For Granny LaBouff

Penelope met her great-grandmother Maxine LaBouff last March, when Granny came out for Penelope's Naming and Dedication Ceremony. Like any loving grandmother, Granny spoiled Penelope with many cute clothes, including an adorable summer outfit complete with a bow. You know the which ones I am talking about: the bow/headband thingies that seem to look so goofy...mostly because they are on bald baby's heads?

I think they are silly and, at least until Granny gave her one, had no interest in putting them on Penelope's head. But despite my aversion to headband bows or whatever you want to call them, I promised Granny that I'd put the bow on her head and take a picture. We love Granny and would do just about anything for her. That's what we grandkids do for our grandmas, you know? And it is a darn cute outfit so, for Granny, just this once, no problem.

Here she is, Granny! And, okay, I'll admit it: she actually does look pretty cute in that darn bow.

Going Strong at 7 Months!

Our little Penelope is five short months away from turning one year old! I write this every time I post an update, I know, but it really is amazing how quickly time has passed since Penelope was born. Tracy and I were talking just a couple of days ago about how the first few months of P's life (maybe the first three) seemed to go by slowly (perhaps the sleep deprivation was a main contributor to this) but after about month three, time has just flown! She seemed to jump from not doing a whole lot (eating, sleeping, pooping) to wanting to jump out of my lap and squealing with delight in her bouncy-seat. Experienced parents always tell us that pretty soon she'll be graduating from high school and leaving the house...I try not to listen because I have a hard enough time knowing she'll probably be crawling in the next 40 days or so--her first movements away from mama (Doug: that's gonna be a game-changer). Ugh.

I can't provide a weight/height updates because we haven't been to the pediatrician in awhile but according to my version of weighing her (I weigh the two of us together and then subtract my weight), she is around 17 lbs. She seems to have grown maybe 1/2 an inch. Her hair is what has noticeably grown; not only is it getting thicker (and filling in the back of her head), but it is developing a bit of wave. It's not hard to imagine that she will end up with wavy/curly hair, of course. :)

We spent a wonderful weekend a couple of weeks ago in Tahoe with our good friends the LeardManns, the Hannafords and the Honeycutts. Penelope had a great time: she loved all of the attention and was particularly interested in Aria, the second youngest of our group. She particularly loved to watch Aria play with her toys. Much to our surprise, Penelope slept well, even napped, pretty darn consistently the whole time we were in Tahoe. Maybe the fact that we we slept in a king-size bed sweetened the deal: ALL THREE of us had plenty of room, it was so, so nice. The Hannafords are expecting their 2nd child soon; it was so exciting to be able to see them so close to the baby's birth. I got to feel their baby hiccuping and it really made me miss being pregnant. That was the first time since having P that I actually missed being pregnant. Penelope often had hiccups and while I felt bad for the poor kid (who enjoys having the hiccups), it was an incredibly special sensation. It was a fantastic weekend and I think all of us hope we can keep up our yearly visit!

Giggling with Uncle Tim

The attack of the bodily fluids

I just took my second shower of the day. Why, you ask?

As I was changing Penelope (a somewhat significant chore as I am still getting used to cloth diapers and how they work), she grabbed her feet and fffftttt......POOPED all over the place. I threw a cloth diaper over her booty but it didn't help much! This came after she peed all over her activity gym, despite the fact that I put her down on a cloth diaper (was trying to "air her out" to avoid rash).

I laughed, she laughed...it was quite funny. Poop is no big deal, right? I mean, everyone poops. So I cleaned her up and all was good. Until I picked her up and...yuck...she barfed in my hair and down my face and chest. I didn't laugh this time...although she did. Of course she did.

Motherhood is not for the queasy, is it?

Nearly Two Months Old!

Our sweet Penelope is nearly two months old...unbelievable! We are in constant states of awe; she changes and grows so quickly! Here are some recent photos of our little gal! Here she is playing in her activity gym, with Grizzly keeping a watchful eye on her:

She is just now getting big and strong enough to sit in her Bumbo chair! We have a tray for it, on which we'll soon be able to place toys and whatnot...when she begins to grab and hold things! Look at how big she looks sitting in the chair:

We continue to adjust to life with our daughter. Every moment with her is a precious gift, even though sometimes, at the moment, it seems so hard! Lately she has been terribly fussy, I think she is going through a growth spurt. She isn't sleeping as well as she was a couple of weeks ago and she generally seems more stressed, again more than a couple of weeks ago. With that said, she continues to eat well and our adventures in breastfeeding continue! It has become so much easier but I still cannot say we have it down...we still struggle. I am also trying to resume some of my pre-Penelope activities--namely school. I have begun to use a Maya Wrap (introduced by Karin and Jennifer from church...thank you, gals!) to sling her up so she can be near me and I can have my hands free to type or whatever else. It has worked pretty well...just like everything else, I am hopeful we will get better at that, as well!

I am still pretty darn exhausted, even though Penelope tends to sleep in good chunks at night. I have also made myself nap during the day with her a couple of times a week, although it is sometimes so difficult to seemingly "give up" that time to sleep when I have schoolwork, housework, laundry, etc. to do. I have let go of a lot of my neat-freak stuff but boy has it been difficult!

Life continues to be exciting, exhausting and fun, that is for sure. We'll see what this week brings!

Four weeks already!

Whew! I frankly don't know where to begin with this post...while it has been only four weeks since Penelope was born, our lives have changed so completely! I think what Doug said a few days before Christmas, when we realized we hadn't bought a single Christmas gift, pretty much sums up our priorities now: we have everything we need now. We don't need any "thing--" we have the ultimate gift--our precious little daughter. I can't even imagine wanting anything after having her...not that I required too many material/luxury things before the little gal was born...but nothing compares to her. I think, as long as we can witness the healthy and happy growth of our little girl, we are the richest, most privileged folks on the planet.

With that said, I am so appreciative of all of the "things" we received from folks in preparation for Penelope's arrival! We sped through so many of the diapers we received and she is already beginning to outgrow some of the clothes she received! Having a swing to put her in so I can go to the bathroom or just take a quick break is wonderful and we took a very pleasant walk the other day with her in the baby wrap! I (we) are also so appreciative to those who have made us dinners and have come over to help organize, clean, or just hold the baby while I eat lunch! Now that Doug is back to work full-time, I am so appreciative of the help we have received...I can't thank everyone enough.

I am sneaking in the writing of this post during one of Penelope's naps. I know, I should be sleeping too but it is so hard to do so when I need to eat or pay bills or whatever! When P is awake, she is pretty much on the boob all of the time--which of course is where she should be at this point--but that doesn't lend itself to too much "me" time! Now, believe me, I expected almost all "me" time to disappear forever after Penelope was born but sometimes even moms need showers and a tooth-flossing (and to reach out to other adults even in only via this blog).

It's amazing that Penelope will be four weeks old tomorrow! In one sense, I cannot imagine life without her--has she only been with us (on the outside) for four weeks?!?!? In another, I still look at her in complete amazement: she is OUR daughter?!? She is that being who grew in my belly for nine months!?! Needless to say, the last four weeks have been nothing short of earth-shattering for us...pretty stressful but more incredible and rewarding with every passing day...

So I should probably tell you about the girl herself, eh? Well, she is amazing, beautiful and hilarious! Sure, challenging too but only in a couple of aspects: breastfeeding and evening fussiness. Other than that, she's a dream baby. She loves to be changed and swaddled. She also loves to eat...something that has come on recently because at first, neither she nor I could figure out how to get her fed. Consequently, she lost A LOT of weight and our pediatrician got us "finger-feeding" her (Doug's job...excellent bonding time). Finger-feeding is supplementing her with breastmilk through a feeding tube on the end of Doug's finger that she can suck from to get the milk. Our pediatrician does not recommend giving babies the bottle before six weeks so the finger-feeding is a compromise--we needed to supplement but didn't even want to risk nipple confusion. So, with the finger-feeding, P began to build up her strength and learn to latch...and now she breastfeeds almost exclusively. We'll probably transition from finger-feeding to bottle around six weeks not because she necessarily still needs the supplement but because Daddy enjoys feeding her and I know she enjoys it, too.

She has put on about 7 ounces above her birthweight (as of last Thursday) and has grown about an inch. Her head is definitely bigger and she is getting a double-chin! She is pretty demanding when she wants to eat but is equally curious about her surroundings; she is so darn aware and you can almost see her brain functioning more and more every day. She recognized our voices immediately...straight out of the oven she knew who Mom and Dad were. That was the most profound experience of my life--seeing her for the first time and the nurse placing her on my chest. Tracy actually has a small video of that moment and I am so glad for that!!

Speaking of her, she is beginning to wake up so I need to bring this to a close! I'll try to get back on soon with another update!

Please welcome...

Update: For additional baby pics, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/djmayer/collections/ to see them all!

...Penelope Marie Mayer. Our lovely daughter was born on Wednesday, December 12 at 12:53am after a long and exhausting labor (24 hours!). She weighed in at 6 pounds, 13.4 ounces and measures 20 inches in length. Jenn was an absolute champ and went natural all the way...she was truly amazing. Here are some pics below and more will be posted later. I must sleep -- have to be back at the hospital in 4 hours and I've been up for nearly 25 straight. Nothing compared to mama, but I'm still beat.

Our small, little angel

Cozy and asleep

Happy mom, dad and baby

39 Weeks...holy cow!

Well, amazing to think that baby's gestational age is 39 weeks! I continue to be surprised that I am still pregnant...I honestly thought that Baby Mayer would be here by now! Not that I am really upset or frustrated...yet! If I am still writing as a pregnant mom in two weeks, I might be!

At our last OB appt., our NP indicated that things were ready for dilation...soft cervix and whatnot. I can tell that baby has moved down a little, but nothing major. The softening is a good sign...it is progress since last week. Uterine activity has definitely picked up--since early yesterday morning, I have been cramping and contracting fairly often, nothing consistent but enough to warrant my attention. I have also had some other clues, which some of you may not really want to hear about but are early indicators of the cervix changing. :)

Our NP mentioned that the incoming rainstorms bode well for our going into labor--Doug explained it has to do with the low pressure. Interesting! So, this weekend may be it...we'll see!

We are definitely ready...at least around the house. We even put up the Christmas tree last week! I am so excited to have a tree up--we haven't put up a tree in about three years because we always seem to be away on Christmas. I really look forward to spending Christmas at our home this year, particularly because we'll have baby with us! Amazing. We've mentioned that baby's room is ready and boy is it ever! I did the last load of baby laundry yesterday...he/she has so many blankets and onesies...what a lucky kid. I've loaded up the freezer and pantry with meals/components for meals and if my body lets me, I think I'll give our tile floors one last steam. I am probably stupid to do so, since it is supposed to rain and the dogs will only track in more dirt. I don't know if my body will let me go too crazy, I think Doug mentioned in his post that even vacuuming kills my back. Those sorts of things are very frustrating...I hate not being able to do the things I never really gave a second thought to before I got pregnant. :)

I'll have Doug take a belly photo today and will post it asap! The pregnancy fun continues!

More Baby Shower Fun!

Finally! Here are some photos from two more of the amazing baby showers in honor of Baby Mayer! These are from the shower thrown by my wonderful aunts, Pam Pistoresi and Stacey Henderson. It was a beautiful day; we had a yummy brunch (complete with quiche and 7-up salad...two of my favorites!) and Baby received all kinds of wonderful gifts, including tons of diapers!

Cute placemats!

Grandma-to-be Sharon, Mom-to-be Jenn, Nana-to-be Nadine, Great Grandma-to-be Mary

The Ladies!

Uggs from Papa Steve


Fun Favors!

These are from the shower thrown by Jennifer Kranzke and the other amazing ladies at the UU Church of Fresno! We had a wonderful time sharing lots of advice for Baby Mayer and again, Baby was spoiled with lots of amazing gifts, including a car seat! We are so happy to a part of such a loving and supportive community--these gals rock!

The UUCF Ladies!

Measuring Mama's Belly!


Some of the amazing UUCF gals

And to assure you that Doug wasn't left out of the gift-opening completely, here he is modeling the latest in diaper-bag fashion, courtesy of soon-to-be Uncle Brian and Aunt Tricia!

Hot Daddy!

And Daddy is also getting into the "sling" of things, modeling a baby wrap, courtesy of Ellen G. and since we have no baby yet, Mr. Dragon (courtesy of Deb B.) was a suitable substitute!

Chick Magnet!

We must (we simply cannot stop!) extend our deepest, most heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Baby Mayer's upcoming arrival; every time we walk into his/her nursery, we are overwhelmed with the generosity and love bestowed upon this kid! I just cannot wait to introduce him/her to everyone...we are going to have so much fun. :) Again, thanks to everyone!

The Wait Continues...

Well, here we are at 38 weeks! Baby continues to be happy, cozy and warm in mama's belly and mama continues to sleep poorly, pee often and waddle slowly about. Not that I am complaining...well, at least not much. :)

It's strange to think I was born by this time in my mom's pregnancy, what fun she missed out on, at least with me! I think Dan was born around 38 weeks...so...I haven't broken family tradition quite yet. Although, Dr. B. checked things out yesterday and I am still shut up pretty tight...she predicted that I would give birth somewhere between December 13-20. She also said we are on track to having about an 8 lb baby...although I think he/she will be bigger if I give birth AFTER our EDD. I suppose I can handle being pregnant for that much longer! Doug's bro Uncle Chris might get his wish to have his first niece/nephew born on his birthday, December 15.

We still have much to do before baby arrives! I am feeling somewhat panicky about being as organized as possible before he/she comes home, knowing that we will be living in disorganization for awhile. Believe it or not, this is one of my major stresses; I hate messes! Especially when my head is a little disorganized (or sleep-deprived!), a clean and well-organized home helps. So, if you wonder what we might need after baby is born? No, we don't need any more onesies or booties, we need someone to dust and run the vacuum every couple of days. :) I spent Tuesday cooking/preparing meals to freeze and will finish up that task today! While I feel like we can do so much more before baby is born, I know that I have accomplished a lot and that does feel pretty good.

Baby is hiccuping right now...it might be my imagination or wishful thinking...but hiccups feel lower. Since about Sunday, I have felt the baby simultaneously pushing on my cervix and on my ribs occasionally--what a weird feeling! I also felt what I think might have been false labor contractions yesterday...they felt someone different from the Braxton Hicks contractions that I have been feeling since about month 5-6, I felt them more in my back. Nothing came of them but they did feel different and give me some sort of indication that I will "just know" when things begin to happen.

The waiting is really strange, I have really mixed feelings about it. I am physically pretty tired and close to ready to go but mentally, well, I don't know if I will be completely ready. Although, I have a feeling that nature will take care of that; perhaps I will get so big, so uncomfortable that feeling unsure will be a luxury compared to how I feel physically! That is, I won't frankly give a damn about my mental/emotional doubts, I will be feeling so huge and lousy that all I will want is to get the baby OUT!! I have trusted my body so far (and that trust has served me well) so perhaps that is the way it will go...

30 Days to EDD!

Well, here we are, November 13! If baby decides to be one of those rare kids who actually arrives on his/her due date, we are exactly 30 days away from his/her birthday! I had to at least acknowledge it...I know that meeting him/her in exactly 30 days is extremely unlikely.

In fact, I am beginning to doubt my initial feelings of meeting this baby prior to his/her due date! Just over the past couple of days, I have been feeling that Baby Mayer is pretty cozy in his/her womb-home and just might break family tradition and come after his/her due date. I am actually, at this point, feel okay about that, but, talk to me in a month and I might be singing a different tune.

I'll post again soon with photos from this past weekend's baby showers...they were amazing and we can officially say, at least "stuff" wise, we are ready for the baby! I want to make sure to include photos and for some reason, I am not finding them! So expect another, much longer post soon!

40 Days to Go!

I can't believe it. I remember like it was yesterday that I was 40 DAYS pregnant! It seems my feelings haven't changed much since; I recall thinking then, "I can't believe it!" Yet we've come so far since then, in fact, I can't imagine my life without this baby--I already feel like a mom and consider Doug not only my husband and best friend, but the father of our child. Even though we have not actually seen him/her, I can already sense who he/she is, personality wise and how he/she figures into our life. Just ask anyone who bothers to ask, "how are you?" and they'll tell you that all I talk about is this pregnancy and this baby...he/she is already the center of my life. :)

Speaking of life, it is pretty nuts. I think nesting (or the preliminary stages of it) has officially set in--I feel the need to CLEAN EVERYTHING. I am usually a pretty neat person but I want to CLEAN...as in take everything out of the kitchen cupboards and clean, clean, clean! We recently purchased a steam cleaner--one of those lightweight ones you can carry throughout the house. I cannot wait to attack the tile grout with it! And despite my best green sensibilities, I was in the cleaning products aisle at Target yesterday, I saw the swiffer system and realized why people use it; its easier than lugging the vacuum cleaner throughout the house--and I nearly bought it. I resisted, however--I am not that desperate yet. :) Nothing like cleaning your floors with maxi-pad looking things, eh?

I also bought some of those yesterday! I felt a little strange in the sanitary napkin section...I clearly look like I have had no need of such things in quite awhile. It will be somewhat strange to resume my normal bodily cycles. I bought them to begin packing my hospital bag--I am a bit superstitious about this. If I am packed, I won't go into preterm labor, but if I am not packed, I probably will! I hear it is a good idea to have done around 34-35 weeks anyway, so I am right on time. I am somewhat nervous because the fact of the matter is, I was born at 36 weeks. I don't think our baby will make that early of an appearance but having the bag packed can't hurt to try to insure that!

We have two baby showers coming up! Over Veteran's weekend, my aunts Pam and Stacey are throwing us a shower and the fabulous ladies from our church are also hosting one. I am constantly amazed and heartened by the outpouring of love and support for Doug, myself and this baby! I appreciate the fact that everyone, it seems, wants to celebrate this little one. I guess the birth of a baby is a special event; I don't have too much experience with this so sometimes it's somewhat overwhelming--all of the attention. I honestly do love and appreciate the outpouring of care and support and really look forward to getting together with all of those great ladies--family and friends--to help welcome our little one into our lives.

And speaking of little ones--my dear old friend Tasha just had twins! I went to visit her, her husband Bill and their new son and daughter last week at the hospital. Mom and Dad were so happy and proud of the twins and those twins--oh, they are the most precious little beings. I held their daughter for quite awhile and just watched her little facial expressions, her movements. It was incredible. I sat down in the rocking chair at one point with her and as I rocked her, I thought, "wow, I could do this all day." And it was such an emotional moment because I realized that, soon, I will be able to rock my little baby all day long. "Amazing" doesn't even come close to expressing how I feel about that.

The 8-Week Countdown!

We just concluded 32 weeks of pregnancy today and begin our eighth month! I am increasingly amazed at how fast this pregnancy has gone by and increasingly anxious about having this baby! Our childbirth classes are helping in that department; with every class, I (we) become more confident in the whole birthing process and that helps decrease the fears I have about it. I still have much fear--well, more like nervousness--about being a mom but I suppose we have to take it one thing at a time: first deal with childbirth and then deal with the child!

Speaking of the child, here is he/she today:


Even though I still feel like I am more boobs than belly, there is a healthy baby in there! At our appointment on Wednesday, I was measuring 33 weeks--pretty much right on time! So, while my belly isn't the typical basketball looking thing, there is a normal-sized kid in there! I am constantly reminded of this reality; his/her movements are very strong and frequent! Our NP said that baby is head-down already--in the perfect spot to deliver nice, swift kicks to my ribs! Thankfully, I think I feel elbow jabs most of the time; the kick-in-the-ribs often knock the wind out of me! I have also continued to feel hiccups...Doug even felt them, recently! Everyday is an adventure with this little one and I can only imagine what it will be like when he/she is with us on the outside!

Doug and I are really enjoying our childbirth classes and, particularly, our meditations that are a part of the hypnobirthing program. I have had some trouble sleeping lately but last night, after doing the meditation, I slept all the way through the night until 5 AM, got up to pee, came back to bed and went promptly back to sleep! I have struggled all week with not being able to go back to sleep once I got up, and even having to get up and eat something because I was awake long enough for my body to think it was breakfast time! So, not only am I preparing for a satisfying birth experience, I am already reaping the rewards of hypnobirthing! Whoo hoo! We are also learning good relaxation techniques in our Tuesday night class; Doug learned how to simulate contractions on my thigh so I can practice breathing through them and--at least with the simulated contractions, the breathing works! Incidentally, because of my allergies, I discovered that I need to back on Claritin (according to NP, safe for the baby) so I can breathe...

We embark on a new adventure tomorrow...the baby shower! My dear pal Tracy and dear sister-in-law Catherine are hosting it...they are the best. :) I am really looking forward to celebrating this pregnancy with friends and family. I hear there is a special dessert as well...can a pregnant lady ask for anything more? Family, good friends and dessert!?!?! I will make sure to post about it when we get back...

Have great weekends and see some of you tomorrow!

Nightmares, charlie horses and stretch marks

Yes, folks...I am officially pregnant. Very pregnant. While many people still look at me and shake their heads ("You don't look that pregnant! You barely look pregnant!"), I assure you that baby is right on track development-wise and I AM pregnant, complete with nightmares, nighttime charlie horse calf cramps and, even, yes, stretch marks.

We had the first of our every-two-week appointments with our OB/NP yesterday and, as I said, baby continues to grow inside of my ever-expanding belly. My uterus stretches up to under my ribcage now and have felt the occasional rib-kick. Baby is about 3 lbs now and is still performing amazing acrobatics, although not as crazily as before (less room for him or her to ricochet off the uterine walls, I guess). I feel him/her pretty much all day long, even in just the littlest of movements. I think I felt hiccups the other day--I was expecting it to be "cute" little thuds but they were frankly somewhat violent! Poor kid...I understand...I hate the hiccups, too.

We also began childbirth class on Tuesday! There are eight other couples besides ourselves and so far, we are pleased with the teacher, her philosophy, etc. She is even incorporating some hypnobirthing methods, which is great--considering we begin our hypnobirthing class on Sunday evening. Never heard of hypnobirthing? Here's a good link:

http://www.hypnobirthing.com/

We'll share more about it once our classes begin!

As for the Tuesday class, it is offered through our OB's practice and is a combo of many different methods. What is sort of funny is that Doug and I seem to be the oldest couple there; so many of the couples seem so so young! A couple of gals, especially, seem no older than about 20...wow. I know that we are not "old," per se but I felt somewhat old, sitting in that room with all of those bright and shiny faces. We'll see how the rest of the 5 weeks go!

So about the nightmares, charlie horses and stretch marks: those have been just a few of the fun experiences the third trimester has brought. I knew about stretch marks (figured I get them at some point) but I did not previously know that nightmares and charlie horse leg cramps are normal occurrences during pregnancy. I wake up nearly every night out of a deep, disturbing sleep at about 4 AM...having had some crazy nightmare-like dream. They are all stress-related, according to what I have read. My brain is apparently trying to work out the stress I feel about birth, being a mom, etc. and thus I have dreams about running from gangs of murderous thugs or (and this one is my most recent and pretty obvious) trying to get somewhere but missing the plane because I was trying to get everything ready and I had too much to pack. Don't need to be Freud to interpret that one. :)

To add insult to injury, when I wake up in sweaty panic, I am usually dealing with a charlie horse cramp and the intense need to pee...ugh! At least it is still only once a night, we learned in childbirth class that as soon as the baby "drops" (expect that to happen anywhere around 36-37 weeks), my bladder will be able to handle about a tablespoon of pee. I suppose I should be thankful around that time...at least the nightmares will go away because I won't be sleeping--just peeing every hour or so.

And stretch marks...they finally appeared about a week ago. I just have them right under my belly and am trying to keep them under control with Burt's Bees Mama's Belly Butter. I am not too heartbroken...no one will ever see them other than Doug and as I mentioned before, I was expecting them. They are frankly the least of my worries....I'd take the stretch marks over the crappy nightmares, any day. I really hate the nightmares.

I must also share the general dinginess/distractedness I have increasingly experienced also during this crazy third trimester. To put it into perspective: tomorrow is the last day we can say we have double-digit weeks until the baby is born. When we wake up on Saturday, we are less than 10 weeks away from his/her arrival. Yes, we are excited but as it gets closer, the more terrified I get and the more distracted I am. It is extremely difficult to think about anything else other than BABY. As I was sitting in my only class last night, I caught myself at least twice not paying attention at all...I was not able to recall anything anyone had just said. I don't do that...I am an extremely attentive student but I seem to have lost my edge. This is somewhat depressing; I always pride myself on having something meaningful to say but lately, well...my contributions are mediocre at best. I am still putting in all of the work and trying my hardest but, man, it is just really hard. How do other women show up for 8-hour workdays? My hat off to them...wow.

That's enough from me...for now.

Third Trimester...can you believe it?!?

Last Friday, we reached a major milestone in this pregnancy: the third trimester! We had our 28 week appointment with Dr. Beingesser and everything looks great: no gestational diabetes, baby's development is good, my weight is good...all is going perfectly! The baby him/herself seems happy; he/she is movin' and groovin...we can finally see his/her movements on the outside of my belly now! I have also noticed his/her routine: his/her most active times are 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM--and when I wake up to pee one-three times a night, as I fall asleep, I can feel the little one kicking away.

With only 12 weeks to go, we have put preparations into high gear! We are signed up for childbirth classes: one with our OB's group and another with a local hypnobirthing coach. We just selected our doula--she will support both Doug and I throughout labor, birth and will also serve as our lactation consultant. Jacque is highly recommended by EVERYONE...including our OB! We are so excited that things seem to be coming together...

Speaking of which, take a look at these photos! Tracy and Mike came to visit this weekend and together we made major progress on two of our major house-projects: the bathroom and the baby's room! The baby's room is definitely looking like such, particularly with the addition of his/her crib:


With the addition of the crib, it makes our impending parenthood that much more real, to say the very least. We still have a lot to do to prepare for baby's arrival but having a crib in the house makes his/her arrival seem so, so close. I still sometimes stop and in a semi-panic think, "is this really happening?" For the most part, however I am just so excited to meet him/her. I have a feeling that he/she will seem to arrive in no time: the next couple of months are shaping up to be busy! We have three baby showers to attend, childbirth classes to begin, my grad class to finish and just our regular lives to lead: work, friends, church and maybe some more frequent date nights before time together becomes a bit more limited.

The excitement continues...

Pregnancy goes on...

And on and on...just like the heat...which, by the way, is not a good mix. We have had some of the hottest weather here lately, almost every day has reached over 100 degrees. I was never a big fan of the heat but Fresno heat...I could handle. Not anymore. I rarely go outside, in fact! On day, I realized that I had only been outside to take out the recyling and that was bad enough. Again, I thank my lucky stars that I don't really need to go anywhere most of the time...I do my work from our lovely, air-conditioned home. I am not the only one, by the way, exhausted from the heat and this pregnancy:


One good thing about the heat is that the paint in the baby's room dries extra-quickly and as a result, it is nearly done! Here is a picture of the room, in progress:

The difference between the old room and this one is remarkable...just a couple of new coats of paint (see the old room here) changed it completely. Doug continues to paint...I think he will be done fairly soon! We received our crib last week, which waits to be set up after all painting is complete.

As you may see, we are progressing! I am getting bigger and bigger (although still not too big...when you start out pretty big, a little baby doesn't make too much of a splash, I guess) and the baby is more and more active. He or she is constantly moving, kicking, turning...I don't actually know what he or she is doing but sometimes makes such a ruckus that it nearly stops me in my tracks. I was trying to explain how it feels to Doug but could not adequately express: tickling? vibrating? girgling? Like right now, I feel kicks at the bottom of my ribcage that are almost bubbly...like as if I had to burp, sort of. While I am not one of those women who praise the miracle of pregnancy everyday (most of the time it is too exhausting), feeling the baby kick and tumble makes the whole thing more than worth it. Here we are at week 25:


Even if I don't really look it...I do feel six months pregnant and sometimes I can't remember what it feels like to NOT be pregnant. Soon enough, however...it will be over and I'll have bigger fish to fry than sensitivity to the heat and wanting to sleep all of the time. Well, maybe the sleepiness will persist for awhile...

Behold the Belly

Finally, the belly shots!

We'll be doing weekly shots and posting them here until the baby is born so you can all see the progress.

I had to get this photo in, especially with this shirt that Jenn gave me for father's day. I admit it, I am responsible!

Getting Ready!

It's just amazing to me that we'll be 24 weeks pregnant tomorrow! If this pregnancy follows family tradition, we really have only about 12-14 weeks before we welcome Baby Mayer into the world. I think back to when I was 12 weeks pregnant--when we began to tell the world our exciting news--and how I thought I had all the time in the world before we'd actually meet our son or daughter. The gap is closing very fast and while I am trying to really enjoy the present--the pregnancy--I am getting increasingly excited to meet our little one! Of course, I am also getting increasingly nervous--I still cannot completely believe that Doug and I will soon be someone's parents.

Because time is getting short, we set aside last weekend to clean out our second room and prepare it for baby. Doug's mom and bro came over to help us organize, clean, prep and paint the baby's room! It looks like a baby's room now--a pleasant light green. The baby's Aunt Catherine and Uncle Dan gave us the green paint over a year ago--it wasn't quite what they wanted for their own bedroom but, as Aunt Catherine suspected, it is a perfect baby's room color. Thank you, Dan and Catherine!

Room Before

Sharon (Doug's mom) and Chris (Doug's bro) provided incredible help! Since I had to stay away from primer and paint (not to mention the wall-cleaning solution), they helped Doug tremendously and the room looks so good! More than that, it FEELS SO GOOD to have such a major project done! When we walk in the room, we can imagine a crib against the wall and soon, a baby sleeping in that crib in the brightest and cheeriest room in our home. We could not be so ready without their help--thanks SO much, Mom and Bro! We will post photos of the nursery-in-progress soon! Doug received a fantastically fancy camera for his birthday but had to return it. It had some pixel problem. Once we get the replacement, we'll make sure to add photos!

I had my second-to-last monthly appointment with our OB today. All looks good! Dr. B saw the baby move across my abdomen as she was listening for his/her heartbeat--this little one is SOOO active! I am sure he/she is simply getting bigger and stronger, and therefore I feel him/her so much more. Last night, as I was falling asleep, he/she just thumped, thumped, thumped relentlessly--I wonder how much more crazy his/her movements will become as he/she gets bigger! I know that my body is finally feeling the strain of the kid--I have pretty constant lower back pain and have gained a total of about 7-8 lbs--hopefully I am about halfway through the weight gain (I honestly shouldn't gain more than 15-20 lbs total).

And I must share that Dr. B thinks the baby is a girl! She doesn't know and, in fact, no one does! I had her check the chart to see if anything indicated sex. She said no. So, what I thought might have been a slip on our NP's part, wasn't a slip! NP thinks the baby is a boy, and Dr. B thinks girl! For the longest time I was sure it was a boy, then a girl, now--I just don't know. My mom had a girl first, my grandmother had a girl first (well, only a girl), and my great-grandmother had a girl first (out of 4) but I don't think that means much! Sharon was her parents' first child yet she had a boy first. Looks like we are back to honestly not knowing--just where we want to be. Hooray!

School begins next week! I am taking one class and continuing my research work. I am excited about getting back to school--this is my last class and hopefully I can begin writing my thesis next semester and graduate perhaps next fall. We are also taking a childbirth class, beginning in October. I'll hopefully finish both classes (English and childbirth) right before Thanksgiving--just in case the little one (following family tradition) makes an early entrance. We'll see!

More pregnancy adventures!

They just keep coming!

We are officially 22 weeks along today...if baby is born, he/she is "viable" outside of the womb. Weird to think this...of course, it is not the ideal situation. We want him or her to bake for at least another 15 weeks...we want to get through Thanksgiving, remember?!??! This pregnant lady wants to be able to enjoy her turkey, stuffing and--most of all--pumpkin pie!

So, we have had a couple of weeks of adventures! To begin, we took our first trip to Clovis Community Hospital last week, and specifically, to the Labor and Delivery wing. It was not under the most ideal of circumstances, however. I got back from dog training with Grizzly last Wednesday (a week ago) and found that I was bleeding. You can guess how. Then I began to cramp. According to our doctor's instructions, we went to the ER. We ended up finally in L&D where they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, gave me a shot to relax uterine contractions, got another ultrasound, and generally monitored me until about midnight (we got to the ER around 7). It was really frightening...I don't recall being more confused or scared in my life.

As it turned out, baby was totally fine (super-active, in fact) and I am fine, too. I am on a somewhat restricted routine...at least for the short term. Not too hard because school has yet to begin and I am taking this semester off from teaching--so thank goodness for that.

I guess there was bound to be at least one scary moment in this pregnancy--I am glad it turned out the way it did...just fine. And, we did get a preview of where we will eventually give birth...it's a nice place! The nurses took exceptional care of me and it was very peaceful and cozy. Doug noticed another pregnant mama (who was there to give birth) walking around the ward and they had posters up explaining the importance of skin-on-skin contact immediately after birth, so...all good signs of a somewhat progressive birth environment.

So, whew...everything's fine. And just to make sure, I was told to visit my OB this week. I went in yesterday and our NP confirmed that all seems fine. My uterus now extends above my navel and baby's growth is right on track. When we were listening to the heartbeat, I thought it sounded somewhat slower, so I asked if everything seemed okay. My NP said yes, it's a _____, right?

OOOPS. Did she do what I just thought she did? I am hoping she was simply asking the question, not confirming what she thought we already knew? Doug refuses to hear what she said, which makes it somewhat worse! I won't tell him (or anyone) which gender she indicated but it's hard to keep this secret, if in fact what she indicated is true! I am also somewhat disappointed, I was really looking forward to hearing Doug, at the birth, tell me if we have a son or a daughter. I suppose we still won't know FOR SURE until then, right?

The adventures continue, don't they?

It's Doug's 33rd birthday on Saturday! We are getting together with some friends from church to play pool and whatnot...it should be a great way to celebrate Doug! We also plan to spend his birthday cleaning out our second room...in preparation for Doug's mom and bro to come and help us begin to get what will become the nursery ready for baby! I'll post photos of our progress...

Kicking!

So, I think Baby Mayer (boy or girl) will definitely play soccer...perhaps professionally from how he or she has been kicking me lately! He/she is only about a pound at this point but wow...can I ever feel this little one moving and kicking.

Either a soccer player or a kicker in the NFL, right, Uncle Dan?

Halfway There!

If this baby actually makes it to his/her due date, we have only 20 more weeks to go before we meet him/her! It is amazing to think that we are, possibly, even beyond the halfway point! I have to admit that I have somewhat mixed feelings about this; I am just now getting into being pregnant. I can finally feel some fluttering movements and am beginning to look pregnant. When we first found out we were pregnant (way back in April), it seemed like such a long way until December. It is now only four months away and while we are so excited to meet him/her, I think I will miss being pregnant. I can't think of a more special or unique experience and I am so grateful that things have gone so smoothly thus far.

Our 20-week appointment with our NP yesterday was so positive. We received the results from the ultrasound...everything completely normal. WHEW! While I know that anything can happen, I feel very confident that our little one is healthy--at least all major organs and body systems appear to be forming/functioning normally.

We (mostly I) decided to opt out of the AFP screening test mainly because of the high rate of false positives. In some ways, yes, I think it is important to know that our baby has Downs or other anomalies before he/she is born but the ultrasound showed that major anomalies are not present. Yes, we still have about 1 in 600 chance of having a baby with Downs Syndrome. Perhaps we just shot ourselves in the foot by not finding out ahead of time, at the same time, the fact that the baby's organs and whatnot are functioning/forming normally is also an indicator that Downs may not be present (something like half of Downs babies are born with heart defects). I simply didn't want to subject us to the added stress of a likely false positive; even if we have a Downs baby cooking, I want to have the happiest possible pregnancy. We took a chance--I know. But I feel like sometimes it is best to just proceed and not bog myself down with the "what ifs." I am trying very hard to simply enjoy this and not worry to much about the future. It will be fine...no matter what.

Another quick note about the ultrasound: the radiological report suggested a due date of December 7. We are not changing our "official" due date because we are still within three weeks of our due date. Our NP said that we have a good chance of having a November baby, however! I will be "full term" around Thanksgiving so anytime after Turkey Day, folks...Baby Mayer could make an appearance.

Doug and I are finally home for the summer! We are done with traveling and are so happy to be HOME. We have so much to do before the baby comes--it is somewhat overwhelming. I know myself, however and I won't want to rearrange furniture or paint walls once the baby is here so we plan to have the baby's room ready (and the main bathroom DONE!) by Thanksgiving or so. While we don't plan to have everything for Baby by then (stepdad Steve is getting a cradle ready for us so if we don't have a crib right away, oh well!), those of you who have been in our second room know that the pumpkin-colored walls need to go (thanks to Uncle Dan and Aunt Catherine, Baby's room will be a lovely light green).

Have a great weekend and we'll continue the updates next week.

Peace!