38 weeks

We had our last appointment with my OB on Tuesday morning. The c-section is officially scheduled for Thursday, September 9...exactly one week from today we get to meet our new baby girl!! I'm so excited and ready to be done. I still have my lovely rash, it had cleared up pretty well, but by Monday the itching was driving me nuts again and I was hardly sleeping. So I mentioned it to my OB and he put me on another round of oral steroids to help clear it up, though it won't be completely gone until sometime after birth, but the itching has subsided for the most part. We'll be sharing our news as soon as possible next week. Check back next week for the official birth announcement. We learned when we had Adeline that the hospital now has wi-fi, so we'll be bringing the computer with to keep everyone updated!

36 weeks

Between weeks 35 and 36 I started developing a rash, it got worse as the days went on. It started the weekend of August 13th when my mom, step-dad, sister and niece were at our house, at first I thought it was just heat rash because it was hot that weekend and we were busy cooking meals for our freezer and we had went shopping to the outlet mall, but by Monday morning I had red spots all over my entire body. I called my doctor about it and he suggested taking 2 Zyrtec a day instead of 1 that was taking for seasonal allergies, he said that should help with the itching, but it just wasn't cutting it. I had an appointment with him in just a few days so I was going to try and wait it out until then. Tuesday I went to work, I was looking pretty beat up, the rash had started on my face and my eyes were a little swollen, when I got back from lunch the rash looked even worse than it did when I got to work that morning. My co-workers highly suggested that I go to the doctor. Of course Tuesday is my doctors day off, but I did manage to get an appointment with one of the other doctors at the clinic. I saw their only female physician and she was very helpful, she diagnosed me with PUPPP She gave me an liquid solution to rub onto the spots, it only gave me very minimal relief. Wednesday morning when I woke up my eyes were so swollen I could hardly get them open enough to put my contacts in. The rash continued to worsen, thankfully I was seeing my doctor first thing Thursday morning. He gave me a steroid shot to help with the rash along an oral steroid to take for 6 days, it helped to clear up the rash pretty well, but I'm still very itchy and it looks like I have chicken pox all over my body. The picture below was taken on Thursday evening after the steroid shot and a full days dose of the oral steroid, I looked much worse Thursday morning, this was an improvement if you can believe that! We're getting very excited for our baby girl to arrive, we go see the OB in the morning to finalize everything before the c-section next week!

thirty-four

Thirty-four weeks down, less than five weeks to go! Crazy how fast this pregnancy has gone by. I have 8 days of work left, my last day of work is Friday, August 20th, this will also be the kids' last day of daycare. I'm looking forward to having 2 full weeks to spend with the kids before our baby girl arrives. We had an appointment with my OB on the 27th of July, everything is pretty much a go for the first week of September. His nurse will be calling me this week with the actual date of the c-section, it'll be nice to have that down so I can plan a little better for the kids. Amelia's first official day of school is Wednesday, September 8th and she'll be a "Buccaneer". So I'm hoping we can by pass the 8th as being the date for the c-section, I'm hoping for the 9th, I'd even take the 10th. I just want to see her off to her first day of school!

I had my regular appointment with my family practice doctor on Thursday, everything is looking good. I've been having quite a few contractions, but he didn't seem real concerned about it, told me to just monitor them and if they get worse to come see him or if they are too bad to go to labor and delivery. He said "Some babies are just ready a little sooner" I'm hoping that they don't get worse and we can make it to at least the end of August.



We took Amelia school shopping yesterday. In the morning the kids and I went with Mary while Kevin and Ron golfed. Grandma got Amelia two outfits at Penney's and got her two new pairs of tennis shoes for school, a pair of new Puma's (Amelia's favorite!) and her first pair of New Balance tennis shoes, she all of a sudden seems so grown up! Of course Grandma couldn't leave Paul and Addie out either, so Paul got a new pair of Puma's and Addie got her first pair of Nike's. I'm putting them all aside for now, because I don't want them to get them dirty just yet and it's still nice enough for sandals and flip flops! Then in the afternoon Kevin and I took her shopping "all by herself" for her school supplies. We also picked up a couple shirts and a sweatshirt. I need to evaluate what I have for clothes so far and need to see what else I need to get for her. She had a great time shopping and kept saying "I really like shopping with out my brother and sister, Thank you!" We also hit Ikea to browse as long as we didn't have the other kids and we took her out for dinner at Old Chicago. She pretty much thought she was top dog being out with mom and dad by herself! I'm still having a hard time believing that she's going into kindergarten this fall, where did the last five and a half years go?!

That's about all on us for now. I need to try and get better about blogging before the baby arrives!

32/33 weeks

I'm a little behind here, but thought I'd get this one posted and I'll need to post my 34 week picture later today!

30 weeks!

I had my 30 week doctor appointment today, it lasted all of about 15 minutes from start to finish! Gotta love those nice short appointments. My blood pressure looked great again, which I'm always thankful for, towards the end of my pregnancies it usually raises a bit, but I'm still in the clear it was 106/69. I haven't experienced much swelling yet, thankfully!! Paul was my only pregnancy that I endured most of summer with and I wasn't even 30 weeks until the end of August when I was pregnant with him. I'm hoping I can make it through the rest of my pregnancy without having any swelling. It's hard to believe we only have about 9 weeks left until we get to meet our little girl. She's a busy little lady already, it's fun watching my stomach move all over the place. Amelia and Paul are getting more excited for their baby sister to arrive. Kevin and I have an appointment with my OB scheduled for July 27th for a consult to set up the c-section, so that's kind of exciting. Then I go back to see my regular doctor on August 5th.

We have a lot of changes coming in the future at our house, aside from adding the sixth member of our family, I am also quitting my job to be a stay at home mom. I'm very excited about this opportunity, as are the kids. They are asking me every day if it's my last day of work and if we're staying home. I feel bad having to tell them that no, I have to head to work. I have applied for a home daycare provider license and am in the final stages of that. I talked to one of my bosses about my plans on Friday the 2nd of July and I told my other boss and my co-workers the following week. I think it went over well. I know it'll be bittersweet putting on my scrubs for the last time, but I'm really looking forward to being home with the kids. I feel like I've missed out on 5 years of them growing up and I don't want to miss out on another 5 years. I plan to do daycare to provide a bit of income to our family to help cover some of the bills and health insurance, since heaven knows those costs are so ridiculous. And with Amelia going to school this fall, it'll be nice to be home when she gets home from school as well. Tentatively my last day of work will be August 20th, and that should give me a couple weeks to spend time with the three kids, get things in line for baby's arrival and to prepare everything for Amelia to head to kindergarten!

28 weeks

Last Thursday I hit the 28 week mark, this pregnancy has been flying by! I also had my 28 week check up with my doctor. Everything is looking great so far, her heart rate was 145 beats per minute and my blood pressure was 113/67, apparently I was cool as a cucumber, I felt worked up going into my appointment because I was also having my glucose test done and I always get nervous that I'll have to do the three hour test. My doctor left me a message on Friday morning that I passed, so that was good news. I go back to see my doctor on the 8th of July and then two weeks after that we'll schedule an appointment with my OB to schedule the c-section. Can't believe it's getting closer to the end!

Here are some new comparison pictures. I've definitely grown in the last few weeks!

26 weeks down,

...13 more to go! Crazy how quick this pregnancy is flying by!

Reality is starting to kick in a it's hard to believe in about 13 weeks we'll be a family of 6! How crazy is that?! Adeline has been little Miss Personality lately, so I can only imagine what September's new arrival will bring! Amelia is very excited that we're having another girl and Paul is coming around to the idea too, which is exciting. We have a name picked out, but y'all will have to wait until September. My mom and grandma were down for the weekend and we went shopping at Medford Outlets on Saturday after I got my haircut and I bought our baby girl a few outfits as did my mom. Can't wait for her arrival and for her to be able to wear them! Got some SUPER deals on these outfits, plus got a few items for Amelia for the fall when she starts kindergarten. Figured as long as I can find cute things on clearance I might as well stick a few things away for school.

sister sister

My sister and I are both pregnant. She is due July 3rd, and is about 10 weeks ahead of me. We had her baby shower over the weekend and today I took some maternity pics for her and when we were done my dad took some on his camera and my aunt took some on mine. Here are a couple of pictures that my dad took. I think it'll be fun to have these in the future since most likely we'll never be pregnant together again.

24 weeks

22 weeks

We had a follow-up ultrasound this morning to recheck a few measurements, according to the ultrasound tech, everything looks good, but we'll wait for the official results from our doctor next week once he gets the radiologist report. We got a few more pics of our little one, He or she is very cute if I do say so myself! Baby's heart rate was 134 beats per minute, same as it was last week at my regular doctor appointment. We can't wait to meet our little one. Baby was curled up into a ball today, must have been sleeping!

All snuggled up!

Knees up the the chest.

22 weeks.

20 weeks down, 19 to go

18 weeks down

...21 to go. This pregnancy is flying right by! Hard to believe that I'm this far into the pregnancy already. Only four more days until our ultrasound, I can't wait! According to babycenter.com the baby is the length of a green pepper and weighs in at a whopping 7 ounces. Here are my most recent belly pictures.

Off to the hospital...

Here is the last of my belly pics for this pregnancy! We are headed to the hospital here shortly. Mary came and picked the kids up last night so I could have a quiet, restful evening to myself. We have to be at the hospital at 6:00 am for 7:30 surgery. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers that everything goes well.


Hopefully there will be an update with pics tonight! I'll try and have either Kevin do it or have Mary do it tonight while she's here w/ A&P!

t minus 7 days...

It's hard to believe, a week from today, we'll have our newest little bundle of joy in our arms! I can hardly wait. I'm getting really anxious all of a sudden! I have two days of work left before maternity leave and I'm sure next Monday and Tuesday will be full of running around and making sure things are done around here, though I'm sure Mary will do a wonderful job holding down the fort with Amelia and Paul. The kids seem to be getting excited too. I think it's so hard for them to grasp just what is going on and when is this baby you've been talking about for months going to be here?! Friday we have an appointment w/ our OB, hopefully when we leave that appointment we'll have an idea of what time my surgery will be and what time we'll have to report to the hospital! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this next week. Pray that the surgery goes well and that we have a safe and healthy delivery! Stay tuned...

36 weeks down, 3 more to go!

Wow! Thirty-six weeks have passed. Crazy. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by. Now in less than 3 weeks we get to meet our newest addition to our family, I can hardly wait. Tonight while Kevin was at church teaching his religion class, the kids and I were putting things away in the nursery. It was so much fun, they were both so interested in everything. They were helping me fold the towels, wash cloths and burp cloths. And asking a million questions. Then they discovered the basketful of baby toys and proceeded to dump the entire basket out and play with them all. Kevin came home and asked what happened in the nursery! All I could say was "What do you think?!" Oh well, they had a good time after all!

While we were sitting there putting things away, I asked the kids again what they thought we were having. Amelia said "A baby brother" and Paul said "A baby sister." Can't wait to see who is right. For the longest time they were both saying baby sister.

Here is my 36 week picture....

According to my babycenter.com weekly pregnancy e-mail, the baby weighs approximately 6 pounds and is gaining an ounce a day and is more than 18-1/2 inches long. Also baby should be head down at this point, in my case, it really doesn't matter. But I'm almost positive he/she is head down, because when they get hiccups I feel it more towards the bottom of my stomach! Next week (37 weeks) baby will be considered full term. But as we all know, baby will be coming at week 39...we hope! I don't want baby to come any sooner. The closer I can go to my due date the better. They say the closer to your due date baby is born the better off the baby is health wise, etc. And 39 weeks is the soonest most OB's will perform a c-section, unless medically necessary.

I'm now on to weekly doctor visits. I have an appointment in the morning. Hoping all goes well!

Looking at this picture...Kevin and I are both thinking it's a boy!

5 weeks to go...

Caught on film....a rare moment for Paul! Sunday morning we were getting ready to run errands in the cities before heading to Kevin Sr and Mary's house for Kevin Sr's b-day. Kev was taking a shower, and I had just gotten the kids out of the bath, got Amelia ready to go, got myself ready to go and Paul didn't want to get dressed, he just wanted to lay on our bed in his dinosaur towel. I was getting a few things ready in the kitchen and I came back to find this....


Amelia of course, needed a picture taken of her when I took out the camera. She had to pose by her new futon. But she's looking a little distressed! Silly girl!

Comparison picture....

For the first time #1 & #3 look very similar. It's normally been #2 and #3. We still think it's a boy, but in five weeks we'll know for sure!!


Hard to imagine and believe that five weeks from today, we'll be holding our brand new tiny baby. I'm not real sure where this entire pregnancy went, but it sure went by awful quick. Kevin doesn't think so, but to me it feels like it's flown by! My last day of work before maternity leave will be Friday, February 20. That'll give me the weekend to relax before the big surgery day on the 25th. I will return to work end of May/beginning of June. Somewhere in there anyway!



The nursery is almost 100% complete. We need to tackle the closet yet, which Kevin needs to get in there and paint it, then I can organize it. We also need to find blinds still. Last Friday we picked up our futon for the den. Which is our multi-purpose room. Guest room, playroom, office all in one! It looks so much different in here with the new light fixture, paint and all of the furniture finally arranged. Still a work in progress, need to get my desk in order before any guests arrive when Baby T does!

Amelia still asks daily if it's time to go to the hospital. I keep telling her soon, in a couple weeks. And she has informed me that she wants a "Pink Princess Birthday Party", so I suppose I better get cracking on that as well!

Paul is Paul! Quite the little character around these parts! He's taken it upon himself to try using the big potty at night when he gets home from daycare or any time Amelia uses it, he needs to use it. Hopefully we can continue to progress on this whole potty training business. I'm not holding my breath, but we will see! He pooped on the potty twice last night and once tonight. And he refuses to use the swell little potty we just bought him. Go figure! Good thing we're having another baby!



On that note, I'm off to bed.

33 weeks + nursery pics!

So weird to think I've already been pregnant for 33 weeks. This whole pregnancy has just flown by! Now the time is closing in on us. We have an appointment on Monday (19) with the OB who did my c-section with Paul, to discuss and schedule the upcoming c-section. I'm anxious to know baby's birthday so I can get everything figured out on the home front, figure out when my last day of work will be and just to know when baby will be here! Amelia is very anxious for baby to get here. She keeps asking every night when we all get home if it's time to go to the hospital. I'm happy to know she's really excited for the baby. Now to establish the ground rules once baby gets here, like no picking the baby up, etc. Should be interesting!!

I think Paul can tell that something is going to rock his little world soon. He's always been our easy to bed kid. Which I believe I forgot to mention, Paul has hit a few milestones since we moved! About 2 weeks after we moved into our new house, he decided that he wanted to start sleeping in his big boy bed and not the crib. When we moved, we set up his twin bed (as it was already up there) and also our extra crib, because we didn't think he was ready for the "big move", well much to our surprise, one night when Kevin was putting him to bed he said "No daddy, my bed! My bed"
Kevin said "You what to sleep in your big boy bed?" '
Paul: "Yes"
Kevin: "Ange (I was putting Amelia to bed), he wants to sleep in his bed, what do we do?!"
Me: Just put him in it and we'll see what happens.

Well the first night he came downstairs and came into our room at about 2 am, but every night after that has been much better. And he hasn't slept in his crib since! Now we need to take it down and get it out of there before baby comes so he can't decide once baby is here that he wants to sleep in his crib again.

Anyway, this past week he's been a bit of a stinker at bedtime. He wants me to sleep with him, etc. But if Kevin puts him to bed and I don't go in there, he goes to bed just fine! Hopefully the sleeping will go better in the next couple weeks!! He also just got his last baby molar, so we're officially done teething until baby #3 gets some teeth!

Here are some new pictures.

33 weeks---01.14.09

The Nursery!

Baby's bed.
We're using the same bedding we got when I was pregnant w/ Amelia. We also used it for Paul. It's from Pottery Barn Kids and I love it. Their bedding is definitely worth the money, still looks brand new 4 years later!

Baby's bed! And his/her new Build-a-bear from Great Granny and Great Papa for Christmas!

Looking from the crib.

My dad built our changing table when I was pregnant w/ Amelia. He used the design I loved from Pottery Barn Kids, but made it taller and longer and it's solid oak, so much nicer that the PBK one! He made it just by looking at a picture from the catalog and using their measurements for an example! This will be a great piece to hang on to for a long time!

Looking in from the door. We still need to buy blinds for the windows...cordless of course!

It was fun getting to do a nursery again after 4 years...thank goodness we moved! Or no new nursery!

Well, it's time for bed!

Pregnancy Pics

I haven't updated with pregnancy pics for a while. Next week will be the 30 week update! :)

24 weeks down...

Hard to believe that 24 weeks of pregnancy have already passed by! Seems like just yesterday that we found out. Must be the fact that we're always busy with something and now with the move, time will go even quicker! I can't believe Thanksgiving is two weeks from tomorrow! Crazy, crazy! Baby is moving more and more everyday! About two weeks ago I was able to see baby moving around on the outside. I don't remember that happening this early with the other two, but I think it's just amazing watching your clothing move, knowing you're not the one moving it! And it never fails, the minute I lay down in bed for the night, baby thinks it's time to party! Monday night it was about midnight when we headed to bed and just as I'm trying to fall asleep, boom! Baby is a movin'! It's like someone cranked up the music and there was a little party going on in my belly!

Amelia and Paul are still thrilled about the baby...I think!! I know Amelia is for sure. But the other night we were sitting at Gene's eating dinner, and we're talking about where everyone was going to sleep when we move, and I asked Paul if he wanted a big boy bed, and he said "No!, I sleep in my camper (his crib with the crib tent over it!)" I said "Well, can't the baby have your crib?" (We do have a 2nd crib in our basement, which will go in Paul's room and the crib he's sleeping in right now will go in baby's room as it's our really nice crib! Of course, he said no and I said, "where is the baby going to sleep then?" He said (while pointing to my ever growing midsection) "In there! In you tummy!" I said "well baby can't stay in there forever" and then he said "Yes!" Silly boy! It'll be interesting when this baby gets here that's for sure! Luckily we have two cribs and we'll set up the extra crib in his room, along with his twin big boy bed, and when he's ready to sleep in his big boy bed, he can!

Both kids are still saying "Baby Sister" and I think it's a girl as well. But I've been known to be wrong in the past! I thought for sure Amelia was a boy until about a month before she was born and I started having baby girl dreams. I haven't had any dreams about the baby's sex this time around! When I was pregnant with Amelia, I saw her in my dreams a lot towards the end of my pregnancy. It's kind of weird, how accurate my dreams were with her. I've had a few dreams this time around about having the baby, but never actually seeing him/her in my dreams to find out what the sex is!

I have my next appointment next Thursday morning. I'll try and post an update if there is anything significant! I can't wait to meet with the OB who did my c-section with Paul, to find out when this baby will be born! I'm thinking we won't meet with him until January.

Nothing real exciting going on currently with baby, just all the craziness that is our life!

Good night!

22 weeks