Baby Registry

It's been a very long time since I've entered any blog entry!

After we returned from Wisconsin for Zach and Liz's wedding we were busy with adding, updating and finalizing our baby registry with Babies-R-Us and Amazon.com. It was pretty intense. Luckily, my older sister was able to give us a ton of insight. Although... actually walking around with the registry gun at Babies-R-Us was pretty daunting even though we already had an idea of what we wanted to get. SO... don't be surprised if things change on the registry! I added links to the upper right side of the blog so you can check out the many gadgets that are surprisingly needed/suggested for a tiny, itty, bitty person!

The last two weeks we registered, picked up our nursery chair, picked up our crib (still in the box), hired on our great neighbor to be our consultant/foreman on our sun room re-model, finished the school year and started our summer vacation! We have already started to clean out our boffice (guest room/office) and boy was that a humongous mess! We have pictures that I'll post at a later date!

Today we are starting on cleaning out our garage so we can store more things that won't fit in the house once our baby girl enters the world! Wish us luck!

It's official... Blue has a new Aunt!

We just got back from a wonderful wedding in northern Wisconsin. Uncle Zach and Aunt Liz tied the  knot and the wedding was perfect! It was freezing cold but perfect at the same time! Uncle Zach is B's younger brother and we've been looking forward to this day for a long time. Not to mention... Aunt Liz looked so beautiful (her dress was absolutely perfect)!

It was wonderful to see aunts, uncles, cousins and of course the bride and groom! Blue met so many members of the family and soon to be Great Grandma even made sure she kissed my belly. I think Blue could feel the love from everyone and she hasn't even entered the world yet.

The weekend was filled with laughter, more memories and love. To the happy couple!

PS... B got to feel Blue kick for the first time when we were flying to the midwest!!!! She was kicking up a storm when we were flying and I was able to get B to put his hand on my belly. She gave the biggest kick yet!

Happy Birthday Lorenzo!

I forgot to wish Lorenzo "happy birthday" on his real birthday (April 28). He is officially 5 years old... we took some pictures of his "birthday dinner." Thought you would enjoy the pics!

We have a working dishwasher!!!!!!!!!!

This past weekend was dedicated to selling our extra bed and installing the dishwasher. After a long day of waiting around and finally selling the bed... B started up on the dishwasher project...

The first task he had was to actually replace part of the pipes with a T-joint so we could provide access to the dishwasher. After soldering the first time and a couple of trips to ACE hardware... B was able to turn the water back on and success! Well... with this first step. This step took probably about 4 hours or so (going to the bathroom was very interesting with no running water throughout the house). I even told the boys to ration out their water because we didn't know when we would be able to refill their water bowl. I could have sworn I saw Lorenzo slurping up water as soon as we turned the water back on! This was also the same night that I felt Blue kick!

The next day (Mother's Day), B made us a wonderful breakfast (using the white bread we needed to soak up water in the pipes... yummy french toast) and wanted to hook up the dishwasher hoses before we started our day. Well... about 5 hours later which included: a few more trips to ACE hardware, most of the pipes being completely replaced and a new drain... we plugged in the dishwasher and SUCCESS!!!!! Plus... no leaks whatsoever!!!!!!

We made sure to dirty up some more dishes so we could run a load that night! Whew! What a day! It's been wonderful having a place to put our dirty dishes instead of stacking them on the counter... now... on to making the counter top... that will be another weekend!

For now... we are happy with a working dishwasher. Check out the pics...

She kicked!!!!!!

I felt her kick! That's right... SHE kicked and I was able to feel it!!!!!!

Our baby girl is moving like crazy! Yes... we are having a baby girl! We found out last week at our ultrasound appointment and up until that point I hadn't truly felt her kick. So it was amazing to see how much she was actually moving.

This past week I had felt some different feelings in my lower abdomen... hearing from my sister and other people that the kicks may feel like a flutter, bubble, a flop... I wasn't sure if I was feeling that or if it was just in my head.

Late last night (when B was working on the water pipes to get ready for the dishwasher), I rested my body on the couch and decided to put my hands on my tummy. At that point.... I not only felt the feeling inside of me but I felt a small push on my hand! WOW!!!!!!  NOW I know that she has been moving around a ton!

B came over and at that point, Blue decided to be still and not kick around! Oh well... hopefully soon she will kick when B is around.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Week 20 Picture

SO... we didn't have time to take pictures of the bump this past week (week 20)... BUT we have something way better!!!!! Technically taken at 19 weeks but thought you would all enjoy this picture even more!

That's right... we had an ultrasound and got to "meet our baby" for the first time. Our good friend, Chris, explained to us that this ultrasound is the best because we are going to meet our baby and really get to know what he/she looks like. It was the coolest ever... so much movement and our favorite... a kick of the leg straight out... B is convinced that our baby is going to be a dancer! There was even a moment when Blue was looking directly at us (instead of the typical profile) and it was so crazy!

So far... everything looks great! Approximately 8 ounces and I can't remember if the technician told us the length. Everything looks normal and development is on track (I can't remember all the details).

What is the Birth Center?

So I was talking to my younger sister Jen and I realized I hadn't shared more information about the Birth Center that we've been going to. So here's the scoop.

The Birth and Women's Center is the only freestanding birth center in Southern Arizona and the only place in our area that offers water births. Their focus is on natural childbirths. They just recently moved into a brand new building and even though I've been going to the old location for all my annual exams, the new building still has a comfortable feel to it.

The great thing that B and I really loved is that all four rooms are set up like actual bedrooms with a large tub in each room (no clinical environment). Each room has their own bathroom and there is even a kitchen for family members to use. They encourage you to bring as many snacks as you want when in labor! They also have a comfortable waiting room for anyone who wants to wait. So the actual set up of the birthing area was very appealing to us. Not to mention the certified nurse midwives...

There are a total of 8 CNM's. The goal is to meet each and everyone of them before going into labor. Any of them could be on call the day we go into labor so it is important to form a connection before the birth. They are all registered nurses with advanced education/training/certification specifically in maternity and women's health care. So far, we have really enjoyed working with the 4 CNM's that we've met so far. The Birth Center also has registered nurses that work closely with the CNM's.

The philosophy is great at the Birth Center and the thing that I've really enjoyed is that they take their time during the appointments. We have never felt rushed and have always felt as though we had enough time to ask our many questions.

They also offer this great centering class that we just started last night... I'll tell you more about that later.

In case you've been wondering... the Birth Center refers all high risk pregnancies to the hospital that is less than 3 minutes away. Right now, I am not a high risk pregnancy... my blood pressure has been under control for a couple of years now... so with everything working out we should be able to give birth at the Birth Center!



                                              

Dishwasher update

SO... all week I was telling myself that this would be our last week of doing all of our dishes by hand. Our dishwasher should be installed on Saturday morning!!!!

Well... our plumber failed to show up... so we are without a working dishwasher! Oh well... we've gone this long... we can wait a little longer!

At least we got up early and got a wonderful start to our day. Not to mention we took our neighbor to see "The Music Man" at B's high school.