One week to go!

Ellen is doing great these days, but who wouldn’t be with a house full of new toys?  Hooray for Christmas!  The timing is perfect since she is going to be home with me while I am on maternity leave.  She now has plenty of things to keep her occupied for the next couple of months, plus we have my parents coming on Thursday and my sister will be here in about 3 weeks.  They bravely responded to our Help Wanted ads (and thankfully so).  We also plan to go to North Carolina for a week in February or March so that will help break up my stint as a stay at home mom (I am going to be exhausted!).  So glad I will be able to spend time with both of my girls even if it is only temporary (praying I can find a new job but no matter what I will have to work).

Due to the holiday and my work schedule, Ellen and I had 2 days “off” together this week.  On Wednesday we went to the doctor.  Last time she came with me it was just a routine check-up, no exam of any kind, but this time was a little different.  I let her know ahead of time that I would have to undress so Dr. Barnett could check on the baby.  I knew she wouldn’t be able to see anything but we brought the iPad just in case.  She did great.  I found out my c-section is scheduled for noon on the 13^th (I have to be there by 9:00).  I have a list about a mile long of things I need to do between now and then but I dare say we are ready. 

We are getting more and more excited to meet this little one.  Bonus points if she has red hair.  My Dad thinks red-headed kids are so cute and would like nothing more than for this baby to inherit that trait from the McCullough side of the family.  Ellen had dark hair and lots of it, eventually turning a lighter brown, but it could happen.  No matter what, this baby is loved by many and countless prayers have been lifted on her behalf.  He’s got the whole world in His hands, including the itty bitty babies.

All work and no play?

This has been a working weekend for us.  Phillip had to go into the office for a few hours on Saturday but the majority of the work was done at home.  We took down our Christmas tree and put away all things Christmas-y, cleaned out closets, organized the baby's room, washed and folded 4 loads of baby clothes, blankets, bedding, etc., did our own laundry and cleaned the house.  Unfortunately there is still so much to do.  A woman's work is never done.  Glad to be off work tomorrow so I can finish up some of the projects we started but didn't have time to complete (mostly baby-related).

But we had fun too.  We made oatmeal cookies, hung out with friends, went to the park, opened Christmas presents from Phillip's parents and brother (Ellen loves the Lalaloopsy Tree House playset), drank hot chocolate, ate good food, loved on the dogs, watched football, and played - always lots of playing.

My thoughts on 2012... so far so good!

No plan. No back up. No choice.

When I saw this caption on the new Mission Impossible movie poster, perk of working next to a movie theater, I immediately thought of us – my family – and laughed (and then almost cried).

My c-section is scheduled.  My last day of work will be January 11^th, help will arrive on January 12^th and then baby Lilly is set to be born on Friday, January 13^th.

We have a date but there is still so much to do!

While we were at Walmart over the weekend (on Christmas Eve!) we stopped by the baby section because it dawned on me that we do not have any of the basics… diapers, wipes, pacifiers, etc.  We have plenty of clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, etc. leftover from when Ellen was a baby but none of the other basics.  We just picked up a few things, including a special Night Night for Lilly (wonder if she will take to it like Ellen did to hers), but I feel better knowing that if you took a peek inside of our nursery you might actually think we have it together.  Even just the appearance of competence is good enough for me at this point :)

Thoughts at 35 weeks

I've made it 35 weeks.  I went to the doctor yesterday but he wasn't there.  Some excuse about delivering a baby or something :)  The nurse did all of the usual stuff and since I didn't have any concerns that I needed to specifically talk to Dr. Barnett about, I headed back to work.  He wouldn't have actually "checked" me anyway, not until 36 weeks, so it made sense to get out of their way... lots of women were waiting around for the good doctor to return.

Oh the challenge of providing a urine sample when you can't see down there.

Nothing out of the ordinary for someone in my condition but here is a list of my woes:

Uncomfortable in my own skin
Shortness of breath
My face is morphing into something like Gwyneth Paltrows in Shallow Hal (Cody, why your nose so big? - little inside joke)
Tired
Cranky
Hot (and I'm not talking sexy hot)
Trouble sleeping
Clothing issues
Extra sensitive (and I am already a crier)

Everyone asks me how Ellen feels about the baby and the truth is I don't really know.  She is happy to have the title of big sister and knows the basics (most of her friends have younger siblings), but it's not something we are constantly talking about.  As we get closer to time, especially once we know the date of my c-section, we will discuss it more.  She knows I will be in the hospital and that Grandmother and Granddaddy are coming to take care of her, and taking her to Chuck E Cheese (which trumps the arrival of baby sister), but we haven't loaded her down with lots of details.

The baby's room is far from ready but I am hoping to get it more organized after Christmas once we clear the presents out.  Since it currently doubles as the guest room we won't really be using it as a nursery until after my parents leave, they plan to stay for a week when the baby is born, but I still want to be more prepared than we are now.  Ellen started sleeping in her room (in her crib) from day one (well, technically day 4) but Lilly will have to camp out with us a for a few days.  We have a lot to do and not a lot of time left (she will be here in less than a month) but I am trying not to feel overwhelmed.

I still sometimes think "what have we done", but then I look at Ellen and it all seems to make sense.

Belly Shots

Trust me, you don't want to see any more than this

Make room for baby

These are the address labels (a picture of one at least) my sister and brother-in-law gave us for Christmas last year. 

I think they are so cute.  Andrea and Caleb spent a long time tweaking the images/hair colors to make them as accurate as possibe (wish I really looked like her!).  Hard to believe we will have another little one to add to our labels, and our lives, in less than 3 months.

Insert freak out here.

I know having two is going to be a challenge for me, especially when one of them is a newborn (the infant stage isn't my strength).  That being said, I am getting more and more excited with each passing day.  It's not going to be easy but I don't know that it's meant to be.  I am slowly coming to terms with that.

This pregnancy is sponsored in part by Chick-fil-A

Unofficially, of course.

For some reason I have been eating a lot of Chick-fil-A and it comes to mind whenever I think about what I want to eat.  Good thing we don't have one close to our house or close to work.  I don't even really like their fries (unless they are crispy)... it's all about the sandwich for me.  And I do like their hashbrowns but that is another meal entirely.

This pregnancy is also sponsored in part by:

Sugary drinks

Applesauce

Granola bars

Raw cashews

Turkey bacon

Milk

Tomato soup with crackers

Mexican food

It's just too bad that nothing tastes like I want it to!

My relationship with food changed drastically when I was pregnant with Ellen and although I have not been as sick this go round, I am still very aware of what I can and cannot eat (and when I need to eat).  Nausea, headaches, indigestion, exhaustion, constipation (TMI?)... yep, they are all still lingering and I have a feeling they will be with me until the end.  Along with their friends frequent urination and general uncomfortableness.  We are all getting along famously.

I have a quite the collection of you know you're pregnant when... jokes.  Some are not blog appropriate.

As annoying and difficult as the physical side effects can be, they are only temporary and I am well aware of that... the precious life growing inside me is what really matters.  The uncertainty of Lilly's health weighs heavily on my mind and that mixed with all of the other stuff makes me one crazed woman at times.  Which reminds me of one of my favorite lines from As Good as It Gets... "Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here." 

Not only are we stocked up, we are overflowing with crazy at our house!

The kindness of strangers

On the elevator in the mall parking garage.  A woman gets on and notices I am pregnant.

"When are you due?"

"Not until January."

"Wow.  You're going to be really big by then."

I smile

"Good luck."  As in you're going to need it!

--------------------

I must say that I do feel big but I don't think I am that big.  Maybe I should have said "January" and "not until January" when she asked me when I was due.  Maybe I am just huge.

Lillian Carol

I had an ultrasound this morning and I will have another one in 3 weeks.  Lilly's heart is the area of concern.  Everything else seems to be fine (we may not know until she is born).  She is in the 75th percentile for weight which is a good sign.

We decided to name our precious little one Lillian after my Grandmother and Carol after Phillip's late Aunt Carol (Laurie's middle name is also Carol).  We plan on calling her Lilly.  So the double "l" in the first name continues for 3 out of 4 of us.  Looks like I am the odd man out.

Profile shot

 Her cute little hand

Baby News

It has been an emotional day.  I had an ultrasound (and consultation) this morning and almost everything looked "normal."  There was one area of concern but it is considered the "weakest of the soft signs," meaning it is also found in healthy babies who are not at risk for Down syndrome.  I have another ultrasound in 3 weeks, when the baby's heart, along with everything else, will be further developed and hopefully we will receive a good report at that time.

Please keep us in your prayers.

By the way, we are having a girl.  Ellen is excited and so are we.  But we, not including Ellen, would be just as excited if it were a boy.  Good thing we kept all of Ellen's baby things!

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh

I heard the baby's heartbeat today, which is always a comforting sound.  I also scheduled my ultrasound appointment for next month.  We will hopefully find out if we are having a boy or girl on September 1st.  Perfect timing because my family will be arriving the very next day to help us paint and organize the nursery (and celebrate Ellen's 4th birthday!).

10 weeks 4 days, as of yesterday

We're having a baby!  I had my first doctor's appointment yesterday.  The baby is due January 19th but he/she will be born at 39 weeks (if all goes as planned) since this will be a scheduled c-section.  I was not expecting to have an ultrasound so that was a nice surprise (just sad that Phillip missed it).  We are all excited about the baby, especially excited to find out if it is a boy or girl.  Ellen really wants a sister but we told her that we don't get to choose, God does.  I think she has come to terms with that.  She is going to be a great big sister either way!  I haven't been feeling very well but I am not as sick as I was with Ellen (yet?)  She put me through the ringer.  Phillip has been amazing.  He takes care of me, Ellen, the dogs, the house, the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the grocery shopping, the yard work... you name it, he does it.  I am very thankful for his support.  Hopefully I will start feeling better soon and be able to help out more (it isn't natural for me to sit on the sidelines).  One day at a time has become my mantra and it is working surprisingly well.  Not much else to report.  We are back to work and school after a much needed, much appreciated vacation.  Life is good.