan are having a little baby girl! I am so excited, I had a dream the night before it was a girl. Brooke is looking forward to meeting her best friend. I can't wait! As you may have guessed from reading this blog, I absolutely loved being pregnant (except the insomnia), so it is fun to live vicariously through my pregnant friends. I have a couple of them now. Two will be having babies within the next week or two. Both of those babies are boys, so Brooke has a few possible boyfriends out there, but they live far away, she is too young for long distance relationships.

What's been going with Brooke....

well, she officially rolled over right before she turned 5 months. I had a talk with her about milestones and said rolling over must happen by 5 months, and she did it with 1 or 2 days to spare. I may have already written that now that I think about it. She only rolls to her left side. She gets pretty angry when we try to get her to roll to her right, but she does it with assistance. She also goes back to her back from rolling over, but it is not consistent.

She is sitting up pretty well too. She is still a bit top heavy, but should be doing this on her own within the next week or two. I am so impressed with the sitting up. We hadn't really practiced it too much, so I was happy to see she could do it.

She still only has two teeth, on the bottom. They are so cute. She is always rolling her tongue over them or touching her lips to them.

(Time to board the plane...will write more later!)

Okay, it's later.

Unfortunately, I had to give up on breastfeeding. I am pretty sad about it, because I really wanted to make it to 12 months. I had a pretty stressful 2 weeks full of travel, STRESS and sickness and I just wasn't able to pump that much, so my supply just went down and I talked to some friends about trying to get it back, but I just didn't have the time to be able to do it. Brooke is handling it well. Better than me. It makes me feel like a failure, but at least she got almost 6 months of it and she is doing fine with 100% formula.

Brooke went to the pediatrician on Tuesday. She is SIX months. I just can't believe how fast time is going by....she's getting so big. She is 27 inches long (90th percentile), 16 lbs (55th percentile) and her head is in the 80th percentile. She's been eating Stage 1 baby foods for two months. We started with carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, peas and green beans. She likes the orange veggies better than the green. When we introduced fruit, she had no desire at all to eat it and would make the worst face. I now mix the fruit with her cereal. Lately though (this week), she doesn't want to eat anything but formula. She's done this before and it's okay.

So, that's what has been going on. Chris has interviewed for a new job, let's hope he gets it.

Two or three teeth?

2008-12-19T16:34:00.002-05:00

Brooke has this white spot on her upper gums (somewhere near where an adult canine tooth would be), but nothing has come of it. It's been there for 3 weeks or more.

Then, last Sunday, my mom was holding Brooke and Brooke was chewing on her finger. She asked me about Brooke's teeth and I told her she has that one on top. Well, boy, was I wrong! She's got two little teeth coming in on the bottom. It's pretty cute, but I do think they are starting to bother her.

I will not be able to grab a picture of them but I will certainly try when they look more like teeth! :)

so, you want pictures?

2008-12-09T19:58:00.013-05:00

Daddy and his baby girl

(and advertisement for Caudill Orthodontics)

Mommy and Brookie

Well, I am working on my Sprint card for the internet because I am in Atlanta for work, so hopefully, all of the pictures will load successfully.

Brooke started eating cereal last week. We tried rice cereal at first, she thought it was blah. At the end of the week, we tried oatmeal and she seems to like it. She sometimes screams in between bites which I interpret as "I want more now!" I think it is so neat to watch her eat off of a spoon. Our pediatrician said after having cereal for a couple of weeks, she can start with some Stage 1 baby food.

Turkey leg on Thanksgiving.

Brooke is getting to be such a big girl. Still not rolling over, but she will get on her side and talk and can do a 180 on her side which is funny. We have also had issues getting her to bed. She will NOT go to sleep on her own in the crib, so she falls asleep on someone, and then we transfer her to the crib, but almost 100% of the time, she wakes up and starts crying. We recently realized that she likes to sleep on her side. So, we've had some luck with that the past couple of nights, let's hope we can keep it up. Since she barely naps during the day, we think she should be exhausted at night, but she is a fighter. If anyone has any ideas, we will certainly entertain them. :)

This past weekend, we visited Santa at the mall. Brooke was so good. We got her a bright white dress for Christmas, so the picture is very bright and her dress makes it POP! It's still cute though. (Look for better pictures in a couple of weeks with the same dress).

Aww. Isn't she adorable?

Brooke loves standing!

Waiting in line to see Santa

Wearing Daddy's sweat band. I think she looks like the girl in Little Miss Sunshine :)

Ha. Chris put her in laundry basket in the crib. She loved it.

Aww. Maddie loves Brooke

Ellie does not love Brooke, but she tolerates her...

Ok, I shouldn't be too mad...

2008-12-07T18:57:00.001-05:00

Even though there was error after error, it seems that my posts still appeared, so I am not too mad at it anymore. I don't feel like uploading pictures right now, maybe tomorrow.

Brooke sat on Santa's lap yesterday and was a pretty good baby!

Maybe, if you are lucky, I will be in the blogging mood tomorrow. In the meantime, I will just listen to Brooke babble while hanging out on the floor. :)

blogging sucks

2008-12-03T19:28:00.002-05:00

I wrote a very long blog last night and there was major errors, and then I tried to post a message telling about the errors, but it was just more errors, so I got mad and didn't re-post.

I might some day soon...

blogging sucks

2008-12-02T20:34:00.003-05:00

I typed a very long blog earlier and when I went to post, it was gone due to an error. So, I am mad, and don't feel like typing it all out again. So, don't be mad at me for not blogging, be mad at this site!

blogging sucks

2008-12-02T17:19:00.001-05:00

I just wrote the longest blog and hit publish, and there was an error. I refuse to write it again right now. This pisses me off.

I know, I am not a good blogger!

2008-12-02T16:59:00.003-05:00

Well, it's hard going back to work. When I am home, I don't want to be on the computer, I want to spend time with Brooke.

So, what's been going on...well, for me. I am back to work and it's very hard to be on the road and away from her, especially when I am not in Florida. I cover Georgia and Alabama too now. I usually end up crying when I am driving back home. I just don't like being away from her at this point in her life. She's too young to not have me at home every night. Oh well, I gotta do what I gotta do. Right now, I am in Tampa with my breastpump and cooler. Yep, I have to travel with that too, but I want to keep her on breastmilk as long as I can. I'd like to make it to a year, but we will see. She gets about 4-8 oz of formula a day, but I prefer to have breastmilk most of the time.

Chris started a new job. Our plan was to have him be a stay at home daddy, but the money just wasn't working out. So, he is doing an incoming Customer Service call center job. He is still in training. His dad, my mom and our neighbor are going to help out with watching little Brooke. We are thankful to have them. There is a chance he might be able to do this from home at some point, so it may all work out in the end.

And, what's going on with Brooke...well, she's 4 months old now. We just went to the pediatrician yesterday. She weighs 13 lbs 8 oz. She is 25.5 inches long. She got her 4 month shots. She cried, but just for a moment or two, and calmed down with us holding her. She is NOT a napper and the doctor told us she may never be a napper! AHHH! She wakes up around 7:30 every morning and goes to bed around 10 or 10:30. She usually is awake all day, sometimes she cat naps, sometimes she takes a good nap, but mostly, she keeps her eyes open all day!!!! It's hard for us, because we don't get a break! She tried rice cereal with a spoon today and yesterday, but doesn't seem to be the biggest fan. We will try some oatmeal cereal at the end of the week when I am back home.

I don't remember if I wrote or not, but we visited the orthopaedist again and Brooke had another xray. The doctor said everything looked good (after asking us AGAIN if she is a girl or boy---wearing an all pink outfit!), and wants to see her back when she is walking! WHAT...I can't even imagine that yet! She isn't rolling over yet, but she is getting close. What I thought and our pediatrician confirmed is that her harness delayed her with this. She spent a lot of time on her back with the harness and couldn't even try to roll on her side, or have us put her on her side, so we are working on it and hopefully will have a baby rolling over within the month.

I don't have any pictures for this post because I have not uploaded pics in awhile, and I am on the road...so maybe for the next post.

I am starving. Must eat dinner. Bye for now.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T08:25:00.005-05:00

Brooke dressed up as a Miami Dolphins cheerleader. She did great all night, hanging outside with her parents handing out candy.

Here are a few shots of her "posing":

Cheerleaders get tired! But still do proper cheerleading poses!

Fred, Daphne, and Brooke in her Gator cheerleading outfit

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:20:00.002-04:00

Here are some cute pictures of Brooke with pumpkins!

More pics

2008-10-28T13:35:00.005-04:00

Well, sometimes when I try to add the pictures, the whole thing freaks out and takes forever, so it really isn't my fault, but I meant to put these on the previous blog.

Louisville Audiology

First time at the beach (evening)

On the first leg of our flight home from KY

And, it happened again. Can't post the rest of the pics! Look for more later.

She's just getting so big!

2008-10-28T10:07:00.007-04:00

I can't believe three months have already gone by! We watched the video of her right after the birth and it just doesn't seem possible that she was that small!

On October 16, we flew to Louisville. We flew on Southwest, which now has children board after the 60 people in the A group. Well, I messed that up. When we got to the gate, there was nowhere to sit and Brooke was starting to get fussy, so the three of us walked around the airport, changed her diaper, made a formula bottle (just in case) and when we got back to the gate, everyone had boarded. Yep, all 60 in the A group, all 60 in the B group, and all 60 in the C group. We were the last people on the plane, only middle seats left. I was sweating! However, a nice gentleman offered Chris his seat so that we could sit next to each other. THANK GOD! I don't think I could have done this by myself, especially in a middle seat. The flight went really well, Brooke nursed on the way up and slept on the way down. She didn't even make a peep!

Just hanging out at the airport

Sleeping on the plane with her favorite puppy

Louisville was a lot colder than Florida. We had to buy outfits with pants to keep her warm. While in Kentucky, we visited family in Lexington, visited Parker's grave (our Jack Russell who died when he was two), went to Jodee's wedding, and hung around downtown Louisville. Brooke was really good, with the exception of staying awake until 1:30 am on Thursday night.

Hanging with Sydlowski

Brrr...it's cold in Kentucky

Drew, Pattie, and Bryan in Lexington

Parker's grave in Indiana

First bath in a sink.

Liz, Chris, Brooke at wedding

Daddy and Brooke on the dance floor

Casey and Brooke

The Bride and Groom

Jodee and Todd

Congrats guys!

Guess Who Is Sleeping in Her Own Room???

2008-10-15T22:04:00.006-04:00

Brooke!!!!

Yep, that's correct! Last night, I thought I might as well try it out. I knew she would be fine, but I was more concerned with how I would feel. We have a video monitor, so I woke up a few times and squinted across the room to see what was going on, but she was a trooper, and slept through the night, all the way across the house in her own room!

Here she is in the morning after her first night in her crib.

While I am at it, here are a few more pictures of our little baby girl:

Smiling at her puppy

BIG BLUE EYES

Foot hanging out

Looking at her mobile...

Smiley baby in the morning

And, tomorrow, we are off to Louisville for a wedding. We are also going to visit some family in Lexington while we are in Kentucky.

Oh, and Brooke is in her crib for the second night in a row. She went to sleep at 9:54 tonight, that's WAY earlier than she usually goes to bed! But, we did have a tiring day, out running errands and meeting with friends from 9:45 until 2:15.

Look for more pictures soon!

I am CRAZY!

2008-10-09T10:04:00.002-04:00

I am not sure if I have documented this on here before, but since Brooke has been home with us, I have been nuts. For almost all of the 10 weeks she has been around, I have woken up in the middle of the night and thought Ellie (and sometimes Maddie) was Brooke. I have woken Chris up to have him get her out of the bed, with him reassuring me that it is not Brooke and that I am feeling the dogs. I have even woken up and made myself keep my legs in a certain position because Chris told me to so that Brooke wouldn't fall out of bed. WE HAVE NEVER HAD HER IN OUR BED! This has happened almost every night. What is it...that I am extrememly tired? That Ellie was my baby for 6 years?

But, last night, was the kicker...

I woke up, felt "Brooke", realized it wasn't Brooke when I felt the snout and ears, BUT I still picked Ellie up. (side note: I have tried to pick her up previously, but there is quite a weight difference between Ellie [35lbs) and Brooke [11 lbs], so I have realized it and went back to sleep). BUT, I was crazy last night and I picked her up and got halfway to the bassinet. Chris wakes up and tells me it is Ellie and not to put her in the bassinet. Thankfully, he woke up or Ellie would have been having a slumber party with Brooke.

Why am I so nuts??

No more harness, yippie!

2008-10-03T12:29:00.008-04:00

Okay, it's been a week since she has been harness-less, but I just haven't felt like taking the time to upload pictures and whatnot...I promise I will get better.

Last Friday, Brooke had an appointment with the orthopaedist and had a repeat X-ray. After the X-ray, we went into an exam room and got the good news as soon as we walked in. She needs to go back in six weeks for a follow up, but the doctor says her hips are perfect! YEA! We thought about having a burning party for the harness, but really 1) it wasn't THAT bad, and 2) we need to show her this harness when she is older and 3) maybe we could use it as an embarassment when she in her teens. Just kidding about that last one...and for doing so great, she got a jogging stroller as a gift!

We also had a pediatrician appointment yesterday. Brooke now weighs 11 lbs, 6 oz and is 24 inches long. She is growing so much. Her height is in the 90th percentile and her weight and head circumference are in the 75th percentile. Both Chris and I thought she would be 25 inches, but she's not...she just seems so long! She also had her first set of vaccinations. The first was an oral liquid, she wasn't too fond of it and kept gagging on it. The others were needles in her leg! I thought she was handling it fine, but then she turned bright red, held her breath and let out such a scream! It was so sad! Her daddy picked her up and soothed her and she was much better. The vaccinations knocked her out. We left there around 10:30 and she was still sleeping at 2:30. I decided to wake her up to eat since she hadn't eaten since 8:30. So, all in all, yesterday was a long day, but she handled it well.

Morning of pediatrician appointment

She also got to see her grandfather (Chris' dad) yesterday. He has been in Michigan for the past 8 weeks or so. He missed her a lot.

Let's see what else she has been doing. For the past few weeks (maybe 4-5 weeks), she has been sleeping through the night. Her least amount of time is 5 hours, but she usually sleeps for 8-10 hours. People keep telling us that we are lucky and boy, do we know it...we only had a couple of nights of sleeplessness, and those were not enjoyable.

Brooke has been smiling a lot more on her own (without gas being the instigator!). Her daddy can get her to smile when he blows in her face or when I do raspberries in the air.

Sadly, I go back to work three weeks from today. I am really going to miss her. I love spending the day with her and running errands with her. I think she will miss me too, but at least she will have her daddy with her during the day. He's still looking for a way to make money from home, so if any one has any ideas, we are definitely open to them. :)

Pictures below:

First time in the pool.

Florida/Tennesse Game.

Second time wearing pants.

After her bath.

SMILES!!!!

Isn't she adorable? Looking at her daddy.

With Mommy in Baby Bjorn (and wearing Robeez shoes!)

In another sling with daddy (yes, that is a wife beater he is wearing!)

All stretched out. No flash because it wakes her up and we don't need that....

darn...

2008-09-22T15:24:00.001-04:00

Brooke was supposed to have her last ortho appointment on Wednesday, but they called today to change her appt to Friday afternoon. Looks like another week of the harness.

Pics will be coming soon.

Congrats!

2008-09-17T21:07:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Cara and Chris.

Baby Adornetto arrived today at 5:22 p.m.

Teagan Isabella Adornetto
8 lbs 1 oz
20.75 inches

Yea for baby girls!

You know you're a Floridian if....

2008-09-16T12:14:00.000-04:00

You know you're a Floridian if....

You know you're a Floridian if....

Socks are only for bowling.

You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over infive minutes.

A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store,but everything to do with shade.

Your winter coat is made of denim.

You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.

Anything under 70 degrees is chilly.

You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.

You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.

You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.

You dread love bug season.

You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list.They aren'tHurricane Charley or Hurricane Frances .You know them as Andrew ,Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne .

You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave.

You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

'Down South' means Key West .

Flip-flops are everyday wear.Shoes are for business meetings andchurch, but you HAVE worn flip flops to church before.

You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.

A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

You know the four seasons really are: hurricane season, love bugseason, tourist season and summer.

You've hosted a hurricane party.

You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Withlacoochee and Micanopy.

You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, thanhave a boat yourself.

You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.

You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Years.

You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba '.

Not so much

2008-09-15T10:32:00.003-04:00

Well, the fifth night was NOT a charm. We knew it would happen because Brooke slept pretty much the whole day yesterday, just waking up to eat and hang out for a few minutes before dozing off again. I nursed her somewhere in the 10 o'clock hour, gave her to Chris to burp (did you know they used to use the word 'bubble' for burp?), I passed out on recliner, we all went to bed somewhere around midnight (maybe a bit earlier??), and she woke up at 3:45 crying. So, I changed her and fed her and she went back to sleep. Today, we will work on staying awake a bit longer so everyone can have a restful night.

As for me today, I have my six week post partum check up. Then, I thought Brooke and I would head to the book store and the grocery store. I want to get a book with developmental milestones. Brooke is definitely exploring her voice more and made the sweetest sound this morning while hanging out in her bassinet. Both Chris and I heard it and smiled at each other. We just love her so much.

She is napping in her crib, although I hear her every so often. I better get in the shower before she decides she is DONE with the nap.

Oh, and NINE more days of her hip harness. WOO HOO!

4 nights straight

2008-09-14T10:25:00.002-04:00

I am not sure how we lucked out, but Brooke has slept 8-9 hours for the past four nights. Day one and two, she had a bottle (about 4 oz) and then fell right asleep. But, for days 3 and 4, she nursed, hung out for a bit, and then passed out. So...we will have to see how tonight goes, but I am thinking it will be good. :)

I guess our baby is growing up.

Sleep

2008-09-11T09:20:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday night, Chris and I decided to let Brooke cry herself to sleep. We knew she wasn't hungry, or wet, but she has this need to be rocked/soothed to sleep. We decided we can't have that happen every night anymore. So, at 10:55, we put her in her bassinet. We said we would give her till 11:10 and if she was still crying, we would get her. Well, she cried for those 15 minutes, but she did get a bit calmer towards the end, so we decided 10 more minutes will be good, but she cried till 11:20, and then we gave her 10 more minutes again, and she fell right asleep at 11:30. That's the time she has been going to bed, so 35 minutes of crying and she passed out.

We planned to do the same thing last night, but then this happened:

I gave her 4 oz of pumped breast milk and she passed out at 10:30 and then slept till 7:15 this morning! WOW!!! We were not expecting her to sleep for 9 hours. I didn't even hear a peep out of her all night, so I am going to try giving her a bottle again tonight to see how it works.

So, for those of you who don't like math: that's almost 9 hours straight of sleep for our 5.75 week old!

Here is a picture of her without spikes, she had just gotten a bath. She isn't too happy, she wanted to be held:

And, here's a picture of Brooke in her crib. It looks like she is wearing suspenders. Only 13 more days of harness, hopefully:

On her changing table. Is she about to sneeze???

That's all for now. She has some Gator onesies now, so she will be dressed properly for the game this weekend. :)

Five Weeks Old Today

2008-09-05T09:34:00.006-04:00

Time is going by too fast. I love spending time with Brooke and can't believe that five weeks have already gone by. ONLY seven more weeks, then I am back to work. :(

We found out this week that her hip harness is doing just what it needs to do and she will have to wear it for 3 more weeks. Her hips which used to have angles of 30 and 35 degrees are now both 23 degrees. Only 3 more degrees to go and Brooke will have normal hips! She also got a new harness which fits her growing body much better. She's up to 9 lbs, 10 oz and 23.25 inches long!

The twins (below)

Brooke and her furry sisters.

The Story of my labor and Brooke's delivery

2008-08-20T10:06:00.006-04:00

I thought I should document what happened during the labor and delivery on August 1, 2008. I think it's a good story...

As I mentioned in previous blogs, I was supposed to have my cervix ripened ( the process of making the cervix more favorable for delivery) on July 31, 2008. Chris and I got to the hospital with our bags around 4:45 p.m. on July 31. We learned right away that it was a busy night and there were no available labor and delivery rooms. In fact, someone delivered downstairs in the parking lot that day. My doctor was not on call, so his partner gave us the choice of waiting around to see if a room opened up or to go home, sleep in our own bed, and return bright and early the next morning. We opted to go home because there was a good chance that we would have waited for HOURS and had to go home in the end anyway. And I was STARVING! The doctor did an internal exam before we left and I had actually dilated on my own. I was 1.5 cm! That made me smile, because I had been waiting and waiting for dilation for WEEKS!

Chris and I went to Bizarros on the beach and went home to have our actual last night without a baby! We played some Rummy and I had a glass of wine.

We were due at the hospital at 7 am the next morning. We went to bed at 12 and at 3:30, I just couldn't sleep anymore. I played solitaire for awhile and then finally got up to take a shower and head to the hospital.

THE BIG DAY...

August 1, 2008

(Note: we recorded almost everything that happened in a notebook, this is not from memory!)

We got to the hospital at 6:30 a.m. Our neighbor works in labor and delivery and hooked us up with the second biggest room! I was admitted immediately to room 409. My wonderful nurse, Laara, put in my IV at 7:10. My doctor came in and 7:15 and told me I was dilated 2 cm and was 50% effaced! Great news. He broke my water at 7:25, luckily, there was no meconium in the fluid. He pointed out to us that I had a lot of fluid, which was something that was always noted at our ultrasounds. They started my pitocin drip at 7:35.

My blood pressure was high, which we attributed to nerves because I had never had issues with my blood pressure.

I was allowed to have water, ice chips, jello, broth, popsicles, apple juice and cranberry juice. I had some jello for a mid morning snack.

At 9:20 a.m., my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart. My notes say "contractions do not feel too great!". Chris was able to monitor my contractions (before I knew they were coming) and told me some were off the chart. I believed him because they were BAD! (and, I thought this was the most painful thing! HAHA!)

At 9:45, they increased my pitocin again. The nurse had been doing this about every 15 minutes. My blood pressure came down a bit too. Another note that contractions HURT! They were lasting 60-70 seconds.

At 10:45, my pitocin was increased to 66 units. Laara told me they usually stop at 60 units, but Dr. B said it was okay to increase mine since he was in the hospital and waiting for me. Laara checked me and reports "I am 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced." For those of you who don't know, effacement refers to the thinning of the cervix, so 80% is good!

Going back to how much amniotic fluid I had, all day long, it flowed. Every time I moved in the bed, it poured out. When I had to get up to use the restroom, I had to have towels wrapped around me (I think I looked like a sumo wrestler). It was difficult to get up because of the towels, the fluid, the IV, the BP monitor, but when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Chris takes over my note taking at 11:45. The pain was so intense. Before this, I remember crying because the pain was so bad. I told Chris that I would probably get an epidural but that I first wanted to try Stadol. At 11:45, I was given Stadol, which is a narcotic that is supposed to help with pain relief. The relief nurse gave it to me at 11:45, and at 11:46, I reported feeling dizzy. It worked SO quickly! It was wonderful. It also made me so sleepy. I would fall asleep for what seemed like hours, but it would only be a few seconds or minutes. I would then try to have conversations with Chris, but I had no idea what I was talking about. :)

At 12:00 p.m, Dr. B visits to check me. I am 4 cm dilated and he says I am making excellent progress. Right as he was walking in, I was coming out of the bathroom (keep in mind, this is 15 minutes after my Stadol), and I told him "it feels like I drank 10 beers AGAIN." I was so embarrassed that I said that...I have never drank 10 beers let alone to say AGAIN! It was a great feeling though, I think everyone should try Stadol. :)

I asked for more Stadol about 1:45 or so. They usually like to wait three hours between doses, but Dr. B let me have some more. It was the same effects again! YEA!

At 2:30, Dr. B came in to check me and I was 7 cm dilated, which he called "FANTASTIC." Dr. B had guessed that the baby would arrive somewhere around 5 or 6 pm.

At 2:35, Chris shows me the pain scale (1-10). I tell him I am a 9. I kick everybody out of the room except for medical staff and Chris. I was in so much pain. Going back to the whole epidural thing, I did consider it, but I knew there was no way I would be able to sit still while they put that needle in my back. My contractions were coming so fast and I was so uncomfortable.

I am not sure of the time, but my nurse let me start pushing a little around 9 cm.

At 3:18, I was fully dilated to 10 cm. It's the time for the real pushing. I had a mirror so that I could see the baby's head, and the mirror was so helpful because I was a bad pusher originally. The nurses want you to push for ten seconds, take a short 2 second break, then push for 10 seconds again, break, then do it again. I was pretty good at the first two pushes, but was always so tired at the third push. However, I realized that the baby came down further into the birth canal on the third push, so I tried to do it the best I could. I did ask the doctor to just pull the baby out because I was so tired.

At 4;10 pm, the baby came out and I waited with baited (sp??) breath for the doctor to tell us if it was a boy or girl. When he said girl, I was just so happy. I have attached a picture here of our doctor holding her as she enters the world. Doesn't he look so happy? He was excited to find out boy or girl too!

They put her on my chest, Chris cut the umbilical cord. They took her to the other side of the room to clean her up and check her vitals. She scored 9 on the 1 min and 5 min APGAR. And, a few minutes later, they brought her back to me.

Meanwhile, our families were in the waiting room. They were able to look through a glass pane in the door to L&D and see my room, but they could only see the curtain. They were so anxious because they knew baby would be coming soon. They could see flashes and staff coming in and out. My mom called the desk and they told her "the baby has not yet been delivered." But, they knew when she was, because the hospital plays a lullaby throughout the halls in the entire hospital when a baby is born. Dr. B went out to the waiting room before Chris and they hounded him but all he would tell them is "IT is healthy and IT is beautiful." I just loved that.

Chris went out to the waiting room at about 4:35. He had the video camera on and was holding pink and blue mittens. He held them over his head and then dropped the blue mittens and held onto the pink. Everyone was so happy. And, then, everyone came back to the room at 4:40. It was a whirlwind of excitement. And, then, nutrition delivered my dinner and I have never been so happy to eat. :)

Our happy family

More pictures of Baby Brooke

2008-08-11T18:28:00.003-04:00

No words, just pictures. :)

One Week update

2008-08-10T15:48:00.003-04:00

Well, we have been home for a week now! We have learned that a newborn controls everything we do! She's been a lot of fun this week, but has her nights and days confused which makes for REALLY long nights for daddy and mommy. The pediatrician suggested we try to wake her up during the day, but she has absolutely no interest when we try to wake her. I guess we will have to try harder.

Brooke went to the pediatrician this week twice. She gained weight, and is now up to 8 lbs, 2.5 oz. When she left the hospital, she was 7 lbs, 13.4 oz.

She also had to see the orthopedic doctor for her hips on Thursday. She has been diagnosed with "congenital subluxable hip" where the hip is in place, but dislocates partially when stressed. She has to wear a harness for the next six weeks which keeps her legs in a frog position. She doesn't seem to mind it at all but her parents are sad for her. When the doctor told us, my eyes filled up with tears and I managed to keep them in until we reached the elevator. Since her appointment, I have gotten better but Thursday was a hard day. It also makes breast feeding and changing much more difficult, but we will manage. Her hips are supposed to have a 22 degree angle from some point to another point, and her right is a 30 degree and her left is a 35 degree angle. So, 39 more days of a brace and she has to wear it all of the time except bathing! :( The good news: with hip click being caught so early, she should be fixed in six weeks and then we will just have to follow up with x rays to make sure it is repaired. Please keep Brooke in your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Brooke is happy to have some pink clothes now, rather than yellow and green. :)

Look for another update soon.

Introducing Baby White

2008-08-02T16:23:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, at 4:10 pm, we welcomed our daughter, Brooke Elizabeth White, into our arms! She's absolutely wonderful and adorable

She looks like her daddy!

She weighed 8 lb, 8 oz and is 21 inches long.

Thank you for caring and for your prayers. We are blessed to have her here! Her daddy definitely thought she would be a boy, but he is in love with her!

Love,
Chris, Liz, and Brooke

In the hospital

2008-08-01T08:37:00.003-04:00

Today's the day. We've been here for almost two hours. My blood pressure is a bit high which is probably due to nerves. The doctor broke my water a little over one hour ago. It's very strange feeling and the fluid doesn't stop coming!

Everything is going well. Having a contraction right now, Chris is monitoring them for me. He knows before I am about to have one.

The nurse just said my contractions are 3-4 mins apart. She thinks I am doing well. They aren't too bad, but they aren't the best feeling either. :)

Oh, and blood pressure has dropped.

It's the due date

2008-07-30T21:37:00.002-04:00

And, nothing has happened, so the countdown is on...19.5 more hours from now, we will be checking into our hotel, oops, I mean hospital room to start the process.

Thank you Dr. B for inducing me even though I am just barely 40 weeks!

Baby update Week 39 again

2008-07-28T18:59:00.001-04:00

We went to the doctor again today for the non-stress test and the baby performed just like he/she is supposed to...whenever there is movement, baby's heart rate is supposed to increase, and that was perfect.

I was checked again and still no dilation, so we are a go for Thursday night at the hospital.

We'll be in touch soon.

39 weeks, 2 days update

2008-07-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

Just got back from the doctor. Surprisingly, I am NOT dilated at all! My doctor has decided to induce me next Friday morning. I go into the hospital on Thursday night for "ripening" of the cervix, and then we start the induction process on Friday. So, unless baby comes on his/her own, we will have a baby on August 1 or maybe August 2.

We will continue to keep you updated.

I used to be a Bud Light kind of girl...

2008-07-22T14:21:00.004-04:00

But, then I started trying Pinot Noir and I really liked it. It had been since November 2007 that I had any kind of alcohol UNTIL Saturday night.

I had a glass of Pinot Noir and now, I can't stop thinking about it. Oh my, it was so good! I figured it couldn't hurt the baby since he/she is full term, so I did it. Yum!

Now, I can't wait to have another in the next couple of weeks. I better stock up the wine cage! Sadly, there is only a couple bottles of wine in there, and two bottles of sparkling grape juice. That just won't do it! :)

Maybe I will get some Bud Light in too...see if I still like it!

38 week pictures

2008-07-17T11:53:00.001-04:00

Just a few pictures from last night...

And, no stretch marks...at least I can't see any. :)

Congrats to Sascha and Tim. Sascha's water broke this morning (two days post due date), so today should be the big day! Yea! I can't wait to meet the little guy!

38 weeks today and no sign of baby

2008-07-16T08:22:00.002-04:00

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. No dilation to report, nothing new to report, still just waiting (albeit impatiently now!)

The doctor said they won't let me go past 41 weeks which would be August 7, so if baby doesn't decide to come on his/her own, we are looking at a birthday somewhere around August 7.

Bags are packed, nursery is finished, new camera and camcorder are charged and ready to go....

Next doctor appointment is July 25, maybe we will have some news before then!

My friend Sascha's due date was yesterday and she is still just waiting. She has been 1 cm dilated for a week now, but no progression. Did you know that only 5% of women have their baby on due date? It's this date that we keep in our heads and think about for 30-something weeks, but it really doesn't mean anything....it's just an estimation...but it is something we hold onto dearly, and then we watch it pass by.

Baby update Week 36, 6 days

2008-07-08T13:27:00.000-04:00

We visited the doctor today. We had a different doctor than we usually do. I really thought I might be dilated...but I wasn't! :(

She also estimated a BIG baby, she thinks baby will be in the 8 lb range. WHOA! I might need to re-think that whole all natural plan...

Next doctor's appointment is one week away. Let's hope for some dilation!

July 4 weekend

2008-07-07T15:20:00.000-04:00

Nothing too big going on here for July 4. We did some things around the house during the day and then went to watch fireworks at Front Street Park. Here are some pictures of our group:

Here's a picture of me and Chris. (I don't really have a double chin!)

And then, just me...

Oh, and isn't this picture cute...it's from March, I wasn't really drinking the beer, but we had to use it for the shot. Nick and I are twins! I am now much bigger than Nick! But, only for a couple of weeks! :)

And, one more pic...my friend Sara came to visit yesterday while she was down from Atlanta. Here is a picture of us by the pool.

Overall, a nice weekend. I love three day weekends. I could have those weekly! :) I think I did too much housework yesterday morning because I felt it a few hours later. Maybe that will make baby come sooner?!??!?!?!

Congrats to my friend Melissa who had her baby boy on Wednesday night. Tyler Wilson!

Check out ME in the past few months....

2008-07-02T08:19:00.000-04:00

4.5 weeks prego
8 weeks prego

15 weeks prego

22 weeks

29 weeks

31 weeks

36 weeks

It's not a tumor, but it certainly looks like one...

2008-07-02T08:04:00.001-04:00

36 week pictures from last night with our new camera....I have definitely gotten bigger, although the scale is still around the same number as two weeks ago. You can also tell from the pictures that I have "dropped", meaning the baby has descended lower into the pelvic region.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Started weekly appointments last week. He says baby is measuring right on target. It was also my first internal exam, and he confirmed that head is down, but I didn't believe him, so he brought us to the ultrasound room and proved me wrong! Baby's head is definitely down. I think he could have seen the sex yesterday, but he told us that he wants to be surprised too! I am not dilated yet, but my cervix is thinning, as it should be at this time. As Chris and I were leaving the office, we both started laughing. We can't believe that we are now only 4 weeks away from being parents!

These are pictures from our new camera that I redeemed with AmEx points. What a deal...so, we are trying to learn how to use it before the all important moment in the labor and delivery room.

Here's just a picture of my belly, looks very large and RED!

Good luck to my friend Melissa who had to be induced last night (19 days early) due to mild pre-eclampsia. As of a few minutes ago, she was dilated to 2 cm. Her baby boy will be joining the real world sometime today!

We purchased new shades for the office, spare room and baby's room. They should arrive today, so the baby's room will be finished and not so bright!

Baby update Week 35

2008-06-24T14:09:00.000-04:00

Well, according to our doctor, the baby has flipped into the head down position. The doctor had to squeeze my abdomen very hard but he said he felt the head yesterday. He said that when he starts internal exams next week or the week after, he will know for sure if the head is down. Weird. Since the appointment yesterday, the baby has been moving like crazy. Maybe he/she is happy to be in the right position, or maybe he/she is mad that the doctor pushed so hard on him/her.

I will have to have Chris take a picture of me tonight since it has been a few weeks. The doctor is still very happy with my weight gain. I gained one pound in the past two weeks and saw a number on the scale that was very NEW to me.

The Furniture is Here!!!

2008-06-23T11:55:00.000-04:00

The baby furniture arrived on Friday morning at 5:20 a.m. I think that is the earliest delivery on record...they let us know the day before it would be that early, so we weren't surprised by the phone call at 5:15 telling us they were outside with the truck!

Here are the boxes:

Chris was very surprised that I didn't try to drag any of the boxes through the house during the day. The lightest box was 35 lbs. While dinner was cooking, Chris brought the boxes through the house. We first set up the crib...

It wasn't that hard, but two people were definitely needed.

And, the dressers were already assembled...life is good! The drawers are somewhat full of the necessary items. I ordered new shades for the nursery too, they should be here within two weeks.

Yesterday, we bought a swing and a monitor. We now have almost everything, except a place to sit when we are in the nursery.

And, of course, the dogs were involved in most of the steps...except when the vacuum was out. They don't like the vacuum and I had the Roomba in the room as well as my little vacuum.

The dogs can't wait for the new addition, yeah right. It will be very interesting to see how they handle a baby, especially since they are used to getting all of our attention.

Our childbirth class has ended. We learned a lot and had a pretty good time each week.

Good luck to Sascha and Tim who are due in 3 weeks!!

Fun Blog

2008-06-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

I got this idea from another blogger. You have to do 10 things with no preparation. You'll see...

1. Dream Vacation:

I want to go back to Hawaii but spend 10 days there!

2. Self Portrait (taken just seconds ago). Sorry, no belly and no make-up and air dried hair. Wow..I wish I could do a ponytail! I don't know if my camera has an auto shoot feature. Getting a new camera soon...

3. What are the kids doing? I don't have a kid YET, so I took pictures of the dogs. Maddie follows me everywhere, she was laying with Ellie, so they are separate in their pictures.

4. My closet. Yes, those are purses on the top shelf. And, towards the back, that is mostly Chris' mess. He has taken over some of my shelves. These are also the clothes that I can't wear. I keep my maternity stuff in baby's closet, which requires me to walk to to the other side of our split plan house to pick out my clothes. Not the brightest idea...

5. My favorite room. Currently, I like spending time in the nursery-to-be. As you can see, it is a huge work in progress, but I would spend most of the day there if I could.

6. Favorite shoes. My reefs, of course.

7. Laundry room. Waiting for the doors to be put on the cabinets. It's been quite a few months since the cabinets went up (our old cabinets from kitchen). Maybe I will have doors before baby comes! :) This is the one room we painted on our own, my brother (the painter) did the rest of the house. I do not like painting, I had it everywhere...ceiling, floor, etc

8. Second bathroom. Not much to say.

9. Kitchen sink. I need to put the plastic stuff in recycling container. Chris makes protein smoothies before he leaves for work (hence the blender).

10. My fridge. Yes, there is NO food! There are two bottles of champagne (from our honeymoon...oops!). Maybe we will pop those when Baby comes! I need to go to grocery store like NOW!

Now, you should do this! :)

Update from Doctor's appointment

2008-06-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it? It's already almost the middle of June, and we are getting closer and closer to meeting the baby! I had my almost 33 week appointment yesterday afternoon. The doctor says everything is going fine and is happy with my current weight gain (26 lbs). I also learned in the past two weeks that I passed my second screen for gestational diabetes, which was great news!

Chris asked the doctor if we could have an ultrasound, and he said SURE! He said there are no concerns for the baby, but if we wanted another picture, we could have it.

While in the ultrasound room, we learned that the baby is in breech position (butt first), but he/she still has a couple of weeks to move into head first position (and there is plenty of amniotic fluid for baby to move). Also, and this was very surprising, the baby's head is measuring 17-19 days bigger than the rest of the body! When they do these measurements, estimated due dates pop up on the screen. I noticed that both head measurements gave dates of July 11 and July 13! There are a couple of possible reasons for this: 1. Baby just has a huge head (we like to say with lots of brains!) 2. Since baby is in breech position, the head is not squished in the pelvic area, which could account for the large diameter. The baby's femur and other body parts are measuring on target with original due date (July 30), so I guess we will just have to wait and see. But, this could mean that baby comes early, which I wasn't counting on, so time to get a little more serious! We also learned and saw that the baby has a lot of hair on his/her head. Odd, we didn't know you could see that in an ultrasound, but the sonographer pointed it out (moving in the fluid). She also checked on the gall stone again and the gall bladder has definitely gotten a lot bigger in the last 10 weeks and there was no gall stone! According to all of the measurements taken, the baby weighs 4 lbs, 6 oz, but our childbirth instructor always tells us those measurements can be two pounds off. Still, we could end up with a big baby with a large head!

We are still waiting on the furniture to be delivered. It should be here within the next couple-few weeks. Slowly, the baby's room is getting to be more organized, but it is kind of difficult without furniture. My hospital bag is packed (childbirth instructor had us do this last week!) I am grateful for the classes we have been taking. We have learned a lot about labor and the whole birthing process. Tonight, we are attending a class "Night Out with the Anesthiologist" to learn more about pain options. You might be wondering this...I hope to forego the epidural and do this au natural (or maybe with a little bit of a narcotic called Stadol), but I am hoping to shoo away the anesthiologist with his/her epidural needle. But, I say this now, who knows how I will feel with a big headed baby on his/her way out. We shall see.

Other than that, everything is going well for us. Just counting the days...

Baby Foot

Baby Muscle

My Belly Button

2008-06-09T10:47:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking this for awhile....I don't think my child likes my internal belly button, because he/she is constantly kicking it or punching it, who knows what it looks like from in there! Every time I get a movement around that area, it really doesn't feel that great...so I am thinking my baby is trying to make me have an outtie button! I do not want that...come on, only 7 weeks left, keep it like it is, Baby! But, as you can see, I do not have an innie button anymore, it is kind of just flat! :(

Here's just my belly!

Doctor's appointment this afternoon! More details to follow soon!

What's been going on....

2008-06-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

Well, I am down to 8 weeks, 1 day, but when you say that in days....57 to be exact, it seems MUCH shorter. WOW, 57 more days until we meet BW.

We have been attending childbirth classes. So far we have been to three. I am enjoying them and learning a lot. I am glad we decided to do this. It is good to learn about the stages of labor and the processes involved.

We went on a tour of the hospital last night. That was neat, we got to see the triage rooms, labor and delivery, nursery (although no babies are ever in the nursery), and post-partum rooms. The tour made this experience more real too! We have some friends in class (Sascha and Tim) and they are only 6 weeks away from delivery. WOW again!

Our homework for this week's class is to pack our hospital bag. I started a list a few weeks ago, so I feel pretty confident that I will have what I need. I picked out the baby's going home outfit this morning. Chris really wants to have something more boy or more girl but I think we should just go with our yellows and greens. I am packing two just in case one is more girlie or more masculine than the other for my husband's taste.

On to some GOOD news: I have been sleeping. I still wake up a couple of times a night, but now, I am not awake for hours at a time. And, knock on wood, I haven't had a charlie horse in over a week! I can feel them coming on sometimes, so I just flex my foot and get rid of it.

Next doctor's appointment is Monday, June 9. I have been holding at a 20 lb weight gain for the past three weeks, so that might mean he will want to do an ultrasound to make sure baby is on target. And, yes, I have been eating! Lots, actually.

This week, I am going to my favorite city on earth, Miami. Just kidding, it is not my favorite, but I will be down there from Wednesday through Friday. Doctor's orders say no more flying after this week, so this will be my last flight. He also said no driving long distances, but if I have to, I must get out of the car every hour or so and walk around. Oh, the life of a sales representative while pregnant...

Here's my latest pictures from last night. Chris wanted a close up too.

and...the test revealed

2008-05-22T21:38:00.000-04:00

...that I do not have gestational diabetes!

Therefore, I can continue eating desserts!

Baby clothes/blankets washed; furniture ordered

2008-05-21T08:21:00.000-04:00

I am not sure that the Nesting Period has occurred, but I started freaking out when people told me that there babies came early with no warning signs. I hadn't washed any of the clothes, and I only had a couple pair of novelty socks. Now, baby has clean clothes and 12 pairs of socks. This will get us by for awhile.

We have also ordered the furniture. My mom is buying us the crib and the long dresser and we bought the tall dresser, nightstand, and mattress. I love this furniture. It becomes a toddler bed and then a full size bed (when you buy the coordinating rails, which we did!)

The furniture will be here in 3.5-5.5 weeks. The baby will be sleeping in our room for however long...I don't know what to guesstimate, two months? three months?? So, we need to get the Pack&Play that we want. It has a bassinet layer and a changing table. We also need to get the safety monitor, glider/rocker and some diapers and we are pretty much set.

My cousin and aunt threw our second Baby Shower this past weekend. There were so many gifts, I think it took over an hour to open everything. We have so much stuff, I don't know where to put it. Thankfully, our house is a good size, but I still don't know where to store everything. For now, we just moved everything into nursery. There is way too much stuff in that room, especially the spare bed which we will be ridding ourselves of soon.

Below is a picture from the shower. I am holding a sweater and hat that my Aunt Lois crocheted for us.

And, a picture of my mom and me.

10 more weeks to go. I am feeling a little more prepared, but there is still so much to do. I think I need to start reading "What to Expect in the First Year." Hopefully, there will be some information about newborns because this is going to be a learning experience for the two of us.

Repeat of my e-mail

2008-05-12T21:20:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry...no baby pictures. I don't know if we will have anymore, if baby continues to grow on target.

Anyway, time is going by so fast. We have officially hit the third trimester, where supposedly you are more tired than before...how can that be?!?!?!? I can't believe that it has been almost 6 months since we found out we were having a baby and now, we only have 11 weeks left till we actually HAVE the baby. Yes, for those of you who don't know...pregnancy is not a 9 month thing as so many think...it is actually a 10 month event! Yes, 40 weeks!

I had a OB appointment this afternoon. Since the last time I wrote, I have had to take the glucose test for gestational diabetes. As mentioned previously, this involves eating NO carbs or sugar the previous day and then fasting for TWELVE hours, and then going to lab, drinking what is basically an orange soda, then giving blood. The day before was tough...I was on the road and had a little bit of sugar in the morning but did pretty good the rest of the day. Fasting is not fun for a pregnant girl. The cutoff for the test is 140, and I came in at 139...which I thought was good...not so much! The doctor is having me go in for the next test, but it is not the 4 hour glucose test. Instead, I will have to fast again for 12 hours, then have my blood drawn, then eat my normal breakfast (cereal), and then have my blood drawn again 2 hours later. Let's hope that I pass this one....if not, then I have to start watching my diet and doing whatever else a gestational diabetic does.

Let's see...what else happened during the visit. I have gained 7 lbs since the last appointment four weeks ago, which is still on target. I have decided against using medication to help with sleeping. Ambien has not been studied in pregnant women nor its effect on the baby, so I will just continue to wake up between 2-4 a.m. every night. I did take Benadryl a couple of times, but as the doctor noted, it has a short half life and will only get me through half the night...I can do that on my own! I have moved to the recliner on the couch a few times when I have been home, and that helps with sleeping.

Other than sleeping issues, everything is peachy. It's been smooth sailing and will hopefully continue to be.

We will continue to keep you posted!

The Stroller

2008-04-28T14:39:00.000-04:00

I have been waiting for this stroller for months...and thanks to my friends, Katie, Scott, Brandy, Pat, Myriam, Mauricio and Tara...I now have it. It is the GRACO travel system. Isn't it pretty? I thought the colors were perfect for a boy or a girl and it matches the color of my house....brown.

My best friend, Meredith and her hubby Ryan, threw us a couple's shower this weekend. And, I was the worst with taking pictures. The only pictures are of me and Chris with our gifts. I really wish I would have thought about it more and taken pictures of everyone who came. Darn it! Here are some pictures of us with our presents!

And, we had the best cake, from The Cake Shoppe. Yum!

We have the greatest friends. First of all, the boys came and there were NBA playoffs as well as a NFL draft on the TV. Of course, the TV was on for those guys who just couldn't tear themselves away, but they did play a few games! And, the gifts that we received are just perfect. It's great that a lot of our friends have kids because they know just what we need. Aunt Meredith and Uncle Ryan, thank you for doing this for us! You are the best.

On Sunday, Chris and I went to the Brevard County Manatees game with our neighbors. What a HOT and SUNNY day. I have the worst tan/burn lines and have to go to a gala in Miami on Saturday night. What was I thinking? Clearly, I wasn't thinking. I will not be posting pictures of this burn. Keep your fingers crossed that it disappears by the middle of this week.

We have signed up for 5 Childbirth Classes starting May 18. I am not really sure what these classes will entail, but I figured we better do it. It does say to bring 2 pillows, so maybe we will be practicing some breathing.

The baby has been very active the past few days. I can tell he/she is growing because the punches are a lot stronger now and I can see my whole belly move. We hit 27 weeks on Wednesday. The start of the THIRD trimester....I am feeling a little more prepared. Thankfully, we have a car seat for the baby and some diapers and clothes!

Work has me gone a lot this month, so don't look forward to too many updates from me!

Benadryl--just take one

2008-04-16T14:44:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I took one benadryl on Monday night and it was somewhat successful. I woke up a few times, but fell right back asleep. So, I upped it last night and took two, hoping I wouldn't wake up at all, and boy, the reverse happened, so I think I will stick with just one. I don't need a night like last night again.

I also made a pretty good dinner last night that I just heated up for lunch. It was on the back of the Bisquick box, ultimate chicken fingers. I highly recommend it. It was quite easy and very tasty. We had mac-n-cheese with it and applesauce.

Today is my 29th birthday. So far, nothing exciting has happened, which I guess is a good thing. We are going out to dinner tonight and I might just order a VIRGIN drink. I woke up thinking that I would like a beer when we go out to dinner, so since that is not a possibility, a Virgin Pina Colada or Daquiri is calling my name....LIZ, we miss you! :)

The rest of the week I will be gone on work travels. Tomorrow, I will be driving down to Stuart for a meeting, then driving to Orlando for a flight to Ft. Myers and then a Baha http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Products/2013.asp surgery onFriday in Naples. Then, I will fly back to Orlando, and drive home on Friday afternoon. I am looking forward to the weekend, although there is nothing on the calendar. That is just what I need...

In just 14 days, my mom and I are going to see Wicked in Orlando. I saw it last March and couldn't wait to see it again!

Another week has gone by...

2008-04-14T08:50:00.000-04:00

Here's an update for the TWO of you who actually read my blog!

Chris and I went to the OB on Friday for a monthly check and another ultrasound to confirm the presence of a fetal gall stone, yes, a gall stone in the baby NOT me! Sadly, we didn't have our regular sonographer, and we really like her. Unlike our last appointment when the baby just stayed in the same spot, this time Baby White was moving like crazy! It was hard for the sonographer to take pictures because BW moved so quickly. However, when she took a look at the gall bladder, there was NOTHING in it. No little white calcium looking stones, so it must be gone. Chris and I were able to see it the first time and on Friday, it was definitely not there. So, that is good news, I suppose. I was watching while she was taking measurements of the head, femur, etc, and sometimes the estimated due date was July 26, sometimes July 30 or 31. Usually, it predicts early August based on these measurements. When she was measuring the femur, from the baby's bottom, I didn't see any boy parts hanging out, but then again, I didn't see any girl parts either. I like playing this guessing game. The doctor quickly measured the baby's heartbeat (I think he said 120 or 130 beats/minute), which 50% of the time means its a boy, because baby boys have a slower heart rate than females. I am still guessing it is a girl. A very active girl, I might add. I also spoke to the doctor about my insomnia and he said I could take Benadryl, BUT it might still have me up in the middle of the night because it has a short half life. If Benadryl doesn't work, he can write me a RX for Ambien. I haven't tried the Benadryl yet. I meant to last night but I didn't feel like getting out of bed when I realized I forgot to take it. I wish I had though because I was wide awake at 2 a.m. and I am pretty sure I was awake for hours. I am very tired this morning. I guess I will have to try the Benadryl tonight. Our next OB appt is scheduled for May 12. In the meantime, I have to take the gestational diabetes test, which involves drinking a very sugary substance and having the phlebotomists take my blood before and after the drink. Keep your fingers crossed, because I have really been enjoying carbs and sugary food for the past few months! :)

There are only 15.5 weeks left of being pregnant, I can not believe it. It is time to start getting serious about baby furniture and baby preparation.

Chris thinks the first picture looks like a ghost hand with three fingers is holding the baby.

This past weekend, Chris and I went out on Dale's boat with Dale and Nick. I am not too sure how much the baby enjoyed it, because all night on Saturday, he/she kicked and punched. It was odd to feel movements on the left, middle, and right simultaneously. I take this as "don't put me on a boat that is bouncing up and down for six hours." Sorry, kiddo, it was fun for me, and we will probably do it again.

On Sunday, we looked at our mail from Saturday and got another letter from our Homeowner's Association about the weeds (again!!), and that our roof/fascia/sidewalks/driveway need to be pressure washed, so we rented a pressure washer from Home Depot and did that on Sunday. Chris did most of the work, but I did help. I also did some weeding, a weekly chore around here now.

Until something else interesting happens in my life, I shall remain blog-less. :)

Not too much going on...

2008-04-07T13:24:00.000-04:00

I thought I would post just so I can at least be a weekly post-er, but life is pretty quiet. We have our next OB appointment on Friday, 4/11. We will have more ultrasounds at this appointment because of the baby's gall stone. Yes, the baby has a gall stone, completely rare for this to occur. So, the doctor wants to keep an eye on it. It has been a month since it was first noticed. Last night, Chris and I were talking about the ultrasound and there is a chance that we could see the gender, but I am hoping we don't. BUT...we do know what to look for...so, if we do see the gender, we may still keep it a secret for everyone else. As I am writing this, the baby has been kicking/punching like crazy. I think he/she is mad at me for all of the bending over I did this weekend. We started yardwork in the backyard, laying sod, planting ground covering liriopes, etc. It was a long weekend, and a very tiring weekend. I took a nap when we were finished yesterday (after a quick dip in the 90 degree pool) and then didn't sleep last night. Insomnia has been pretty common for me since my first trimester. I am going to ask the doctor about safe medications to take, because not sleeping is not fun! :(

In one of my next posts, I will take pictures of the house...we were looking at pictures of when we first moved in (Nov 2006) and the house really looks a lot different. I am so happy with the renovations we did last summer, well, when I say we, I mean the guys we hired for the renovations! And I am even happier that we did that last summer, because who knew we would be having a baby this summer!

In the meantime, I will post a picture of my nephew from Christmas time. He is now 14.5 years old.

My first ever blog

2008-03-31T15:48:00.000-04:00

Well, from what I hear, if I am about to embark on this trip called Parenthood, I should be starting a blog, because it is a good way for my family and friends to keep track of what is going on, and it definitely saves me from having to remember everyone on the email list.

So, to start, here's what you should know about me.

I am just about to turn 29 years old, been married for almost 3.5 years, but have been with Chris for almost 13.5 years. We have two dogs, we bought a house in November 2006 and did a lot of work to it since then. We live in Melbourne, the city where Chris grew up. I didn't think I would come back here, but it seems that everyone does.

We found out we were expecting our first child on November 23, 2007. I just couldn't believe it, and I couldn't keep it in, so we told everyone right away...yes, at 4.5 weeks gestation! Thankfully, everything has been okay with the pregnancy and it was okay to tell everyone right away. Now, I am just about 23 weeks pregnant and we still have a lot to do for preparation...we still have time, right? We don't know if Baby White (or Barry White, or It White) is a boy or a girl. I really don't want to know, although I do think it would make planning a bit easier, but I am excited for Chris to come out of the delivery room and tell our family the surprise...Chris is definitely thinking boy, and I am definitely thinking girl. Or maybe that isn't called thinking, maybe it is called hoping...

Attached are some pictures of us, our dogs, me at 22 weeks pregnant, and el bebe at 22 weeks. Enjoy.

I will try to be good about posting on here. :)