Trip to the ER

Can I just say - BLAHHHH

I started feeling, not like my usual self Tuesday, but I still worked and functioned.

By Tuesday evening I was feeling weaker, but still went to my studio to get some work done.

I woke up Wednesday morning, did our morning - get Alyssa off to school routine - and wasn't feeling like myself.  As soon as she left I hit the couch, instead of the studio.  I felt very weak and tired, so I went to bed.  After a 2 hour nap I woke up hoping to feel better, but was not.  It was lunch time and I grabbed a couple crackers just to eat something. 

It got worse and worse as time went on.  I took a shower about 2pm, thinking that would help, and instead it just made me more weak.  I made it to the school to pick up Alyssa and thought I was going to melt into a pool of goo I was so weak.

But I got her, and thankfully we only live a block from the school.  I hit the bed as soon as we walked in, only to have to jump right back up to puke my guts out.

That's when things started getting bad.  The chills, the aches and pains.

I couldn't eat or drink.

My dad came and got Alyssa about 5pm.  At 5:30pm the contractions started.

I finally gave in and took some Tylenol for my fever hoping that would help make me feel better from the horrible body aches.  Of course it doesn't kick in right away and the contractions continued.

I pulled up the contractions app on my phone to track them... 

oh crap.

They were 3-4 min apart.

 

 And they weren't stopping...

Hubby got home at about 6:30 from work, jumped in the shower, and off to the hospital we went.

Having the flu, I had to wear a mask the entire time, which was honestly HORRIBLE.  It was like being under covers for hours without fresh air.  It kept going up into my eyes.  I understand it was very necessary, but it was also very uncomfortable, when I was already sick and dealing with contractions.

They wheeled me up to the the family birth place.  I had a wonderful nurse who was with me most of the time and I felt very cared for and understood.

They checked me and thank goodness my cervix was closed and high.  They did say, baby is head down now though.  They hooked me up to the fetal monitor and contraction monitor, and sure enough the contractions were showing up every 3-4 min.

They got me an IV, which they had to give me in my wrist b/c my veins were so tiny.  That HURT.

 They also took blood.

It wasn't long before test results came back.  Not good...

I was the "most dehydrated a person could be" they said.  My protein came back very very low, which made me upset.  And they were very concerned.

They started me on fluids, which turned into 3 bags of fluid because I was so dehydrated.  They also gave me some Zofran for my nausea.  They brought in water for me to sip and a Sprite to try.

When the contractions didn't look like they were stopping, they started talking about keeping me overnight.  They had slowed down, but they were still there and did cause me pain.  We were both kind of on edge, hoping that the fluids would do the trick.

By 11pm they gave me some Tylenol and I was exhausted.  They turned out the lights so I could rest and by midnight and a after a nap, the contractions had finally stopped.

Time to go home

We got home about 1am and I fell right to sleep.

What a crazy day and what a worrisome day we had.  Today, I'm already starting to feel better.  I still have no appetite, but I'm drinking my gatorade like they told me to.  I don't want to go back there for dehydration again!!!

All the while, baby Carter looked good on the monitor.  They did say I needed to gain more weight or this could be a very tiny baby when born. More protein in my diet is what they are calling for, so that's what I'm going to do - just as soon as I'm over this flu.

Uncomfortable

My title is the word of the week for me.

I'm not comfortable, at all, ever.

Sleeping, sitting, standing, lounging.

All I want to do is sleep on my stomach at this point.  It's the most comfortable I can remember being.

It's hard to work and it's hard to relax.

My ticker says 74 more days, and at this point, I can't imagine 74 more days of just getting more and more uncomfortable.  It is a hard pill to swallow right now.

I'm a smaller person, and I think the added weight (as little as it might be) and it all being out FRONT, has taken it's toll on me already.  I don't remember this happening so early on with my daughter.

But I will hang in there being thankful for my health and for Carter's health.  I know every day and every week that goes by is better and better for him.

I can do this...

Nursery Update

 We worked on the nursery this weekend!!!

I'm so excited, it really is starting to come together now.

I made this subway art

well... hubby cut and painted the wood, I designed and attached the vinyl wording.  So group effort there.

I found a "Keep Calm" generator and made this framed art...

Hubby installed the bead board and molding behind the crib.

I added the navy blue breathable bumper.

We bought white picture frames to match the molding and printed off vintage hockey equipment photos (black and white) to go with the navy blue "C" I painted over the crib

Still on the "TO DO" list:
Crib skirt

Under Bed Boxes (I've bought 2 different kinds now and both were too tall to fit under, ugh)

White wall shelf

And I need to buy/find white paper lanters

The next photos will be of a COMPLETED nursery!

Can't wait for it to be totally done <3

I'm really going to miss SLEEP

I was able to SLEEP IN for the first time in quiet awhile today.

It was nice to wake up at my normal time, roll over, and go back to sleep.

All I keep thinking about is how much I'm going to miss sleep when this baby comes.  I told hubby in the car last night that he needs to enjoy the "nice me" while he can because those sleepless nights are going to make me a not so nice person.

I won't lie, I'm good at sleeping and I'm not pretty when I don't get it.

I know this baby is worth every sleepless moment, and I'm trying to prepare myself for that.  But in all honestly, I know it's not going to be fun.

We are pretty lucky right now in having a 6 year old that has a bedtime routine and rarely wakes up in the middle of the night.  She actually gets crabby herself if she doesn't get enough sleep.  She also stays with Gramma and Papa at least 2 Friday's a month and that allows me to be able to sleep in on those Saturday mornings.

Even days that she is home and doesn't have school, she gets herself up, knows how to work the TV/Kindle Fire, gets herself a drink, and lets Mommy rest in bed a little while longer if need be.

We are now down the final countdown of 10 weeks and 6 days before Baby Carter arrives (give or take a few days/weeks), and I'm going to enjoy my sleep every chance I get till then!

Big Sister's Room / Nursery

We've also just about have big sister's side of the room completed.

It was important to me that with a nursery being moved into her space, that she also have a special space of her own too.

Alyssa is a horse crazy girl.  She learned how to ride English last year, and has a real passion for horses.  It was only fitting that her room get a makeover that fits in with that love.

I bought this shelf at Hobby Lobby and painted it white.

Once painted we hung it over her bed.  The farm house window I've had for awhile, waiting for the perfect place for it.  We thought it would be cute to hang over the shelf with the horse decals hung behind it - like you are looking out the window at the horses.

The show ribbons over her headboard have photos of her in the center with her horse and one with her in her show gear/helmet.

Special horses from her collection are sitting on the wall shelf, along with a photo of her and the bride in the wedding she was in last summer (she was the flower girl).

I also painted the "C" above Carter's crib a navy blue.  I love how it turned out.

The 4 canvases I had hanging on the sides were a flop DIY project.  I was trying to transfer black and white images onto the canvases for a more vintage look - it didn't work out.

Now I'm on the hunt for white picture frames to finish this project.

28/29 Weeks

I'm actually 29 weeks TODAY!  Yay!

But I wanted to catch up and update my 28th week.

And there it is... a true baby bump.

What a difference 3 weeks makes.  All I can say is, SLOW DOWN Carter!  You still have 11 weeks to go here little dude.  He must have had a good growth spurt in that short time.  Doctor said I'm measuring a little small though, so that is odd.

BABY at 29 Weeks:

His head is getting larger now to make room for his growing brain.  I can't believe he weighs aprox. 3 lbs now!  

 

Little baby boy, we love you so much.  Your big sister hugs you all the time and tells you good night before bed.  We are working on getting your clothes organized and nursery ready for you to come home to.  It won't be too much longer now!

Car Seat is Ready!

I wasn't a big fan of the inside pattern of our car seat.  It was mainly bought because it was compatible with our stroller, not for it's looks.

So I took the body support part out of the inside of the car seat (it is removable) and bought this new JJ Cole super soft snugly replacement.

I also bought the matching strap covers.  Both things are reversible.  But for a newborn, the soft microfiber side is what we are going with for now.  The other side is a gray print, which matches our car seat perfectly.

So now that we have 2 bases and fixed the body support inside part, our baby boy can now have a safe and comfortable ride home from the hospital.  I'm sure we will wait a few more weeks to install the car seat yet.

28 Week Doctor's Appointment

Because of my early complications with pre-term labor they now have me on a 2 week doctor's office visit plan.

Yesterday, I just went in by myself to let Steve work.

It was an easy in and out visit.  Everything looked good!

Blood pressure: 95/60

Weight: 129 (gained 2 lbs, yikes!)

Belly was actually measuring a little small - which was a surprise.  In November I was measuring a week bigger.

Baby's heartbeat was in the 150's

I go back on February 5th at 30 weeks

Working on the Nursery

 We did some work on the nursery yesterday!

First, THANK YOU TARGET for having this navy blue and white polka dot crib sheet!  I was going to order one from Pottery Barn Kids and it said they were out of stock till the end of MAY!!!  WHAT?!?  Baby is coming in APRIL here.  It also saved me about $10 going through Target, even better.

I brought in this little wicker basket holder for more storage.  Right now it has cotton swabs/balls, peepee teepees, nail clippers, nasal bulb, hair brush/comb, Arm & Hammer diaper pail odder absorbers, etc.

The main reason for this, is to be a stand for the wipe warmer, works perfect.

We added the start of what will be the decor over the crib.

I have something special planned for the canvases, and the "C" will be painted in some form.

If you notice on the right side of the crib I have bead board leaned up against the wall, this will be installed with some molding eventually on this wall as well.

OH - and the crib sheet is on the bed!  Love it.

I organized the inside of the cabinet a little more.

We stapled a shoe organizer inside one door for hat storage

I put the clothes size organizers into the cabinet.

Of course organized the clothes by size in there as well.

We put these hooks inside the other door to the cabinet.

Right now it is holding his bibs and pacifier clips

Still lots planned for this room, and I can't wait to see it come together.

Catching Up

We have been BUSY lately

We welcomed back HOCKEY!

 LET'S GO BLUES!

 I got the house decorated for Valentine's Day

We got back into our fruit & veggie Co-Op

Twice a month (every other week), we go to a group that has fruits and veggies dropped off.  We all help to count and sort the produce and divide it us evenly into bags.  This was our 1st Co-Op bag of 2013!

The cantelope didn't even last us 24 hours, YUM!

Our hopes with Co-Op is to continue getting it after the baby arrives.  We want to stock our freezer with meat, get co-op every other week, in hopes that we will only need to run to the grocery store once or twice a month for milk/cheese/bread/condiments/pasta/etc.

And last but not least, I had my first expo of the year...

Even with help from my sister-in-law for set up and for an entire day of selling, and help from my father-in-law AND sister-in-law for tear down, it was still very hard on me.

Expos are usually very hard on me anyway, but my poor body...

I still hope to get in at least one more expo, possibly two more before baby arrives.  This will give us a little more money for savings and I can get a few things stocked up in the house just before the baby arrives.

Fingers Crossed!

"Pump in Style"

Medela Pump in Style Advance...

A distant dream of mine.

I barrrowed one with our daughter, and of course, became spoiled.  I didn't want to settle on a lower scale pump with Carter after knowing how nice this pump was.

However, at $269.99 I wasn't racing to the store to buy one either.

THEN - Today, a deal just happens to pop up on one of my couponing sites for the very breast pump I'd be longing for.

And I couldn't pass it up.

$175.99 with FREE 2-Day shipping (no tax!)

Still pricy in my opinion, but that is nearly a $100 savings and that to me, makes this a bargain.

I am bound and determined to breastfeed this baby as long as I can (up to 1 year) to save on formula and of course - for the health benefits of breast milk in general.

I'm not sure how this baby is going to do with breastfeeding, I hope he latches well and takes to it easily (like our daughter), but it's never guaranteed.  This will at least allow me to pump (in style, ha!), even if we are having trouble with it.  It's a good back up, that's for sure.  And it will also allow others to be able to bottle feed him when mama isn't around.

Another big pro of owning one of these is, it allows me to still be able to work.  I plan to get back into doing my expos in August and this way I can pump while at my shows and store for when we get back home and can freeze.

And last but not least...

I can recoup some of this money by selling it after I'm done.

SO EXCITED TO GET THIS IN THE MAIL!

(Even if I can't use it for quite awhile yet) :-D

Baby Wiggles!

I caught him!  Finally I was able to video tape our little man in all his crazy wiggly action.

This happens usually 2-3 times per day and then, of course, right when it's time to go to sleep.  I find myself most nights playing on my phone, waiting on him calm down, so I can fall asleep myself.  Middle of the night bathroom trips usually wake him up too, so I start over and wait on him to get comfortable so I can get back to sleep myself.

Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

My intention all a long as been to prepare freezer meals for my postpartum recovery.

I tried this method last summer, 1 day = 1 month of made ahead meals (whole foods).

That didn't go so well.  It was EXHAUSTING and took longer then a single day.  Was very expensive.  Also didn't even get them all made.  Some recipes we didn't even like and seemed like such a waste.

So I've been on the hunt for something QUICK, EASY, and would be recipes that I know our family will like and EAT.

I FOUND IT:

The shopping list isn't huge, the meals look yummy, and you just throw everything into a freezer bag and your done.  I may even double this depending on our budget for the month.

I haven't found anything as quick and as simplified as this.

My hope is to get this done in the next couple of weeks.  I'll blog about how it goes!

3 Hour Glucose Test

After my initial 1 hour glucose test last week, my levels came back a little high.  Just a tad higher then the cut off.  However, my blood was drawn just a little early due to me having those contractions and their rushing to get me over to the hospital.

It makes me wonder if they still would have been that high had they waited a few more minutes to do the blood draw.

So today I had to go in for the 3 hour test.

After a finger prick - they said my levels were at 70 and that they weren't too concerned about the test going over okay for me.  But they still had to do the 3 hour test.

So they drew blood, made me drink a more concentrated sugar drink, then drew blood 3 more times for three consecutive hours.

We mainly just walked around the building, potty breaks, thank goodness for cell phones.  None the less it was exhausting.

We got there at 8:15am and left at Noon.
After 5 needle pokes, I was so glad to be done.

After fasting for well over 12 hours, I really wasn't super hungry surprisingly.  More sick feeling from not eating mixed with water and that sugar drink.  Not the best combo.

But we stopped on our way home and got McD's.  I was surprised I put a good dent in my meal, it was nice to just chew food again.

At 4pm I got a call from the Dr....

NORMAL LAB RESULTS

Thank goodness.  One less thing I'll have to worry about for these last 3 months.

Next doctor's appointment is January 22nd. (1 week from tomorrow)

Car Seat Base

Our original plan for car seats/infant seats was this:

The infant carrier would go into the car, because it was smaller and the car is smaller.

Then the convertible permanent car seat would go and stay in our van.

Problem there was, the car is mainly used to: Take Alyssa to school, hubby to go back and forth to work, and any other running around as a family (which is usually only on the weekends).

The van is used for: Picking Alyssa up from school, my errands when hubby has the car at work, and we take all the seats out to haul all my display/merchandise to expos.

Sooooo... That would mean, everyday that I had to pick Alyssa up from school I'd have to put the baby in and out of the permanent car seat that would be staying in the van.  Not a huge deal, but could get really old, really fast.  Not to mention I wouldn't have the infant seat for running errands. 

The solution:

We bought an extra base

$49.99 at Diapers.com with no tax and free shipping.

A base in both vehicles.

Problem solved.

The convertible car seat will come in handy when the baby is bigger.  Then we can leave it rear facing a little longer when we don't need the infant seat anymore.

It is getting more real for me when we are talking about getting the cars ready for the infant seat to be installed.

27 Weeks

 27 Weeks

I'm trying to enjoy the last few days of my 2nd trimester... however, it seems like 3rd trimester symptoms have started to kick into gear already.

Sitting I always need a pillow behind my back because my stomach digs into my ribcage

My hips get sore at night from laying on my sides

Heartburn (hope he has hair!)

Exhaustion - anything and everything makes me tired.  Showers really take it out of me.

But other then that - I had one evening with some contractions that were in a steady pattern.  I just laid down with my bottle of water and they eventually stopped (like they usually do).

 BABY at 27 Weeks

This week the baby is getting smarter!  Brain activity is being detected.

He also is breathing in and out the amniotic fluid and practicing for when he takes his first breath of air.

 Baby is getting bigger every day!

He's now the size of a rutabaga:

How Big Is Carter?

After school today (over a special ice cream desert snack she earned for getting a 102% on her spelling test! Wahoo!), Alyssa asked me: "How big is Carter?"

I said - about 2 lbs.

Then I thought, she has no idea what that means (she's 6 1/2 yrs old).

So I went into the pantry to find something that was around 2 lbs for her to actually hold and see.  

A BAG OF RICE was exactly 2 lbs.

Perfect

She says to me "He's heavy!"

Haha!  Yeah, you are tell me kiddo!

She then held the bag up to my stomach to compare the sizes, and she says "yep, looks about right."

HAHA!

She's so funny, she makes us laugh all the time.

Possibly Going Out of My Mind

After yesterday's trip to the hospital, my mind was going a mile a minute with:

I still need to do "this" "that" and "the other"

How do I rest when I have so much to do

Should I hurry to get things ready incase the baby comes early

How do I go about working? Should I not be working at all?

If I don't work = No income = Problems

So after a long day, my body hurting from all the needles, laying in a horrible uncomfortable hospital bed, contractions that were killing my back, stress, and worry - I was really feeling like I was going out of my mind.

Today, I am feeling a little bit better, more rested, my mind has things a little more under control.  

So today, I'm just keeping these mottos:

One thing at a time

I'll get to it when and if I get it

If I don't get to it - No one besides me will know

False vs. Real Labor

The continuation from THIS POST...

Once the doctor asked a few questions about my supposed Braxton Hicks, she seemed worried and said she was going to have me monitored to see what was going on.

To me, I thought, well yeah, they can hook me up for 10 min., but that will not be when I'm having these Braxton Hicks since usually they are off and on throughout the day.

So they found the baby's heartbeat (140 bpm) and tied the contraction monitor around me too.  As soon as they had the monitor going, I thought I had a contraction, then a few minutes later I knew I had another contraction.

After I looked at the paper strip, sure enough - two contractions....

They let me sit for awhile and the nurse came to check on me.

She looked at the paper strip and said "oh no."

She hurried to grab the doctor.  The doctor came in very quickly and said "you just bought yourself a ticket next door" aka "hospital.

Yep, regular contractions

The nurse was in such a rush after that.  Enough to worry both me and Steve.  We weren't real sure what they were looking at/talking about or saw that was causing such alarm.  These contractions, which I thought were Braxton Hicks, weren't anything new to me - something I've been feeling for a few weeks now.

They were in such a hurry they didn't even want to draw my blood for the glucose test, but did since it was only 4 minutes until time.  

The nurse got a wheelchair and wheeled me to the hospital... I couldn't believe what was going on.

I was taken to the Women's Evaluation Unit.  A monitoring area outside of Labor and Delivery.

More peeing in a cup, I got a new wrist tag, and they asked a lot more questions.

After being monitored for awhile longer, I was still having contractions, but to me they didn't seem as frequent.

The doctor came in and did an exam to make sure I wasn't dilating, which I WASN'T.  YAY!  Well, he said the "outside was" but the "inside wasn't" which is "good."  So still, yay, for that.  He took a few swabs for testing.

Then he gave me some meds to help calm down my uterus.  10-15 minutes later, I felt very sick.  Dizziness, my heart was racing, nausea.  I just felt out of control and called the nurse in.  She put on a blood pressure cuff and a finger pulse monitor.  Sure enough my pulse was high and my blood pressure had gone down pretty low.

They let me be for awhile, just keeping watch on everything.  Another doctor came in to do an internal ultrasound to measure my cervix.  Which measured long at 3, apparently anything over 2.5 is good.  So that told them that the contraction weren't causing me to be in a progressive labor.

Finally I asked for some crackers, because I hadn't eaten most of the day at it was noon by this time.  The water and the crackers also made me feel a little better.

After another hour of monitoring and me trying to rest, I noticed I hadn't had any more contractions and was relieved by that.  So although the medicine made me feel sick, it did work.

The doctor eventually came back to check for dilation again before letting us leave.  No dilation still.  Good news.  After he left I had the WORST contraction thus far.  One that seemed extra long and hurt my back so horribly bad.  Enough that I couldn't lay down in the bed and just rocked and rocked in the bed waiting for it to die down.  That, I haven't felt since being in labor with Alyssa.  That, was scary.

The doctor came back to tell me that all the test came back negative/good.  He said he really didn't have a good reason to tell me for what was causing the contractions.  That they were not braxton hicks but real contractions, and when I came in to the WE unit, the papers the nurse showed him looked like I was in labor with regular contractions 3-4 min. apart.

He said I have an irritable uterus, and cervix.  Which is why I had such a bad contraction after he did his last dilation check.

So I was finally released to go home with orders to:

drink lots of water

take it easy
no intercourse for a week

come back if I have 5 painful contractions in an hour

no med, because the ones they gave me made me sick

So I'm finally home.  I had a couple contractions on my way home already.  I have a feeling it will just be something I'll have to be dealing with through the rest of this pregnancy.  Unfortunately I worry I won't take real contractions seriously when the time comes and will wait too long before going to the hospital... 

Icing on the cake:

My glucose test came back elevated, ugh

So I have to go back next week for the 3 hour test.  BLAHHHH

Doctor's Appointment today @ 26 Weeks

Today went from - let's get this over with, to an emotional roller coaster.

I guess I'll just go over my doctor's appointment today and go into the rest in another post...

I did the regular routine when I got there

-Pee in a cup

-Weight (Gained 3 lbs since last visit - now at 127 lbs)

-Blood pressure (112/65, if I remember right)

Then I had my glucose test.

Drank a fruit punch drink... yum, or not

And waited in the room for awhile knowing they'd draw blood in an hour.

A nurse came in to give me my RhoGam shot - which I didn't know would be today.  Glad to have that taken care of though.

The doctor came in do her regular questions.

I brought up the fact that I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for some time now...

and that's where it starts.

See next blog entry for all the crazy details...

More BH Contractions

It seems like they are daily at this point.

For the longest time I felt like they were triggered by over doing it.  Now they happen even when I'm rested and well hydrated.  I have had as many as 4 in a row, back to back, with not a whole lot of break in between too.  It isn't scary and I'm not real worried about it, but it does make me think...

I know they are BH because they aren't real painful, just a lot of tightening. 

I've been having them for 6+ weeks, since right after my last doctor's appointment.  Due to Christmas and New Years falling on my normal Tuesday appointment days, they thought it fine for me to go back after 6 weeks instead of after only 4 - and that was MORE then fine with me.  2nd trimester, I wasn't real worried.  Then of course these BH Contraction started right after that.  So my next appointment is in 2 days, January 8th.  I'll for sure be bringing up this subject then too.

I'm currently 26 weeks 2 days, and at the point where they can do my glucose test.  I do kind of hope they do it at this appointment so I can get it over with. 

I'll hopefully have a good update after Tuesday. 

Nesting, a little more

Sometimes I get bursts of energy or the will to organize.

Today was just that, short burst of "I must do this now..."

So first thing I did was oragnize my coupon area.  It had been neglected for probably a year.  I had just been piling and piling coupon insterts.  Three brown paper bags and one grocery bag of trash later, I have organized coupons!

Next, I had bought things to organize Alyssa's hair bows a couple weeks back but had never gotten around to getting them up and the bows taken care of.  So that was also finally finished tonight!

Being that the kids are sharing rooms, I feel the need to get Alyssa completely taken care of before I get too involved with decorating the room for Carter.  So with this project done, we are getting closer to being done with her!

Still to do for Alyssa:

Plastic drawers for the end of her bed

Smaller under bed boxes for her doll accessories

Decals on her walls (bought, but not installed)

To do for Carter:

Needing bedding set (sheet, skirt, bumper)

Lanterns in the corner of his room

Framed art

Under bed boxes for clothes

Wash and organize clothes

He needs a hamper

Maybe a handmade mobile?

Pack diaper bag

Then a couple of other things I've done in the last week which allowed me to check them off my "to do before the baby arrives" list:
Hung our coat hooks in our bed room (Alyssa's coats/jackets claimed ALL the ones in the entry)
Hung hooks in our bathroom for my scarves (got a few for my b-day and Christmas, so they were piling up)
And last
I cleaned out ONE of the four cabinets in the kitchen that need organizing.  This cabinet needed it sooner rather then later to make room for baby bottles and that type of thing.

I'll have to make another TO-DO list in the side column of things I still need to do before baby arrives.  Just a reminder, I have a lot of actual money making WORK to do in there as well.  I don't know how we will get it all accomplished, but I have HOPE!

Sibling Class

 I thought a sibling class would be a good idea for Alyssa to attend.  Little did I know, I would be attending a sibling class of my own.

Here is Alyssa as we arrived at the hospital for the class...

Waiting for the class to start.  She got a name tag that said BIG SISTER and bubbles to play with as the other children arrived.  We also read a book called "I'm going to be a BIG SISTER!" as we waited. 

While she was in her class the parents went to the next room to have a class of our own.  Bascially - how to transition our kids into the role of being a big sister/brother.  Also they brought up a lot of great things to think about when planning for the baby's arrival.  Ex:

Where will the sibling be during the delivery

Bringing things to the hospital for them such as snack/activities

When is the best time to allow the child into the room after the baby is born

And other issues I hadn't thought about before - so it was actually a great class for me to sit through

After both of our classes were over we all got to meet up again for fruit/scones/juices/coffee, while the children told us about what they had learned.

Alyssa told me she learned how to change a diaper, that she can help out mom and dad by getting burp clothes, wipes etc.  They were given a tour of a hospital room so they know what to expect when they come to the hospital to meet baby brother, as well as the nursery.  They said there was a baby boy in there that was just born that day.

She was excited to receive her BIG SISTER certificate and a I'm a big sister backpack full of goodies for all her hard work.

I am SO GLAD we both did this class.  I wish Steve was there to listen in with me, but they did give me papers with a review of what was covered in the class so we can go through it together.  I think it has made Alyssa very excited about everything and has made me feel a little more prepared on how to handle her on top of a new baby.

With Alyssa, obviously I didn't have all these other worries, she was our first and our one and only to worry about.  Lucky for us she will still be in school for a few weeks after the baby is born so the transition for her won't be so bad.  Her routine will still be in tact and brother will get one on one attention during the morning and afternoon before she gets home from school.  It is nice that she is older and understands, instead of being 2 or 3 like a lot of the other kids that were in her class.  They will have a little more adjusting to do.

Gift Registery

New Years Day was fun and exhausting!!!

With Alyssa on winter break and hubby having the holiday off we thought - it's the perfect time to get our Gift Registery going.

We went to Babies R Us.  We were there, I couldn't tell you how long, it felt like forever.  I realize now why they have those rockers set up in the back of the store... for us overly tired preggo mama's.

Alyssa had fun for the first 30 min scanning everything with the gun, but soon grew tired of that, hit the cart and kept busy on my iPhone.

We thought about going to Target to register as well, but after going through Babies R Us, we knew that was enough for one day.

So we may still go to Target and register in the next few weeks too.  It is true what I thought, there was still plenty we did NOT already have that we still need or would like to have, even after all of our pre-baby stockpiling of stuff. 

Happy New Year!

 It's 2013!!!

We went to Steve's family's for the New Year's Celebration this year

Me before we left

25 Weeks 3 Day

(Hubby's Birthday message on the mirror)

Steve's Aunt Bonnie didn't leave me out of the celebrations, virgin strawberry daiquiri for the preggo lady

 After our 11pm celebration

We were in home and in bed by midnight

Again - just fancy glasses with Sprite for me and Alyssa

We had a great time playing lots of games, socializing with everyone, EATING.  No little kids for Alyssa to play with but her older girl cousins were more fun for her to get all the attention should could ask for from. 

We know 2013 has lots of changes coming our way with Baby Carter on the way.

It was nice to enjoy the holiday's as a family of 3.  We kept quiet busy, but I feel like we were able to spend a lot of quality family time together.

Now 2013

Be good to us :)