Pluggin' Ahead

Had a good meeting this week with our actual doctor. She took the time to answer our questions for us and make us feel at ease.

We have come to the conclusion for now that we will stick with the doctor we have for now. We have also resolved to know that we will not be in love with her PA, but be assured that she will deliver proper care for me and O'Baby.

And more importantly, we will trust that God has a plan for us on this journey and he will take care of all of us along the way. I may need reminding, but I am happy to trust on that fact!

The other fun thing is we have a date to find out just who O'Baby O'Brien is!

Yeppers! Punxsutawney Phill will be making the big announcement on February 2, 2010! AKA, Groundhog's Day!

Wooohoo! Cannot wait!

Another Milestone in Pregnancy

I think I hit one yesterday. A milestone, that is. In this pregnancy of mine.

It was a big bump...well actually it was a small bump.

But the resulting small and continually growing size of the bump made me purchase and wear these this week.Yeppers, we've hit maternity pants. I still have a few pair I can wear, but let's face it. Jeans on normal occasions are NOT forgiving for extra poundage! So, I broke down and bought be some 'turkey pants.' (please refer to Joey on "Friends" for context!)

Stupid, stupid, fat-feeling milestone. Oh well!

Decor

So, can't really go clothes shopping for me or for O'Baby, but what I CAN do is look for decor ideas.

After paroozing on the Internet, I've decided I am NOT a big fan of gender specific themes. Girl stuff is mostly over-the-top barfy pink or purple. And boy stuff is all sports stuff or blue. Blah...

So after a bit of searching, I stumbled upon Land of Nod and came across this little set:I love the colors. Modern, not too bright, but fresh.

So here's the idea so far, Get the crib linens sans the quilt. And then recruit our resident artist, and soon to be Grandma, Holly to paint the characters and we'll frame them behind the bed -- like this idea from Pottery Barn kids.
Now, what's really cool about this is there might just be a character that looks like our resident little red dog!!!

What I also like about both of these ideas is the crib. Simple, straight-up crib. Nothing to swoopy or big. We don't have the biggest space and I think this type of look would also work with the rest of our house and serve us for a long time if we have any future O'Babies.

So that's what we're working with right now.

You're really real!

You are! Did you know that? Because I still had doubts!

We went to the doctor's office yesterday for our first sonogram and we got to see O'Baby!

Right now he/she looks like a sideways frog. I know, adorable right. I have higher hopes on the cute-factor for the next sonogram! BUT, what was really cool was that Joe got to see you! And we got to 'see' your heart beat! 182 beats per minute, not too shabby O'B!

So, here's a few of O'Baby O'Brien's first ever photos!

Supposedly, the little pointy things on the end on the left side are O'B's little feet in the making...awww, what cute frog legs you have!

O'Baby is a whopping 1 inch in his/her first photo debut!

Here are a few other special photos from O'Baby's first days...

I went digital, no guessing whether or not that line says what I think it says! And I still did it twice because I didn't believe it!

A baby pumpkin and some baby's breath were part of the decor when I told Joe!

Yeppers...

Can we say anticlimactic?

Today was our long-awaited confirmation appointment with our OB office. And, from their words and actions it seems, "so, yes, your pregnant" wasn't even really worth saying. They just said, "So when was your last period? Ok, looks like you're 8 weeks along, so your due date is June 22nd."

Wow. Thanks. I figured that out 4 weeks ago.

I must admit, I was really let down and sad. I guess I was just hoping for a bit more excitement. But this was a new PA, not the one I had seen before and not our doctor. Maybe we just don't work on the same level. Anyway, I came away from something I was nervous and excited about quite sad and under-appreciated.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful hubby who was there with me and was excited for us, a silly puppy waiting for us at home, and fantastic family who are also excited for us.

So, baby, even if Ms. Business PA isn't too excited about you, we are. Can't wait to meet you this summer! It'll be great!

wow!

So tomorrow is the big day! Holy Crap! We get to find out if you are really real baby!

If you are real, you will discover that your mom doesn't always take things at face value. Sometimes I need a little more convincing, or sometimes I just like to wait for the event to really happen to get excited about it. So deal and love me, because if you are real, I will certainly and most definitely love you!

See you tomorrow, I hope,
Your 'rents

Fake?

I feel like a fake.

It seems like one of my weird dreams where Joe and I told our family that we're expecting a baby of our own so many weeks ago. We decided we would wait until our doctor's appointment to really spread the news. Because, really, only God knows what will happen with this baby.

So, I call, they tell me to wait another month before we can come in. What! A Month! So, we wait.

In the meantime, I feel like a fake. I don't feel pregnant. I don't get sick. I don't really feel that different at all. You would think for something so life altering, there would be some more in-your-face changes. The biggest things I can really tell are that I have more sudden, unknown narcoleptic naps than I usually do...but later in the day or at night. There have been a few times where if I didn't get to a bed or couch in that instant, I was going to be on the floor. And then, I guess, my chest! It's growing, aching all the time. I can really get over that one.

Our appointment is next Thursday. The grandparents-to-be are all excited that they get to finally share the news. I want to be excited too. Because, right now, I don't know what to feel.

Changes and Surprises

So it's quite amazing to see what can happen in a month! A month! I've gone from whining to shock.

That's right folks, we're having a baby!

O'Baby!

Yesterday, I had a whim to take a pregnancy test as I was just not sleeping right the last few days and my mind kept racing with all sorts of thoughts. I knew it would say no, but I thought, well for $8.50, I'll know and I can quit thinking about it.

So I took the little test and was beginning my three-minute wait for the digital "Not Pregnant" readout (I totally went digital, no lines or dots for me, please!)...and in under a minute it said "Pregnant!"

What? Huh? That was NOT the answer I was expecting! WHAT!!!!

Ryker was not understanding why I was acting a bit baffled. Silly dog.

So you know what I did then, used all my will to NOT call Joe right then and wait till he got home. I got the idea to go to the grocery store to pick up some Baby's Breath flowers and a baby pumpkin for a little table decor for when Joe came home.

He finally arrived and I was still waiting, because he wanted to show me HIS surprise...little did he know! He bought me a beautiful orange mum plant in a cute basket...mum! Ha!

So I ran inside, grabbed the tests (I took another one just to be sure). When he came in, I told him, "I got you some flowers too. They didn't have any Daddy's Breath, so I had to get these!" and showed him the tests! He was so surprised!! And shocked! And surprised! And happy...there were a lot of emotions!

All I kept saying was, "Surprise!" Lame, I know, but really, what else do you say when you are still surprised yourself!

Ok, now to tell the parents! I had Dad conference call Mom in (mind you, at Kroger, but we really couldn't wait) to let them know we had a birthday present for dad's upcoming 60th, but it wouldn't fit in a box and we were wondering if we could bring it later in a craddle?.... Cricket. Cricket. Cricket. "WHAT ARE YOU TELLING US!??" Yep, that's right, you're going to be grandparents! I'm pretty sure they were quite happy...we talked and discussed and laughed...until we lost Mom's signal somewhere in the produce department! ha! On to the next set...

We somehow wrangled my sister and Jamie to come eat dinner with us that night. So when they got to our house, Joe and I asked them if they wouldn't mind coming with us to tell Joe's parents that they were going to be Aunt and Uncle. Cricket. Cricket. Cricket. (I'm really loving the 'pregnant' pauses in these conversations, aren't you!) More happiness, hugs and congratulations. Oh, what a proud A&U...and O'Baby is barely even here!

Onwards...Joe's parents took a little more work to tell. Holly was on the way to the grandparentals, and we had to persuade her with some great news from Jamie and Jennifer so we could tell her and Jim together. When she finally arrived, and Jim was working on the fence...we informed them that J&J AND Sarah and Adrian were going to be aunts and uncles...Cricket. Cricket. Cricket. (Oh, it just doesn't get old!). Jim finally realized, and got the biggest smile on his face, and Holly started bawling...Oh, dear! Another set of happy grandparents to be! Holly assured me right on the spot she wanted to do anything and everything to help with the nursery!

We then called Sarah who was also on her way to the grandparents, and Joe quickly told her that she too will be a proud aunt soon! A bit of excited shouting and repeating of the facts occurred. I think we did it again, another proud aunt in the making!

So I called this morning to set up my doctor's appointment and I have to wait until NOVEMBER 12th! Ugh! So, more news to come. Can't wait to share our good news with all our friends, but we'll wait a bit and just thank God for the miracle He's given us.

Wow, thank you God! It's only begun!

Post BC

So we took the plunge and decided to go off birth control now for a few months. Today...I am remembering why I am a fan of bc. You know when you are going to start and you do NOT have cramps from hell. ugh.

Babies seem to be popping out of nowhere these days. We have definitely passed into the phase of life where dating and weddings have been replaced by babies and short ppl's birthdays.

It is an odd crossroads I have found myself on -- wanting to become a parent with Joe and go down a journey that we could never even imagine how exciting it could be. On the other hand, do we stay on the road we're going down, boppin' along just the two of us with our trusty sidekick Ryker?

The last just doesn't seem right, but I am leaving it up in God's hands to figure out where we need to go and if and when we'll have little short people join us. I also pray that he gives me patience along the way. Because waiting and not knowing (and having mega cramps) is not fun.