The Home Stretch!

So, today was my weekly poking & prodding at the dr. office. Miss Morgan is doing great, but the dr. is concerned that she's going to be bigger than expected since I'm so big. But, I have that 6 cm fibroid which is apparently taking up quite a bit of space as well. It's no wonder I feel like a mountain range!! So, next week I go for another ultrasound to see what's going on and then, hopefully, establish a plan of attack. My dr. won't let me go past 40 weeks, so that's encouraging, but I'm not dilated even a little bit and it's a lot harder to induce when no progress has been made. Let's hope that little situation has changed dramatically by next week!

See you soon!!

Oh, what a day!

Do you ever have one of those days when you have such high hopes only to be totally and completely disappointed by the actual events? Well, that was my day!! I usually try not to post the unhappiness, but I'm making an exception today! So, I had this little list of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go today, and I got exactly nothing accomplished. First, I went to the embroidery shop I mentioned in my last post with a list of Christmas gifts I was hoping to order. No such luck! Hobby Lobby had the paper I wanted, so that was a minor victory. Next, I headed to Spoiled Rotten with my 40 percent off coupon to buy a VB Saddle Up bag in Imperial Toile. Apparently, everyone else in town had already used their coupons and partially cleared out their stock, so no new bag for me! Major disappointment!! Plus, I caught a glimpse of my profile in the mirror and it was not good. I looked like I was carrying quintuplets - my shirt wasn't covering and my hair wasn't flattering! After getting a bite of lunch (which was also moderately uncomfortable), I went to Michael's (they didn't have what I was looking for, either), and I'd planned to go to Babies 'R' Us, just about 50 feet away, and couldn't even muster up the mojo. Morgan's feet were in my lungs, so breathing was difficult, and of course, I was hot and sweaty and basically miserable, so I gave it up and came on home, completely dejected! It's pretty discouraging when all you do is pee and sweat!! After a good cry and a little nap, I feel a bit better. My expectations for tomorrow are far less lofty, so there's hope that I can pull it off! A girl can dream!!

See you soon!!

Baby Shower Fun!

Three of my dearest friends in the world hosted the nicest baby shower for me today! It was so much fun to celebrate the upcoming birth of Miss Morgan with such special people! The food was amazing! We had brunch and they were so gracious to have some of my very favorite foods - cheese grits and sausage balls!! There were lots of other delicacies, too, including the most beautiful and delicious cake made by our friend, Christa, and the best lemon cookies from Ham 'n' Goodies. And many, many other treats that everyone loved!The flowers were truly the most beautiful ones I've ever seen - they can best be described as majestic! We are so blessed to have received so many wonderful gifts, too. Lots of personalized items (my favorite!), cute clothes, the softest blankets, and lots of important baby supplies. Bailey even received some gifts, which was the biggest surprise for her and so very thoughtful of our guests. My friend, Leigh Ann, brought an assortment of beautiful burp cloths that her stepmom had personalized and decorated beautifully! Miss Morgan now has a burp cloth for every holiday, several with her name or monogram, and an extra-special one that reads "Morgan has arrived." We held up each one and they were a hit with everyone! I also got an amazing dress from my friend, Jenny, that was made from a vintage pillow case with embroidery. Almost too beautiful to actually put on a baby . . . but we'll do it anyway!!

See you soon!!

It's the final countdown . . .

Do you have that song in your head now? For me, it's completely literal - only about 4 more weeks till "labor day!" I'm going to the dr. every week now and today's appt. was terribly exciting (insert sarcasm here!). A Strep B culture (lots of fun) and a check to see if I'm dilated (which I'm not) and they sent me on my way! We waited in the waiting room longer than the appt. lasted. Don't you just love that!! One good thing is that my bp is 128/84 - BOO-YA!

See you soon!!

Maternity Photo Shoot

Chris's Uncle Hobby is an avid photographer and he graciously agreed to photograph our soon-to-be family of 4. I am beyond thrilled with the results!! Typically, I don't volunteer to have lots of pictures taken of me, but I really wanted to capture this amazing and special time in our lives. I love how Bailey responds to my giant belly! She has rubbed it and talked to it for months now, and I definitely wanted to show that excitement. It turned out to be a fun photo shoot and I am so grateful that we will always have these pictures of our wonderful memories!

See you soon!!

Seriously?!?!?!

So, these past few days have been a real blast at my house! First, Chris & I have both been sick with some sort of crud. My cough has kept me up all night for several nights. Second, Miss Morgan is putting some serious pressure on my bod, so my legs are all crawly and tingly at night, which has also kept me awake for the past few nights. And finally, the pregnant woman's plague - middle-of-the-night bathroom runs. I have been struck by the Trifecta, the Triumvirate, the Triple Whammy, and it is about to kill me. That's all - nothing happy to report today - just a big, ol' pity party! BLAH!!
:(

See you soon!!

Pretty Personal!

So, in addition to being wild about those little crocheted hats and headbands, I am also madly in love with monogramming & personalizing!! My dear friend, Leigh Ann, went to visit her dad & stepmom recently and, before she left, she called me to see if I wanted her stepmom to monogram anything for me!!! Now THAT is a true friend! ;) So, I dug out one of Morgan's first outfits and two cute blankets we had just bought and sent them on to Mississippi. Well, I got them back yesterday and they are the CUTEST things I have ever seen!! I chose to have Morgan's name put on them instead of her monogram because I just like that better. I did buy a sweet little ruffly diaper cover that I had her initials put on, but generally, I think I'm going to have her name put on . . . let's see . . . EVERYTHING!! Clover Cottage that I mentioned yesterday can do this, too, so consider buying a personalized or monogrammed gift for the new babies in your life!!

See you soon!!

Trendy Mom? Not So Much . . .

I've never been what you'd call a trendy mom. I buy what I like for me that's appropriate but that doesn't make me look like a house frau. And for Bailey, I buy what I like that super cute & appropriate for her age. So, it sort of took me by surprise when I went crazy-go-nuts for these little crocheted hats and headbands with the GIANT flowers on them that are all the rage here!! They are just too adorable! Today, I went to Clover Cottage, a precious little store in Ftn. City that sells an assortment of cute, monogrammed bags, jewelry, Silly Bandz, and these adorable hats & headbands! I bought for Miss Morgan a chocolate brown headband with a turquoise flower to go with this adorable outfit I bought her recently; and a white hat with a pink flower to go with just about everything else she has! And at only $1.99 for the headbands and $2.99 for the hats and flowers, she will definitely have one for every outfit! So, if you live in or near Knoxville, be sure to check out Clover Cottage!

See you soon!!

35 weeks and counting!!

So, did you notice my little baby widget today? It says I have 39 days left - 39 DAYS!! Actually, it's a little less - about 5 weeks tomorrow. Holy smokes!! We went to the dr. today for my monthly ultrasound and got lots of good news! Miss Morgan is doing well - she weighs 6 lbs. 4 oz., she is head down, she is starting to breathe on her own a bit, and she had a full bladder at that moment (just like her mama!!). Starting next week, I'll be seeing the dr. weekly until Miss Morgan decides to make her appearance or until I'm induced, which we'll decide closer to time. Bailey's teacher asked me today if I've been nesting and I'd say what I've been doing could more accurately be called "militant nesting!" Yesterday, I was on a tear cleaning the bathrooms, until Chris had to help with the bathtubs and then I started having contractions, so I ended up sitting on the couch while Chris finished all the work. Good deal, huh?!? Yes, and no. I would like to actually accomplish something before this baby is born, but with all these contractions, it is not looking good. Although I did go to the grocery store today AND cook supper tonight, so that's a little improvement. Tomorrow is Bailey's first day of 4th grade - she has a great teacher and this is going to be a fantastic year!! Maybe I'll get something accomplished then!

See you soon!

{{{{{SCREAM}}}}}

Shaved my legs last night - enough said!!

Magical Wonderful Tank Tops!

OK, so rarely do I get THIS EXCITED about a simple white tank top, but this one is magical! Seriously! I was shopping for nursing bras last night (I'm still hopeful that I will be able to nurse! If Michelle Duggar can pump 500 gallons of milk in 1.5 months, surely I can feed one, small child this way!! I'm not kidding - Google it!) and came across something I didn't know existed - nursing tank tops! They even had my size, which was no small miracle. So I tried it on today and it is WONDERFUL!! I've got to find another one before Miss Morgan arrives. And at $16.99, it's an incredible bargain. I looked on-line last night for nursing bras and they were as much as $75 each - um, I don't think so! So, if you're inspired to buy your own nursing tank tops, head on over to Target, get a Frappuccino (if your Target is blessed with a Starbucks) and shop away. You'll be thrilled!!

See you soon!!

The Long, Hot Summer

This has been one crazy, hot, stressful, exciting summer! I have been to the ER once; Chris has been twice, once after passing out in the bathroom. He was gone a week during which time I was a basket case, afraid something terrible would happen to him. I have literally dripped the whole summer and been miserable outside. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend the summer with Miss Bailey. It's been in the 90s for weeks with heat indexes well over 100. Today's little trip to the dr. simply demonstrates once again how ridiculous my pregnancy has been at times. Yesterday, my whole body itched for most of the day, including my palms, and by the evening, the bottoms of my feet itched unbearably. I finally tried to sleep only to be awakened by the aforementioned itching. It was driving me nuts!! So I got up and looked up "pregnancy itching" on-line and found out that terrible itchiness coupled with dark urine (I'm sorry!) could mean a liver disorder that could be very, very bad for the baby. I literally panicked! I drank tons of water all night, counting the hours till I could call the dr. I was too terrified to sleep, so I packed some of my stuff and Morgan's gear for the hospital. After drinking three giant glasses of ice water, I was FREEZING, which hasn't happened to me in a loooooong time. It was like I was living in an alternate universe - I set the thermostat at 75 and bundled up in a blanket or my robe. Finally, at around 6 a.m., I tried to get a little sleep, which didn't work. The dr. worked me at 10:30 a.m. and I'm thankful to say that there doesn't seem to be anything terribly wrong with me! This has certainly been one eventful pregnancy, but we've been so blessed that Miss Morgan has handled all of this excitement very well. Just a few more weeks till we get to meet our precious daughter and we can't wait! Please keep us in your prayers!!

See you soon!!

Hey, Big Sister!!

Bailey is so excited that Morgan is almost here!! My parents came over for dinner the other night and she was thrilled to show them all of the wonderful baby things we've bought and received. Bailey picked out a beautiful Baby's First Christmas ornament that she is so proud of so she got to show that off, too! Morgan is one lucky little girl to have such an amazing, smart, generous, kind, and devoted big sister!!

See you soon!!

My First Baby Shower!!

My sweet friends in the Tuesday Night Stamp Group had the nicest baby shower for me last night!! The food was so good, especially the yummy lemon cupcakes that Annie B. made for me, and the flowers that Tracy arranged were beautiful! I LOVE pink stargazer lilies!! And Mary Ann made a sweet banner that we're going to hang from our mantle after Morgan is born! Morgan got so many beautiful and useful things, including a pack 'n' play,the cutest little outfit with a monkey bib, the softest blanket, and the most beautiful crocheted sweater & booties! I am truly blessed to have such great friends!!

See you soon!!

Oh, What a Day!!

This has been one more interesting day! My bit of excitement started last night when I couldn't sleep, started having more contractions, and was having trouble breathing. I just felt yucky and really didn't like that feeling! So, with no sleep, I got up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready to take Miss Bailey to a local TV station for her appearance on the morning news. Last summer, we entered a contest sponsored by Red Robin for kids to create a new burger and promote child safety. Well, she didn't win the national contest, but she won the local one with her Georgia Peach Burger and she got to make it on TV bright & early this morning. It was so much fun and Bailey did a great job! I am super proud of her! Even with no sleep last night, I felt really good this morning, but with my contractions, nausea, and lower back pain, I decided to call the dr., who wanted to see me this afternoon. Thankfully, everything is fine! My bp was 124/80 which is AWESOME and I think I may have lost a couple of pounds! The dr. had to check my cervix (yea) and found it as it should be - Morgan is already head-down, though, which explains why I was having trouble breathing because if her head is down, her feet are in my lungs! But the best news is that she didn't put me on bed rest because with only 15 days till school starts, that REALLY wouldn't have worked!!

See you soon!!