nursery plans

I have started to develop an idea of what the nursery might look like and have begun to purchase some items for it. With a gender-neutral shade of green on the walls, I began looking at some Classic Pooh items that had lots of neutral greens and creams in them. I also eyed the Pottery Barn kids catalogs and found many things I liked, though many seemed too expensive. So, I began my search for Pottery Barn nursery items on ebay. I hit the jackpot! After looking in a local Pottery Barn kids store, I knew that the quilts/bedding items were quality products. None of the current styles truly jumped out at me, especially since many of the themes were gender specific. As I began searching on ebay, I found a set that I LOVE! It's called Alphabet Soup and it is adorable!!! On day 2 of my searching, I found a set for $39.oo (gently used) that included the quilt, bumper, patterned sheet, solid sheet, red gingham curtain panels, and crib skirt. This is a line that has been discontinued from Pottery Barn.

Can anyone say UNBELIEVABLE?!

I cannot believe I found this awesome deal! The seller also found a matching pillow sham and red gingham sheet for an extra 10.00. Wow! I cannot wait to receive these items in the mail. The seller is thrilled that they have found a good home and that we are so excited about the set. Also, on craigslist.org, a matching hardly-used mobile has found its way to our home. Again, the mom was sad that her baby is growing up but is happy the mobile has found its way to our home. These photos come from various places/listings online. Such a cute, cute, cute set!

scary time

On Thursday, October 16, 2008 I had to leave work early for an emergency trip to the local hospital. I began bleeding, heavy enough to worry a mommy-to-be. My boss drove me to the hospital and had to do things that were above and beyond her job description and definitely things that should not have to be done on Bosses' Day of all days. Don arrived at the hospital shortly after us. I had to give a urine sample and had an IV placed in my left hand almost immediately. It was a scary, scary time, and it was looking as if I might be having a miscarriage. Fortunately, after many tests and two types of ultrasounds, we were soooooo relieved to see that our baby's heart was beating and there was some movement. Everything else looked fine, too. Don was able to see the monitor better than I could and saw that our baby was sucking its thumb! I was able to see this at the follow-up visit the next day. On Friday, I took the day off (pre-arranged by my boss and the secretarial staff) and went to see my delivery doctor for the first time. He was nice and reassured me that everything looked healthy and fine. The baby is approximately 3.5 inches and 1 oz. There was lots of movement today, including kicking legs and thumb sucking. So cute and such a relief to see! Here is a copy of Friday's ultrasound.

some shopping...

After Lori's baby shower I had the urge to go use my coupons at Babies 'R Us. I bought a couple of things, including a darling baby book that I have started to write in!

Above: neutral green Carter's froggie onesie (says "Mommy and me" on the lily pad)

Below: close-up of baby book - cute giraffe, huh?

The toy on top I got for free from Baby Gap with a gift card I'd earned online!

baby shower (for a friend)

I went to a baby shower for my friend, Lori, last weekend. So fun! Such cute things, too.

I gave some onesies, hangers, bath toys (dogs), and I

used the cute doggie blanket to wrap her gift!

A group of us had gone out to lunch about two weeks ago. It was fun because Lori is due in November, I am due in April and another girl had her newborn there. Cute! All stages!

excited grandparents

Aren't the little socks adorable!?! Can't wait to see tiny baby feet!

Both sets of grandparents are excited! My mom and dad are first-time grandparents and are very excited that we are expecting! Here are some items that have come in the mail from Mom and Dad (a.k.a. Grandma and Grandpa). :)

This is part of a set that has onesies that say, "Grandma Loves Me", "Daddy Loves Me", "Mommy Loves Me". Mom also found a "Grandpa Loves Me" bib to include in the package.

second appointment

Our second appointment went well. We both took the day off from work. I'm so appreciative to have such a great hubby! We met the nurse practitioner that we will see from time to time. We were also able to request our delivery doctor, who comes highly recommended by a co-worker and the doctor's office staff. Can't wait to meet him, too!

We had an informative visit and were able to ask questions. Tina (nurse practicioner) seemed so glad to answer them, as many patients don't tend to ask her questions, she said. She was happy to talk to first-time parents.

Note for future reference: For headaches, I found out I can take Tylenol. I was given a prescription for my prenatal vitamins.

We were sent to another location to get bloodwork done. Don was also supportive here, too, but with a sense of humor. I get very queasy and have been known to faint around needles and blood. :( Don asked the nurse if I would have to fill 10 viles. We were all laughing, but my laughing stopped when I heard her answer, "No. Not 10 ... just 7 or 8." So, the blood was drawn out of my "elbow pit". Yuck. Then, I had to give a urine sample. Not quite a fun visit, but when all was done, we laughed about it and went out to lunch and split a Subway sub. I had a bruise on my arm for the next couple of days...a little reminder of this visit. Oh, little Gummi, you are worth it, though!

gummi

Our baby has taken on the nickname of "Gummi". Why? We were told that our baby is currently the size of a gummi bear. We went out and bought a bag of gummi bears to see just how big our little "Gummi" is!

other gifts/purchases

I recently bought "What to Expect When You are Expecting" and have started to read it. A co-worker also surprised me with a gift bag in my mailbox. It included a companion journal to this book and the cutest little Classic Pooh outfit. Check out the hand covers, too! Aww!

It's starting to become real - we are having a baby! Yey!

setting up a doctor's appointment

approximately 8.5 weeks
9.9.08

Our first doctor's appointment was to get a confirmation ultrasound. The excitement of this visit is hard to put into words. On 9.9.8 we got to see our little one for the first time! The ultrasound nurse was very nice. We were able to see the image on a flat screen on the wall. What an amazing feeling to see that little guy or girl for the first time. We were able to see more than we ever imagined! Expecting to just see a tiny little blob and dark area (sac), I thought we'd just have confirmation that we were expecting. However, we could see the outline of the head and the beating of the heart. When the nurse asked if we wanted to hear the heartbeat, of course we said, "Yes!" We didn't even know we'd be able to see, let alone hear, the heart beating at this point! What an amazing moment in time!

After this appointment, we went out to lunch to celebrate and called relatives to share our experience. I also went to Baby Gap and Pottery Barn kids. I made a first purchase for the baby. Since we are both teachers, I could not resist these adorable onesises with apples! :)

Telling relatives

We were too excited to keep this news to ourselves. I just HAD to tell someone. We called my brother, Jason, that night and put him on the speaker phone. When I asked him how he liked the sound of being called, "Uncle Jason", he had the cutest reply of "Awww!"... with a little surprised laughter, asking "really?" and telling us congratulations. We didn't tell anyone else yet, knowing we needed to come up with a plan to surprise our own parents. Since Grandparents' Day was soon approaching, we ended up buying Grandparents' Day cards. I picked out musical Snoopy cards from Hallmark that mentioned something about Grandparents doing the happy dance. We stuck a small photo of the positive test (see previous post) in the cards and sent them through the mail! Both sets of Grandparents were thrilled! It was soooo hard to keep it a secret, though I did ask Mom and Dad several times when I talked to them if they'd gotten anything in the mail from Don and me. We waited a bit longer to spread the word to family, friends, and co-workers...through word of mouth and emails.

It's positive!

Don was at an out-of-state military drill weekend. When he called before flying home, I told him that I would see him at the airport and we had to make one other stop on the way home, to buy a pregnancy test. We stopped at a local pharmacy near our house and browsed through the different types of tests...ones with lines, ones with digital readouts, etc. We settled on an easy-to-read ClearBlue Easy test - pack of three - that would read "pregnant" or "not pregnant" on a digital screen. After taking the first test, it came back posititve. We were excited, hugged, and I shed a few tears, too. We were in disbelief! Were we really going to be parents?! What a life-changing moment! We hadn't even been trying to conceive yet! But, it was a happy surprise! Just to make sure, I took another test right before bed. We timed it...only 23 seconds before it came back postitive! After that test, we were pretty convinced that we were expecting!

(photo taken on 8.18.08 with a pair of cute little bunny slippers)

new blog

This blog is all about waiting for baby. Since we are about 14 weeks into the process, I'm going to have to go back and do some posts to catch up on all that has happened so far!