Thursday, November 17, 2011

working from home

i started working a few hours from home on monday. i've been able to get about 4 hours of work on the computer when she naps. i basically process prescriptions that doctors enter into a database that eventually get mailed out to the patients. i have to say that the work on the keyboard is KILLING my wrists. going to the doctor next week since it isn't getting any better. soooooooo painful!
harper is changing everyday. she is starting to grab toys, laugh and enjoy reading books with me. since the last post we realized that we shouldn't swaddle her anymore since she is starting to turn over on her side. it makes me nervous at night, as i continue to make sure she is ok in the monitor. it doesn't make for a restful sleep worrying about her. we thought that we should be putting her to bed earlier in the evenings to get into the habit...but we need to deal with one issue at a time. first we need to make sure she can fall asleep on her own without being wrapped up like a burrito, then worry about an early bedtime later. like sally reminded us, "if it ain't broken don't fix it!"
her first thanksgiving is coming up. we are going to have about 20 people over this year. what once started as an orphan thanksgiving has turned into a tradition of turkey trot in the morning and framily in the evening. i'm not sure if the ping pong table will hold all of us this year. we look forward to it and i hope harper enjoys it too.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

3 months

Happy 3 month bday to little pip. We really can't believe it has been this long. She has been a joy to watch, changing almost every day. She makes new sounds, is bringing her hands together and even moved to the crib last week. Amy has found that the key is wrapping her up. As soon as her hands are secure, she falls fast asleep. So far we only get up about once or twice to bundle her up again. Haven't had many middle of the night feeds. I worry about the temperature in her room at times. The weather has been typical wacky Austin weather. 80 one day, 45 the next. Figuring out what to. Dress her in has been interesting too.
On the adoption home front, we had a social worker come out for a visit this morning. It went well, mostly with her asking Amy questions of course. Only a few more minor details and Amy will soon be officially harper's mommy. The process is tedious but well worth it.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

10 weeks

harper is 10 weeks old today. at her last dr's appointment, she gained 2 lbs and grew 2 inches. she is in the 50th percentile for her weight, height and head circumference. we look at her and think that she is off the charts (as do others) but she is a 50% baby! right now she is 22 3/4 inches tall, 11.2 lbs and her head measures at 15 1/4. the doctor was pleased with her checkup and told us to keep doing what we are doing. whatever that is. : )
she is going to have her first halloween next week. this is our 8th annual pumpkin carving party coming up too. just an excuse really to drink and eat lots of chili. but i do have to say that i enjoy seeing every one get creative with their pumpkin designs. the scary part about this year is that auntie jean asked permission to buy pip's costume. it also involves her being a part of it as well. maybe matching costumes? star wars related maybe? we will just have to wait and see. she mentioned that she was conservative this year, in order to not upset any grandparent. got to go cute the first year, right?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

shots!

No, not shots of tequila. Harper had to get her immunizations today, receiving 3 of them. She screamed like there was no tomorrow as the nurse injected her chubby thighs, but was over it seconds after. Thank goodness! Now we will just have to see how she feels in a couple of hours. I hope she doesn't swell easily like me. Poor baby. She is passed out in her swing right now sleeping it off.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

pip's first road trip

We packed up the car and headed to Dallas this morning for an overnight trip to see Amy's family. Harper met Amy's grandma rose, aunt carol and her cousins Diane and Kathy. She slept the entire 3 hour drive. This is even after she skepticism for 8 hours last night. She was so good! Now we will have to see how she does for her first overnight somewhere other than her cozy bed. It's good that we are getting out and trying new things. I'm the stressed out one, so glad Amy is the calm, "we will be ok," mommy. Makes for a nice balance.
We have more family to meet tomorrow. Let's hope she (we) will have a well rested night.

Monday, October 10, 2011

8 weeks

Guess who slept 8 hours on her 8 week birthday? She slept from 10 til 6 am! We were so proud of her. Could this be something to look forward to or did we get lucky? The night before she was up every 3 hours, so we will just have to wait and see. Fingers crossed.
Yay to harper's new cousins, Drew and Larkin Clippard. Ashley delivered on Friday and everybody is doing well.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

when she sleeps...

she likes to put her hands over her head, like she is being held up in a bank robbery. Often you can hear her squeak right before she falls asleep. t is one quick high pitched noise that makes us smile every time. i listen for the heavy breathing before i know i can lay back down to go back to sleep myself. she looks so peaceful when she is in her deep sleep. the only thing i don't like to watch is when her eyes roll back into her head and all you can see are the whites of her eyes. yikes! sometimes, her hands go up as if someone came up behind her and scared her to death. Then they may slowly fall to the side. right now she can go almost 4 hours before waking up to eat again during the night. other times she is like an alarm clock making noises every 3 hours on the dot, telling me that it is time to eat again!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

our first day alone?

amy went back to work today. just me and pip and the boys. a little nervous but i am sure we will be fine. i just have to learn that i can't always be doing something every minute. if i see a dustbunny under the chair i need to leave it. if a dirty dish is sitting in the sink, leave it! so i can't take a shower first thing in the morning. so many things i need to learn.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

meet the grandparents

pip had the pleasure of meeting lots of grandparents over the past week. gran (merrily, lee's mom) came to visit and even stayed with us one night. she had the touch because harper always found her favorite position on gran and fell right to sleep every time. she was lots of help while she was here and gave us lots of wonderful advice.

grandfather (bob, amy's dad) and grammy (rhoda, amy's stepmom) came to visit us as well. they too were lots of help watching pip while i cleaned up around the house or had a chance to take a shower. they even helped amy weed and clean up the backyard.

grandpa ted and grandma marie (john's parents) are going to come visit next wed.

i hope pip can keep up with all of her grandparents names. : )

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

our first trip out

we survived our first trip with pip. i made sure that i fed her right before we left. we managed to both get ready and get out the door as planned. as soon as she was buckled up in her car seat she fell asleep. she basically slept the entire time as we went to costco and central market. the plan was to just go to costco, but we thought we would push our luck. granted we still need to figure out the shopping cart situation, we did well. she did well.

Friday, September 2, 2011

one day at a time

can't believe it has almost been 3 weeks since she was born. we are taking it one day at a time, trying to find somewhat of a schedule. she eats about every 2 and 1/2 hours and has even gone almost 4 hours during the night. right now, she sleeps most of the day with an occasional fussy moment. overall, she let's us know that she needs to be changed or is hungry. breastfeeding is tough. i won't lie. feeding her every couple of hours is something you have to get used to very quickly. it can be painful when she latches on and i'm still getting used to the engorgement feeling. but it truly is the best thing for little pip.

thanks to lee for sending out an email to the framily. he asked if they would be willing to help us out with dinners as we get adjusted. we had some awesome meals brought to us over the past few weeks.
sibby: bbq chicken, deviled eggs, corn, asparagus/broccolini, peach dessert, mac and cheese
jimmy and melissa: brought some pad thai from pei wei. it hit the spot!
john and lee: eggplant parm and salad
hilary and janet: some central market goodness, chicken cordon bleu, watermelon, salad, salmon
amo and mel: pork loin, mashed taters, green beans
steph: watermelon cucumber gazpacho, salad, cheese and crackers

everything was wonderful...we really really appreciated you guys taking the time to bring us food.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

random thoughts...

* can't believe i am supposed to still be pregnant right now
* so happy to finally see the bones and veins in my feet!
* i wish i could get the feeling back in my right hand
* pip is super cute
* she gained 12 oz at her dr's visit on wed.
* her umbilical cord finally fell off last night. amy accidentally stepped on it. yuck!
* very thankful to have the best framily ever. thanks for bringing us yummy dinners.
* breastfeeding is tough. i can totally see why people don't continue it or move to formula
* kinda glad we can't really leave the house with her yet. 107 today? really?
* had my first tiny glass of champagne last night, : )
* couldn't imagine doing this without amy. love you!

the day she was born...

it was a typical sunday for us. the only thing we had planned was meeting up for a breakfast taco at Cherrywood and the usual sunday grocery shop. the day before we were able to go out to sibby's to swim, so we were pretty relaxed. it was a nice day, somewhat overcast for the first time. amy and i even had the whole pool to ourselves.
so we met john, lee, melanie and amo for a quick breakfast. i make fun and blame her early arrival on the chorizo taco and latte that i had. maybe i really didn't have a decaf? some of the conversation at the table is funny, thinking back. i commented that i was wondering that if she decided to come the next day, what was she doing inside of me? just hanging out? melanie even said that i was quite lopsided that morning. her butt was definitely sticking out during the 2 weeks prior to arrival. anyway, we went on our way to central market and made sure we stuck to our list of planned meals and snacks for the week. at checkout i felt a little more tired than usual telling amy that i was going to sit in the car and wait for her. usually, i will pay and she would go get the car and pick me up. that day, my legs were tired! unpacked the car and at noon, amy and i decided to take a nap.
i stayed downstairs and amy went upstairs with the dogs. i woke up around 1:30 feeling rested and started channel surfing. found a bad movie with kevin costner and ashton kutcher. at some point i got up to go to the restroom and felt the usual braxton hicks contraction, feeling pressure that goes away with moving around, then sat back down on the couch. about maybe 15 mins later, i felt a different kind of twinge of pain that i haven't had before. of course i continued to watch t.v., but it happened again. not sure how long it lasted. around 2:15 i went upstairs to let amy know that i felt funny. that is really what i said to her because i didn't know if i should be concerned or not. she went back to sleep. then, the hard hitting contractions came out of nowhere. the worst pain i have ever felt. i told amy that we should pack a bag just in case, but i basically thought that if this were false labor, real labor must suck. we tried to time them, but they were coming every 2 minutes! we were so confused. where did the stages of labor go? why didn't my water break? aren't i supposed to go through hours of labor? nope. not us. we called the number that contacts a nurse in our practice. she called back and basically told me to give it an hour and walk it out. no way! after a few more massive contractions, i told amy we needed to go NOW! she called jean and we headed to the hospital.
the ride over was painful and i hope no one looked over at us at the stoplights because i'm sure it was a site to see. we pulled into the hospital about 8 mins later and amy dropped me off at the door and put me in a wheelchair. she had to go park and it seemed like forever before she was back. made it to the second floor and the admissions person clearly saw that i was in pain as she was asking us a few questions. they knew that we were on our way since we called the nurse back and told her that i couldn't wait any longer. as we turned the corner a nurse wheeled us into a room filled with at least 5 nurses. they were awesome. they were asking me tons of questions and i could only talk in between contractions. which were still coming every 2 minutes. they even had to undress me, put the iv in, etc between them since they were so strong. one nurse in particular made sure i made it through each contraction, coaching me and making me listen and focus on what she was saying. i finally made it into the bed and they began hooking me up to the monitors. we were super shocked to find out that i was dilated already to a 7! a freakin 7 only after about 1 hour and 1/2. then i heard the word epidural. my new best friend. as soon as they administered it the pain magically went away. completely! i could feel a little pressure every time a contraction came, but the drugs were wonderful. all of the nurses were running around taking such good care of us. they talked us through everything step by step. after a few hours (which didn't seem like long, thanks to the epidural), they told me it was time to push. this was around 6pm. 2 of the nurses commented that i will probably only have to push 1 or 2 times since i progressed so quickly in a short amount of time. well, they were wrong. i tried a few positions to get little girl out. i wasn't in pain so it was strange to push as hard has i could because i couldn't feel what i was doing. they told me i was doing a good job and continued to check me and baby. the only scary part was when harper's heart tones started to slow down. next thing i knew, i was on my hands and knees. the nurse also inserted a different monitor on pip's head. they finally told me what was going on and i realized that i could hear her heart slowing in the monitors. it came back up quickly and we were then back to pushing. she still wasn't progressing like she was supposed to. the doctor on call finally came in, sat on the corner of my bed and explained what was happening. she told us that i could probably sit here and push for several more hours, but she is most likely not going to come out. with her heart tones decreasing early, the slow progression and the fact that she is facing down (called sunny side up), i would need to have a c-section. she was very confident in her explanation and all i could do was look at amy and jean. their expressions were clear in that i needed to do this.
i didn't realize that the procedure only takes about 20 mins with an additional 30 mins or so to put me back together. amy suited up and jean went to tell the gang the news. speaking of gang, we had quite a few people in the waiting room. team pip waited patiently of her arrival. amo, mel, kerry, john and lee were the first to show up. mel was in charge of the phone tree and kept others informed. steph and milissa show up later as well. i was taken to the operating room and given additional medication that completely numbed me from chest down. couldn't even feel my arms. the room seemed extra bright with people prepping me for surgery. the conversation was very odd during my time in there. can't really repeat what was said, but let's just say that everyone was in a good mood joking around. they went to get amy and she sat by my head behind the curtain. amy said that there was a lot of movement and jerking of my body. not really something that i wanted to hear. they asked amy if she wanted to peak over and see pip before they cut the cord. seconds later we heard her cry. amy went over with the nurse and watched them clean her off. they even did her footprint immediately as well. i could only lay there and watched from far away. i began to cry so hard that i could hardly see what they were doing. amy looked over at me with the biggest smile on her face. they then wheeled her away as amy followed. they strangest thing began to happen as they were sewing me back together. my jaw started quivering. not the kind of quivering that you get when you watch a girly movie, it was shaking violently to the point that it gave me a headache. i tried everything to stop it, but it just took over. the anesthesiologist said it was due to the drugs and eventually gave me another one to stop the movement.
i was moved to recovery and a nurse monitored me closely. while i was there amy was with harper while they weighed, measured and cleaned her. there was even a picture of her holding her in the nursery as team pip watched through the window. during recovery i had slightly elevated blood pressure readings and moderate bleeding that eventually subsided. i was moved into the room where i would spend the next 4 days. i didn't even leave the room until day 3 when amy took me for a walk in the hallway. amy was so awesome during that time. i was unable to get up for the first few days since i was hooked up to the iv and had a catheter. amy changed every diaper and had to get up every 3 hours with me to hand pip to me. she was forced to learn quickly and now she is a pro and diaper changes and swaddling. there was lots of action in the hospital whether it was the nurses coming in to the room to assess me or harper or someone taking my meal order for the day or bringing the food or housekeeping or someone bringing my meds. they took excellent care of us, don't get me wrong. this part of the hospital was new, so the room was pretty big with a nice big bathroom, pullout couch for amy and a flat screen t.v. it was nice to finally leave on thursday though. we loaded her up in the car seat and headed home. auntie jean and grandma jan made the transition easy. we really appreciated everything they did and continue to do for us. now it's just one day at a time...

Friday, August 19, 2011

this is amy at our first pediatrician appointment. she did really well, considering our appt was at 9am and we were seen at 10am. the dr said she looked great and even was strong for her age. she was able to hold her head up when she put her on her stomach?


pip in her swing that my mom and dad bought for her. she loves, loves that motion, even when you hold her. poor charlie couldn't quite understand what was going on and kept getting hit by it. toby was interested in the stuffed animal that is at the end of the seat.

just a few pics of her while i was stuck in my hospital bed

she seems to always be in deep thought

our first night at home went really well. we had to wake HER up both times in the middle of the night to eat. not that i am complaining. the bassinet that grandfather bob brought from pennsylvania is not only beautiful but extremely helpful by the bedside.

she is finally here!

ok guys, i am going to hopefully start blogging about our day to day events and add pictures if possible. i'm sure you will eventually get tired of emails or texts at some point, but i hope to document our days together no matter how amazing or boring. guess you will just have to check out the blog to see what wonderful things pip is getting into.

harper hunt reitz
8lbs
20 inches
8/14/11
9:00pm

Friday, August 5, 2011

36 + 107 = hot, hot, hot

as of yesterday, i am officially at 36 weeks. 9 months down, 4 more weeks to go. still can't believe how hot it has been. granted, i am usually inside and work is always super cold, but the numbers are just insane. it was 103 at 9pm last night. i am fortunate enough to be able to work from home, so i am taking advantage of that. it makes a huge difference for me to do that. sitting at my workstation in front of the computer kills my feet! all of the blood rushes to them and i go home with club feet! my right hand has been the most annoying result of this pregnancy. for the past week, my last 3 fingers have been numb and tingling. that is in addition to my hands being swollen in general. or as i call it, claw hands.
amy and i put the car seat in the other day. we are going to get it checked out this weekend to make sure it is secure and installed correctly. guess i should start packing a bag for the hospital, huh?
looking forward to the appointment on tuesday. we get to see little girl! what in the world is she going to look like on the ultrasound screen? before our appointment we are also going to go to the pediatrician's office and meet our future doctor. the office is right around the corner from the house. it's going to be a busy week.

Your Baby in Week 36 of Pregnancy

Forget your aching back (and everything else!) by trying to focus on your baby, who is now about six pounds and 20 inches long, with soft bones and cartilage to allow a safer journey through the exit door. Most of her systems (from circulatory to musculoskeletal) are ready for prime time, though her digestion system — which has done only practice runs so far — will kick into gear as she takes her first suckle at the breast or bottle.

Monday, August 1, 2011

4 more weeks

amy and i are excited. we have a dr's appt on aug 9th, which includes an ultrasound. that means we get to see pip! haven't seen her since april too. expecting the technician to tell us that she is super long again. but i am measuring fine and there is no reason to think she is going to be a giant (yet). after this appointment, we go to weekly visits. yikes! we also have a breastfeeding class on aug 8th too. a new friend of ours is a lactation consultant for seton and teaches classes there. glad to have her on our side!
over the weekend, we went through all of our gifts from the shower. washed everything, broke down the boxes and tried to get the room organized. we got some really awesome stuff and very thoughtful gifts. amy and i really appreciate every single gift! i wonder when we are going to find time to write all of the thank you cards? grandma jan so kindly got us started with buying us cards, stamps and return labels. so we really don't have an excuse to get started on them.
tonight we are going to learn how to put the car seats in properly. should be easy, but doing it when it is 100 degrees outside may be challenge. or will the mosquitoes get the best of me?

Your Baby in Week 35 of Pregnancy

Your baby is standing tall (so to speak) this week at about 20 inches and continues her steady weight gain (she’s about 5.5 pounds). While she won't get much longer, she will continue to pack on the pounds — including large amounts of baby fat — right up 'til delivery day. Something else that's moving at a mind-boggling pace these day: fetal brain development! There’s a lot going on inside that tiny head, which is, by the way, still soft to allow an easier exit through the birth canal.

Friday, July 29, 2011

my sister

jean certainly outdid herself on sunday. she threw the most amazing shower ever! i know she put a lot of thought, time and money into the celebration. it definitely was not your typical shower, complete with a fun photo booth and some live music. pretty much think that little pip is going to be extremely spoiled by her auntie jean. amy and i could not believe our eyes when we walked in. lots of yummy food as usual...sibby never disappoints. stephanie did a wonderful job on decorations too. the love and support that filled the room from people that were there and also from people that couldn't make it was overwhelming and very appreciated. we are going to be very busy this weekend going through all of our gifts, washing tiny clothes and making sure everybody gets a thank you card. i can't wait to see the video and pictures.
i really can't imagine my life without my sister. would hate to see pip grow up without a sibling. ;)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

week 34 - (july 21)

i really can't believe i am at week 34. time is flying by, but we still have lots to do. time to start preparing for her arrival! some things on the to-do-list are:

1) learn how to use the car seat
2) pack a bag for the hospital
3) finish the baby room, a few touch up spots remain
4) make sure the baby room is filled with everyting we need
5) try not to freak out

amy and i are really looking forward to the shower this sunday. to have our family and friends all in one room is going to be awesome! some start to arrive today and most will be here by tomorrow. i hope i have enough energy to entertain and keep up with everyone this weekend though.

we have our last childbirthing class next tuesday too. still not sure if the 1980's videos have made us feel any better. but it has been fun to talk with others in the class. from listening to all of the questions they have been asking (some are quite funny and strange), it seems like they are just as nervous as we are. next week we get to take a tour of the hospital. they also had a "meet the doctors" session last week for us to meet all of the doctors in our practice. this is just in case our own doctor is not on call or will not be able to deliver little girl. they all seem to be on the same page, so we feel comfortable with whatever happens. funny though, of the 8 doctors there, ours is the youngest and she is the only one that hasn't had any kids.

Your Baby in Week 34 of Pregnancy

What's new this week? Your baby is clocking in at five pounds and could be as tall as 20 inches by now, and the vernix (the white coating protecting your baby’s skin) is getting thicker. In other baby-related developments, those tiny fingernails have probably reached the tips of his fingers by now — and getting ready for that first postpartum manicure.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

time is flying by

at work, i have a calender that hangs near my computer. it has last month at the top, current month in the middle and the next month at the bottom. i am officially freaking out because i can literally see my due date now. it is staring at me everyday. most people continue to tell us that she will most likely be late, but sept. 1st is just around the corner.
jean has been amused lately by balancing random things on my shelf AND posting it on facebook. she started with putting pens on me at work and has moved her way to oreo cookies. oh well, anything to keep my sister happy i guess?
i can feel the swelling in my feet and hands now. very, very annoying. so much that it is even hard to bend my fingers and make a fist. i actually tried to snap my fingers (toby was bothering his brother simon) and didn't even get close to making a sound. ouch! i'm going to try to swim at least 2 times a week to see if i can get things circulating again. oh and by swim i mean walk around the pool in the shallow end. oh and of course drink more water too.

Your Baby in Week 33 (july 14) of Pregnancy


Your baby is still gaining weight (about half a pound a week), and she could grow up to another full inch this week. With that much baby inside your uterus, your amniotic-fluid level has maxed out, which explains why some of her pokes and kicks feel pretty sharp these days. (There's less fluid to cushion the blows.) Antibodies are being passed from you to your little one as she continues to develop her own fetal immune system, which will come in handy once she's outside the womb and fending off all sorts of germs.

she has officially found my ribs.

Monday, July 11, 2011

was it pip or did i just get lucky?

last week i was driving home from work as usual...and suddenly the cars in front of me started to slam on their breaks (on a 65mph highway with 4 lanes). so i moved over to the far right lane on this overpass that splits hwy 290 and 360. on the shoulder, a police officer had pulled over another car. i tried to get over out of the way and panicked for a split second. silly me should have slowed down even more than i did or tried harder to get over into the next lane. i noticed that the police officer had just finished up with the car, as that car pulled behind me. as i was driving down that hill i then noticed that the cop was now pulling me over. normally i would have gotten anxious, pissed off or even nervous, but somehow i remained calm. must be the hormones. he pulled me over and i rolled down the window. yes, to be honest i was hoping he would notice how pregnant i was. really, how could you miss it? i was also secretly hoping he would notice my id badge said that i worked for the federal government. he asked if i realized that i didn't get into the other lane and slow down 25mph below the speed limit when passing a police officer. mentioned a statistic of how many officers get killed while on duty due to people failing to switch lanes. i told him the truth and said that when i switched lanes, i panicked that i couldn't get back into the other lane and should have slowed down more than i should have. he asked for my insurance and license. he also kindly offered to get my bag from the backseat since my license was in there. even told me that i can roll up my window since it was so hot outside while he checked out things. i sat patiently while he did so and was glad that he was being nice. i knew that this was no one else's fault but mine at this point. for the record, i have only been pulled over once (knock on wood), received a ticket for speeding thru a construction zone. those tickets suck. no driving class online to get out of that one or have it taken off your record. it was an expensive ticket. the cop that pulled me over for that one was kinda rude and didn't have much to say to me and didn't really care. would have liked to get off with a warning for that one considering that i have a clean record. anyway, back to my nice cop. he came back and told me that he was going to give me a warning this time because the fine for this kind of ticket was expensive. i thanked him and told him that i promised to be more careful in the future. was it pip that helped me out? or was it my lucky day?

p.s. ironically, i saw an article in the local paper the next day about a new "Move Over Law."

Thursday, July 7, 2011

our first class

amy and i went to our first comprehensive childbirth class. we figured we should check it out, even though i am hoping for good drugs and a quick delivery. there were 11 couples there, all around our age. 5 couples are having boys, the other 5 are having girls and one couple wanted to be surprised. most pretty much were freaked out just like we are. the nurse practitioner that is teaching the class has been a nurse and also teaching this class for many, many years. even thanked us for sending her to ireland each year. we watched an old video (maybe from the 1980's?) that took us through the stages of labor. yes, they even showed the baby being born. i have to say that quite a few people had to turn their heads...including me. overall, the video sort of stressed me out! it was cool meeting other couples and talking about what we have been going through. guess that is probably the point of most of these classes. we even met someone with our same due date. i unfortunately realized after talking to her that i have been having contractions lately. the pressure that i have been feeling under my belly are braxton hicks contractions. we have 3 classes left in this series and lots more to learn. will let you know if it gives us a peace of mind or just makes us more nervous.

Your Baby in Week 32 of Pregnancy

What's up with your baby? She's starting to get ready for her big debut, tipping the scales at almost four pounds and topping out at just about 19 inches. In these past few weeks, it's all about practice, practice, practice as she hones the skills she'll need to thrive outside the womb — from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. And speaking of sucking, your little one has been able to suck her thumb for a while now. Something else to note: As more and more fat accumulates under your baby's skin, she's becoming less transparent and more opaque.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

i feel pregnant now

it's official. i feel really really pregnant. what does that mean, you ask? i feel slow, heavy and slightly swollen. i am walking slower, my fingers feel swollen and don't get me started on how hard it is to turn over in the bed. she seems to be be sitting heavy on me lately, because i can feel a little more pressure than usual. putting on socks and shoes is very challenging as well. i am only at week 31!

Your Baby in Week 31 of Pregnancy

Weighing in at three-plus pounds and measuring 18 inches long, your baby is quickly approaching his birth length — though she's got to pack on another three to five pounds before D-day. Also developing at an impressive clip: your baby's brain connections (she's got to make trillions of them!). She's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. She's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of wakefulness (and movement) and rest (when he’s pretty still).

Thursday, June 23, 2011

week 30 (june 23)

Your Baby in Week 30 of Pregnancy

Your belly’s increasing size is a definite clue that your baby is getting bigger every day, weighing in at over three pounds now (she’ll be packing on the weight at a rate of half a pound per week for the next seven weeks). Also growing daily is her brain, which is actually starting to look like the real thing with those characteristic grooves and wrinkles. And now that your little genius can regulate her own body temperature and turn up the heat, she'll start shedding lanugo, the downy body hair that's been keeping her warm up until now.

my co-workers had a wonderful shower for us on tuesday. lots of gifts, cake and punch. really neat decorations too. who knew you could have a center piece made out of diapers. shout out to janet for organizing it all! it was my first shower ever, so opening gifts in front of everyone was a new experience. it was much appreciated and i know we will put everything to good use. that means we will be doing lots of organizing this weekend, including a load of cute little baby clothes.

Friday, June 17, 2011

i'm tired of water!!

trying to keep hydrated is hard enough, but i just can't seem to find something tasty to drink. i've tried water with lemon, sparkling water with lime, etc! i just can't seem to find anything to quench my thirst! i usually don't drink sodas, but sprite has been hitting the spot lately. but that has tons of sugars in it. sodas are so bad for you, i am glad we are not addicted to them. then i thought about drinking teas, but i am staying away from caffeine. you will probably think i am overdoing it, but i am even staying away from some of the herbal teas. then i found a yummy mint hibiscus tea we get locally but then read this:

"Which teas are not safe? Many of the herbs used for teas, when taken in large or medicinal amounts, can potentially stimulate the uterus and induce miscarriage. These include anise, catnip, chamomile, comfrey, ephedra (called ma huang in traditional Chinese medicine), European mistletoe, hibiscus, horehound, Labrador, lemongrass, licorice root, mugwort, pennyroyal, raspberry leaf, rosemary, sage, sassafras, stinging nettle leaf, vetiver, and yarrow."

i'm so thirsty!

Your Baby in Week 29 of Pregnancy

How big is your baby this week? She weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though she's getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. And as she grows and the room in your womb gets tighter, you'll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee.

no wonder she is constantly kicking me, she is close to her birth length! yikes!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

week 28 - (june 9)

Your Baby in Week 28 of Pregnancy

Your baby is settling into the proper position for birth, with her head facing downward (toward your body's nearest exit!). Your little work in progress is now about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. She's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means she could be dreaming already (what do you suppose he's dreaming about?).

she continues to kick up a storm with stronger kicks each day. they say activity increases at week 28 and the doctor recommends doing daily fetal kick counts. she needs to kick at least 10 times in a 2 hour period. she is passing that test with flying colors.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

her little feet

at the appointment today i had the chance to see pip! well, it may have been due to my whining when i said, "when do we get to see her again?" the doctor then said that she would go see if a machine was free so we could take a look. : ) next thing i knew, she was wheeling in the machine and there she was on the screen.
i was really really curious of how she is positioned because the kicking and movement has increased over the past week. as in, things are moving across my stomach now with most movement on my right side. my guess was her little booty, but turns out it is her feet. she is head down with her booty to my left and her feet are too my right. the pictures kinda made me laugh because she kinda looked like Frankenstein (sorry pip, when you eventually read these entries, but it was true). she was looking right at us with her arms folded over her body.
oh! and i only gained 2 lbs this time. i am convinced it was the heavy sweater. ok, maybe it was due to the french toast, but it was definitely a contributing factor. time is flying by because now i have to go in for check ups every 2 weeks. yikes! this is really happening!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Week 26 (May 26th)

Your Baby in Week 26 of Pregnancy

What's up with your baby? She now weighs a full two pounds and measures nine-plus inches. And this week, her eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, start to open. Of course, there's not much to see in there, but if your baby spots a bright light (or hears a loud noise) near your belly, you may notice an increase in fetal activity. (“Hey, I'm in here, Mommy! Where’s the party!”) What accounts for that response? Her brain is more developed and sophisticated.

Pip will be 26 weeks old tomorrow and according to the above, she is more sophisticated! the kicking and punching has definitely increased over the past week. Sometimes i think she is doing a jig.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Week 25 (May 19th)

Your Baby in Week 25 of Pregnancy

Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds, reaching nine inches in length and passing the pound and a half mark. Under his skin, capillaries are forming and filling with blood and by week's end, air sacs (also lined with capillaries) will develop in his lungs, getting them ready for that first breath. Mind you, those lungs aren't ready for prime time just yet — but they are developing surfactant, a substance that will help them expand after birth. And speaking of breathing, your baby's tiny nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open, and her vocal chords are getting ready to roar.

little pip is kicking up a storm! she always lets me know when i need to move to a different position. more recently, i think i felt the first body part stretch my stomach out. it was different from a quick kick as it pushed out for a few seconds. very, very crazy experience, i have to say. next doctors appointment is on may 31. we hope to get to see her at this visit.
she had her first airplane trip over the past weekend. jean and i went on one last sister trip before pip arrives and visited bryson in san diego. absolutely loved it! bryson was a most excellent host and even drove us around in style on sunday in his 63 Falcon convertible. this is only the beginning of her travels!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

the nursery

amy has been working hard putting all of the baby furniture together. the crib, bookcase and even the ikea shelves that are in the closet. good work amy! things are coming along, but we are looking forward to some other neat additions to the room including curtains and bumper pads that my co-worker is sewing for us and the paintings that stephanie is taking charge of. we are hoping that the framily will be able to come together and be a part of her creation. they are going to hang directly over the crib. amy also found the rug below. it is really hard to find a circular rug and one that isn't super expensive! crossing our fingers that toby doesn't christen it before pip gets here.

also on order, is a comfy glider. i figured since we will be spending many hours in the chair, we might as well pick a cozy, comfortable piece of furniture. i can't believe that this room was once a guest room! soon it will be filled with dirty diapers, wipes and the sounds of a baby crying. hopefully it will be more like laughter, music and the smell of fresh laundry?

special thanks to amy's dad (grandpa bob) for installing the lovely beadboard or wainscoting that goes around the entire room. it really transforms the room making it bright and happy.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

6 months today

Your Baby in Week 24 of Pregnancy

Your baby is about eight and a half inches long and weighs one and a half pounds, gaining steadily at a rate of six ounces per week. Much of that weight comes from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscle. Those little ears of hers are getting sharper and can hear very loud sounds, from a yapping dog to a jackhammer. Also by now, that fabulous face is almost fully formed, complete with eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair. Is your baby a brunette, a blonde, or a redhead? Actually, right now her locks are white since there's no pigment yet.

If only we could get a glimpse of pip's face!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

we finally registered!

big shout out to sally, who was here visiting last weekend. you can now find our baby registry at buy buy baby and land of nod (we haven't quite finished updating the land of nod registry yet). we would have been in that dang store for hours scanning everything if we didn't have her guidance. it is certainly overwhelming, especially if you have no idea what half of that stuff does or is supposed to do. it was a fun experience. i now see why people like to get married and have showers for every occasion.
we really didn't put any clothes on the list because we have lots of cute 0-3 months clothes for Pip thanks to Grandma Jan and Grandma Merrily! auntie jean has so kindly purchased some baby cd's that we all look forward to listening to as well. that is if she decides to share. : ) it includes the cure, beatles and some U2.
big thanks to those of you that are always thinking about us and for the thoughtful gifts and cards. it means a lot.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

no more french toast for me!

we had a doctors appointment today. i knew i had gained some weight, but i wasn't expecting to gain 9 POUNDS!!!! when i stepped on the scale, she kept pushing the knob further and further to the right. i think i even told her to stop at one point. my mouth is still wide open from the news. yes, yes, i know. i am supposed to gain weight, but 9 lbs in 4 weeks? really, i am hoping that my sweater (it was cold in austin this morning) contributed to some of the gain. right? either way, i need to be careful and watch my diet. previously i was not a big sweet eater, but now i have been craving french toast, ice cream and even pop-tarts! so no more excuses and i need to get in at least 3 days a week in the gym. jean is especially excited about my sweet tooth. sorry sis, i need to cut back for now. i want little pip to be as healthy as possible.

Friday, April 29, 2011

one pound!

Your Baby in Week 22 of Pregnancy

This week, your baby weighs in at a whopping pound and measures nearly eight inches, about the size of a small doll. But your little doll (who now has eyebrows, eyelashes, and maybe even some hair on that little head) is a living one who can now perceive light and dark. She can also hear your voice, your heartbeat, your gurgling stomach, and the whoosh-whoosh of blood circulating through your body. And as her brain and nerve endings develop, she may reach for her face (or whatever she can reach) just to experiment with her newfound sense of touch.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

pictures of little pip


here is little pip on our first ultrasound. she was waving her arm around a lot and at one point we saw her open her mouth. as you can see, she has a little belly. the technician says this is a good sign that she is eating well and not underweight. this particular appointment is amazing. they measure everything they can from the brain, cord, legs to the size of the organs. during all of the measuring, the technician was very surprised of how long her femur bones were. amy and i had to explain how tall the donor was, but she was still amazed. everything looked good at the appointment with no concerns or comments on the pictures. yay!

the next appointment is set for May 3rd.

Monday, April 25, 2011

dreams

they say that women have lots of vivid dreams while they are pregnant, sometimes having strange dreams or nightmares. the boost in progesterone could be a factor in creating those emotional ups and downs.
boy have i had some crazy ones! i sometimes have 3-4 dreams in the same night. all making no sense at all of course. some of my dreams have been disturbing too, involving blood and death. i would rather not go into details about those particular dreams. a recurring one is that amy and i are out somewhere (last time it was at ikea?) and we realized we left baby girl at home! yikes! these are the times where i hope dreams really don't come true!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

fruit of the week

Your Baby in Week 21 of Pregnancy

How big is your baby? About the size of a large banana — and speaking of bananas, if you eat one this week, there's a good chance your baby will get a taste, too. That's because she swallows a bit of amniotic fluid each day (for nutrition, hydration, and to practice digesting), so she eats whatever's on your menu — and gets to put those developing taste buds to good use. So go ahead and nosh on those nachos (or crunch those crudités): Your baby may develop a taste for them when she’s older.

my plan is to eat lots of french fries so she can taste how wonderful they are! ok, ok, i will try to eat healthy so baby girl can get lots of nutrients and good stuffs. easter weekend will be filled with lots of great food for her to try.

it's getting a little harder to bend over, harder to sleep on my side, but i am feeling pretty good! i am also continuing to notice my stomach growing each week. basically i am running out of clothes to wear and realizing i need to go shopping.

Monday, April 18, 2011

maternity clothes

i finally broke down and ordered some maternity clothes. actually, i had no choice. i can surprisingly fit into my pants, but can not button them. i hate that i have to buy work clothes AND casual clothes. maybe i should invest in some scrubs for work? i was able to find petite maternity clothes, which i got really excited about since i didn't have to spend the extra money on getting the pants hemmed. maternity clothes are definitely...interesting. some of it is expensive too! the big stretchy band attached to the pants (it pulls over your stomach as you grow) makes you feel not so attractive. i think the easiest thing for me to do this summer is to buy lots of cute dresses. oh the heat is going to be fun!

Friday, April 15, 2011

can't believe it has been 20 weeks!

it sounds even crazier when you say 5 months! so far i haven't had too many complaints, but man do i get tired easily. the many hours spent in the yard turns into only 1 hour followed by a long nap. if that is the only think i have to complain about, i think that is pretty good. i am extremely glad that i didn't get any morning sickness. amy claims that my hormone fluctuations really haven't affected my mood (she was really worried). she is about the size of a mango and will continue to grow quickly. as will my stomach. my sister claims that i have changed a lot over the week. i think that is true do to my recent limited wardrobe. i apologize now if you see me in the same outfits over and over. at this point i am just happy if anything fits me.

i decided to do a blog and spare most of our friends and family the numerous emails of what size fruit she is or the pictures to come. so feel free to check back here at your own convenience. hope you enjoy seeing little girl grow!