Various pictures of my growing boy

Seelie and me on October 9th










Seelie loves his daddy! 10/28



















Seelie chilling in his crib November 8th.












Seelie had this ring in his hand when daddy went to change him and he put it on his face like that to chew on. We thought it was too funny! 11/15













Seelie really enjoys his naked time! 11/23













Seelie and Daddy on November 24th.

Where does all the time go?

Pictures: My sister, Michelle (Thalia), with Seelie at Thanksgiving; Seelie with Santa; Seelie keeping Santa from telling his Christmas wishes; 2 of Seelie in his Santa suit














































Well, I go back to work on the 14th which is only a little over a week away. I'm a little nervous about how our morning routine iStas going to work, but I'm sure we will work it out. Next week I will begin taking Seelie to daycare. I think he will go everyday, but we will work up the amount of time that he stays each day.

Today I am babysitting my cousin's 14 month old for about 5 hours. She will be here in about 30 minutes. I'm a little nervous about handling a 14 month old and a newborn but I'm sure we will manage. I called my sister and asked her if she will come over for part of the time to help me, so I feel better knowing that I won't be completely on my own. I figure this will be good practice for having two little ones. Yikes!

We had a good Thanksgiving at my grandparent's house. There were 26 people total! It was nice though and not too crazy. Seelie did really well. He really likes looking at new surroundings and new people. Tony's best friend came to Thanksgiving dinner and was able to hold Seelie and get him to fall asleep. That was super sweet. Seelie really didn't fuss during Thanksgiving except when we tried to get him to take a bottle. lol. He did not want that bottle. I ended up nursing him and he was fine. The only bad thing about that was I sat between my mom and my sister and they were being loud and woke him up when he finished eating. It wasn't a big deal though.

I took Seelie to meet Santa Claus on Tuesday! They have free photos w/ Santa at the Bass Pro Shop so we went there. It was really cute!! My youngest sister had given us a Santa outfit for Seelie so I decided that he should wear that for his picture. He was so cute as a mini Santa. The Santa there had a really nice suit on also. Seelie did really well for his picture too! I'm gonna upload them if I have time.

Seelie continues to sleep pretty well at night. He most commonly sleeps for about a 6.5 hour stretch first and then does 2 - 3 hours after that. The last two nights he has slept for 8 hours on that first stretch. I'd really like it if he would keep that up but we'll see. He got up at 7am this morning and usually he will eat and then go right back to sleep, but didn't. So he is passed out on the floor now ;-) (It's almost 9am - not sure why it says I post these at other weird hours)

We put up our Christmas tree and decorations on this past Saturday. It was fun and Seelie did really well. He laid on his playmat downstairs with us while we decorated. He played and chilled the whole time. Tony's best friend and his daughter came over and helped us. That was nice too. We played Christmas music and had meatballs to add to the festivities. I can't wait until Seelie is actually old enough to enjoy the holiday traditions and fun!

K, gonna try to get some pictures up!

Great Saturday

We had a really great day today. Seelie and I got up pretty early and slept on the couch together for about an hour which was nice and cuddly. Then he was content to lay on the floor and chill/nap for awhile. I enjoyed goofing off and drinking some coffee. We had a nice relaxed morning.

Then we got ready and about Noon we took Seelie over to my parent's house so that my mom could watch him awhile. Tony and I went out for brunch at J. Christopher's which is our favorite new place in town to eat. We had a nice leisurely time and enjoyed some time alone as a couple. Then Seelie was still doing fine w/ my mom so we came home to hang out and do some chores. I was able to get the bathrooms cleaned. I had been wanting to do that, but it is harder to navigate with Seelie around.

Seelie did really well with my mom. She said that he slept a good bit and then played in the pack n play for awhile. She called about 2:40 and he still had not eaten anything though. She said he had not been fussy at all and didn't seem to want the bottle when she had offered it earlier. I told her that he really did need to eat though because I fed him last at 10am. So she said she would feed him and then I could wait and come get him in a little bit. Tony and I did some more cleaning and hung out a bit. Then I went and picked Seelie up just before 4pm. Mom said that she offered him the bottle just after she hung up with me and that he ate all 4 oz that I had given her without fussing at all. He was chilling when I got there. Mom was holding him in her lap and he didn't immediately start fussing wanting me. I was really glad to see that he did so well with mom. This was our first time leaving him with anyone else. I was nervous about how he might respond to being without Tony or I. I also wasn't sure how he would do w/ the bottle since it has been so hit or miss. I'm glad it seemed to go well.

When we got home he wanted to nurse immediately. He did so for about 30 minutes and then was happy and wanted to play. He played on his playmat for awhile. Then I gave him his bath and fed him again. He only ate for about 8 minutes, which can be enough, but isn't a lot. Then he passed out. He stayed asleep for awhile so I decided to put him down in his crib. I usually swaddle him for his long sleeps at night, but he had just been bathed and was wearing his warm footed pjs. So I just put him down in that. I really expected him to wake up pretty much right away, but he's been in there for almost 2 hours now and has not woken up yet. Or should I say he hasn't cried yet. I go to the door periodically and I can hear him in there sucking his fingers, but he could be asleep or awake and do that. I'm a little bit nervous though because I really didn't/don't think he'll be out for his long sleep, but I'm not sure when he'll wake up. I don't know if I should go to bed or stay up and wait him out.

Oh, well. I had a nice day and really enjoyed reconnecting w/ my wonderful hubby! Tony's friends asked at the last minute if they could come over this evening and we agreed. So he is hanging out with them downstairs. I considered actually trying to hang out w/ them also since Seelie went down so early, but they are actually playing some new games tonight. I don't want to be in the middle of a game and have to come tend to Seelie. I figure that I could enjoy some "me time" instead.

Oh, also, Seelie did pretty good with his play time this morning. I put him on his tummy some which he does not like. He is getting a really flat head on his left side so I'm trying to work on getting him off of it some. He didn't want to lay on his tummy though so I just tried turning him on his right side and laying him where the only way to see his toys was to look that way. He stayed on his right side for a minute or two and then rolled back onto his back, but he kept his head turned toward the right. It was only for a few minutes total, but every little bit counts.

Yesterday we went to visit one of my coworkers. She is out on sick leave because of a back surgery. We had a nice long visit. Seelie was really good the whole time. He fussed just a little, but I think it was due to gas. I had taken a bottle with us and tried to give it to him, but he didn't want to take it. We were there for about an hour and a half. Then we went to Walmart for a little bit. Mostly I wanted to get him to take the bottle, because I know that I have to work harder on getting him used to it. (I'm guilty of not attempting it everyday like I said I would) Anyway, he was content and chilling in his stroller in the Walmart, but I knew that it had been awhile since he had eaten. I offered him the bottle while we were strolling around. He took it reluctantly at first and then actually started sucking normally on it. He took about 1.5 oz. Of course, once we got home he was ready to nurse ;-) At least he took it though.

1st week alone

Yes. This was the week that Tony had to return to work. It did not start out as bad as I thought it could be. But then I had to take Seelie for his 2 month checkup on Wednesday. He received 2 vaccines and we've had a bit of a rough time since then. Wednesday he slept a lot and then fussed pretty much anytime he woke up. I didn't have any baby tylenol because I didn't know I needed it. I had Tony pick some up on his way home and that seemed to help a little. Then Thursday Seelie slept alot again and was pretty clingy. He wanted to be held while he was sleeping or he would wake up and cry. And his crying wasn't just a little fussing but screaming crying which is just heartbreaking.

Last night he wouldn't settle and go to sleep until 11:30 which is really late for him. I think it is because he slept so much during the day and then was finally feeling better. He layed on the floor between 10 and 11 and just played and kicked his legs. He was having a good time and wide awake. I was glad to see that he seemed to be feeling better. His sleep was way messed up though. He slept til 5:15, then when I put him back down he woke up. I got him to sleep in his crib until about 7am. Then when he woke he was fussy so I held him and we slept together on the couch until 9am. Then he woke up and REALLY fussed. He hasn't been having as many bowel movements since his shots, so I think he was working on that. I ended up putting him down on his playmat because he actually seems to work it out better that way. He layed there and fussed a bit. I thought I was going to have to pick him right back up and feed him, but I made him wait while I pumped. Then he got calm and is drifting in and out of sleep. So I am not going to disturb him.

He has started going longer between feedings during the day sometimes. He will get fussy and I will change his diaper and think that he wants to eat. When I change his diaper he calms down and seems happy. So I put him back on his playmat and a lot of times he will go back to playing happily. So that is really nice because when he was eating every 1.5 hours that got pretty old. Now it varies between 1.5, 2, and 3 hours. I can live with that.

At his doctor appointment he weighed 12lbs 12oz and was 24 inches long. The doctor said everything looks good and didn't have any concerns. Seelie was really good for the appointment. He cried when he got his shots, but then calmed down right afterward when I comforted him. He received the DTaP and Prevnar vaccines this month. We are doing a delayed schedule for him and he will basically get 2 shots at every well child visit until he turns 3. I did not like the idea of him getting so many at one time but did want him to get all of the vaccines that he needs. I am happy with this delayed schedule.

Seelie has not managed to roll over yet on his own, but he does get all the way onto his side. He will grunt and seem to be fighting to get the rest of the way over. I think that is particularly funny because he Hates tummy time! He has developed a pretty flat head from always being on that one side though so I have to work on getting him on his tummy more often.

On Tuesday night, Seelie slept for 10 whole hours!! I was so excited! I wasn't worried when I woke up because I heard him stirring over the monitor. He wasn't fully awake yet though so I pumped first before picking him up. He wasn't overly upset either. He used to get SO upset when he would sleep a long time because he would be starving when he woke up, but he does so much better now. The doctor said that he is probably working on sleeping through the night and may do so soon. I would say that 10 hours is pretty close to "through the night" already. I am not counting on him continuing that though. He generally averages about 6.5 hours in one stretch. That's not too bad and I think I can function pretty well with that when I go back to work. If he wants to sleep longer though I'd love it ;-)

Monday and Tuesday I was determined to be able to accomplish a few things during the day. I was fairly successful. I did dishes, laundry, and actually cooked dinner on Tuesday. We also went to the grocery store on Tuesday. I didn't get anything accomplished yesterday or Wednesday, but I was concentrating on comforting my poor little boy. I have not yet decided what I will or won't get done today :-) I am considering taking him shopping.

I posted a video of him on Youtube that is his first time really smiling and cooing at me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXUF4LdZksA Check it out. It was SO sweet!

I promise I'll try to get some pictures up soon. He's waking now though so I better not push my luck.

Rolling

Seelie is attempting to roll over today! He has gotten himself halfway over, but then gets stuck! Too cute! I just wanted to post that before I forgot.

long week

Ok. I love my child and I am more than grateful to be able to have 3 whole months off of work to be with him, but today I was having a hard time. I just felt very off kilter. It was actually a pretty good day, but I felt like I just wanted to run away or cry. I think it is hormonal probably though. I also feel like I'm getting a little stir crazy. I did get out yesterday for a lunch date w/ my coworkers, but I still just feel like I spend every waking hour in my house. I am going to work on that though.

Yesterday I met my supervisor and two of my unit members for lunch. It was really nice catching up even though I have seen one of them and talked to the other two fairly regularly. Tony and Seelie could have come with us, but I figured that since Tony goes back to work next week it would be nice for me to get a last chance to get out by myself. Tony was more than willing to keep Seelie at home. Unfortunately, Seelie got upset right after I left and seemed hungry, BUT he refused to take the bottle from Tony the whole time I was gone! I had fed him about an hour before I left and I was gone for 2 hours. So it wasn't too long, but longer than he normally goes without eating. Tony said that he tried everything he could think of. He said that Seelie started fussing and wouldn't eat so he put him in his bouncy seat. He said that he fell asleep in the bouncy seat and slept for about 30 minutes. Tony said that when he woke up he fussed again, but still wouldn't eat. He said that he put him back on his playmat and was able to keep him calm for a little while, then he started fussing again. Tony said that shortly after Seelie began fussing again I came home. I felt so bad for Seelie and Tony. I know that it is frustrating for Tony to not be able to satisfy him. It also upset me because I HAVE to go back to work in a month and he will HAVE to take a bottle. So, it just makes it all that more important that we work on getting him used to being away from me and taking a bottle from someone else. What is weird is that he has taken several bottle in the past without much fuss. I don't know what makes the difference for him. It just broke my heart though.

Yesterday he napped really well during the day though. I don't know if he wore himself out while I was gone or what, but he napped more yesterday than he has in at least a week. I was a little nervous that he would not sleep well last night, but he slept fine. He went down after his 7:45 feeding, then woke at 9:30 to eat again. After that he slept until 4am, ate and then slept again until 7am. After he ate at 7 he was fussy/gassy, so I put him up against my chest and patted him to sleep. Then we slept together in the recliner until about 9. It was a pretty decent night.

He was really calm and good this morning too. After he woke up at 9 he wanted down on his mat and he happily played down there most of the morning. I fed him periodically and put him back down. He really likes to just lay there and bat at his toys and kick his feet. He did not really nap today. He slept on my chest for about 45 minutes around 2pm, but not other than that. He ate at 8:15pm and is currently sleeping in his crib. Not sure if he is down for the night or not though.

I think what happens is that I chill and relax in the mornings when he is chilling, then I want to get moving and do things in the afternoon and that is when Seelie tends to get more needy. Also, Tony goes back to work next week and I think I'm worried about being home alone all day everyday for a month. I am afraid that I will be lonely and completely non productive. He keeps reassuring me that my main focus is supposed to be Seelie and that he does not expect much other than that. I still feel guilty some days that I don't feel like I do anything other than feed Seelie, watch tv, and surf the net. I'm gonna make myself lists starting next week and try to accomplish at least one or two things a day. We'll see.

I'm also going to try to focus on getting out of the house on occasion too. So that we can get used to the routine of going places, but also so that I don't get too stir crazy.

Well, I'd better get in bed. I try to sleep as much as I can during Seelie's first long sleep because that uninterupted sleep means SO much to my sanity!

Napping!

My child is actually napping! On his own! He ate at 1pm and then had been awake since then. I put him on his playmat and sat down on the floor next to him. He was playing some and then calmed down a bit. I was reading a magazine and he started sucking on his fingers. A few minutes later he was snoozing. He has been out for at least 15 minutes now. It is so cute too! What is funny is that occasionally he pulls his fingers out of his mouth and then it is like he is fighting himself to get them back into his mouth again. He will use his right hand to hold the left hand in his mouth. Too funny. I'm afraid he's going to wake himself though. Oops... I think he just did! lol.

We've been up since 6:30 basically. After he ate at 6:30 I got him to nap on my chest a little so I could get a tad more shut eye, but not much. He has been on his playmat off and on all day. He has been eating every 1.5 hours today though which is a little tiring.

Seelie is getting SO big!! I have already had to go through his clothes and pull out all of the newborn sized things because they are too small. He has outgrown some of the 0-3 month sized stuff too! He's not fat or chubby, just LONG.

Ok. He's awake now and hungry. More later... maybe pics too.

Wednesday already

Well we were able to get the books all organized on Monday. Now we should be able to find books without looking forever. The other projects that we got done last week were that we cleaned upthe spare bedroom (again) and cleaned out that closet plus both linen closets. Yesterday I cleaned out and reorganized my side of our closet. We've been busy, but it is nice to feel like the house is in better order now.

Seelie has tolerated this pretty well. He prefers to be upstairs on his playmat during the day so he was a little fussy when we were downstairs with the books. I have a Moby-style wrap that I made so that I can "wear" him, but I'm not sure how much he likes it. I think we are going to have to practice so that he will be comfortable in it.

Monday night wasn't the best sleep night. He went down at 7pm, but woke up at 10:40. I had just gotten into a deep sleep too. Then he slept til 3:15am, ate and went right back to sleep. At about 4:30 he cried & woke himself up, so I went and rocked him a minute & he fell right back asleep. He doesn't usually wake himself up like that. Then he was up again at 6,then at 7. I was able to get him to nap on my chest for about 45 minutes, but then he was up for the day.

He was playful and happy most of the day. Tony fed him a bottle about 2pm and he took it fine once I left the room. He fell asleep in Tony's arms and slept for about 20 minutes. Then he woke up and fussed a little, but I think that was just gas. He did not take any real naps. He slept in my arms after feedings a couple of times, but as soon as I would try to put him down he woke up again. I'm not sure if I should try harder to get him to nap or just let it be.

More later...

Monday

Well, Seelie had a odd night Saturday night. He went to bed at like 8:30 and woke up at 12:30, but then he slept for 5 hours. Then he slept another 1.5 hours before getting up for the day.

Then since it was Sunday we had lunch at my grandma's. My youngest sister, Michelle, had come to town for the weekend. This was her first time seeing Seelie since he was in the hospital. Unfortunately, she said that she's not been feeling the best and is worried that she is getting a cold, so she did not hold him. Aunt Vivian got to feed Seelie his bottle. He took about 2 ounces with no problem.

After lunch Michelle, Seelie and I went over to my other sister, Leila's, house. Tony went home to clean up from having his friends over Saturday (his choice). Leila & her roommate have Rock Band for the Wii, so we played some. I mostly sang because I could do that while holding and feeding Seelie. Michelle brought her sewing machine and finished up 4 more diapers for me. She is still working on 9 more so that we will have 29 total. That will help so that we don't have to do laundry quite as often. The new ones are even cuter because she used a flannel on the inside w/ a print of babies in diapers on it :-)

We stayed over there and goofed off all afternoon. Seelie did really well. He seemed to want to nap some but couldn't really with all the excitement. He was not fussy though. He just chilled and took it all in.

We came home around 5pm. He was happy to get some time on his playmat. He ate twice w/ some play time in between and then he was out for the night. He slept from 8pm until 3:15am, then back to sleep until 7:10. He ate and then seemed to want to sleep, but when I put him down he woke up. He ate again at 9 and I've been holding him since because he is asleep on my chest. He's so cuddly!

Not sure what we'll do today. Tony has been working on some of our house organization projects before he has to go back to work. I do my best to help as much as Seelie will let me. Our current project is arranging our 5 bookshelves because we just put the books on them anywhere when we moved in. It is a big project though. Hopefully we can finish that today.

Well, that's my update for now. Gonna try to do more of these one handed updates :-)

7 weeks and counting

Seelie is 7 weeks old already! Time flies! I am on my computer a lot everyday, but usually he is in my lap at the time so I have to type one handed. I cannot imagine trying to type these long blog posts one handed. Maybe I need to try to do shorter ones though... lol!

Anyway, I just put him down for the night and am not too tired so I figured I'd stay up for a little bit. Seelie is pretty consistently sleeping for a stretch of 5-8 hours for his first sleep of the night now. He will eat for the last time usually between 7 and 9 and then be out. Sometimes he waits til later, but generally it is around then. He will wake up after that sleep and eat quickly then fall right back asleep. He sleeps anywhere from 2 hours to 3.5 hours after that. Then it is hit or miss from there. He may eat and go back to sleep for about 2 hours or he could be up for the day.

Seelie is awake pretty much all day these days. He will close his eyes while eats sometimes and then fall asleep right after he finishes, but then basically if I try to put him down he wakes up within 10-15 minutes. He is alert and happy most of the day. I don't worry too much about him not napping because he doesn't seem to get overtired and fuss about it. He really only fusses when he is passing gas or pooping. He does get pretty irritated about that sometimes. That can be frustrating to me at times also because all I can do is pat him and try to comfort him. I can't wait until that is no longer something that upsets him so much.

I am still not used to getting out and about with him too well, but I can go some. I have been to a breastfeeding support group twice now and that was really nice. We also go to my grandma's (right next door) every Sunday for lunch. Other than that I have only been out shopping with him a few times. He does ok, but I just feel like it is so hit or miss. I'm still uncertain about breastfeeding in public, mostly because we are not used to doing it anywhere but in one certain chair here at home. I need to work on that some. He still only takes my right breast, so I just pump the left. I have over 500 ounces of milk frozen though so that is really nice. We have introduced a bottle and he does ok with it. He was doing really well, but then last Friday I went scrapbooking. I was gone for about 7 hours. Tony gave him a bottle twice while I was gone and was giving him a third when I got home. He was not happy about that 3rd bottle and I ended up feeding him since I was home. Since then he has protested a lot more about getting a bottle. We tried to let my aunt feed him last Sunday and he refused. She gave him to my mom because she has fed him before and he still refused. We have only given him one bottle since then and Tony did it. Seelie took it but Tony said that he was not very happy about it and was not easily soothed afterward. So... we're going to have to work on that.

Seelie seemed a tad bit more clingy after I was gone for that 7 hours, so I am now pretty nervous about having to go back to work. I have 5 more weeks left though so I'm going to work on getting him used to me being gone gradually. I am also going to keep working on letting others give him a bottle too. I want to go back to work and need to, but I KNOW I'm going to be really sad when that time comes. Tony has one week left before he goes back to work. I'm also a little nervous about him being gone also. I know that I can handle everything, but life is so much easier when Tony is here. He can do dishes and laundry and get me something to drink if I need it. Once he's back to work I will have to do most everything by myself. I think it will help me to be more prepared for going back to work myself though.

Seelie is more alert and expressive now. He makes cooing sounds and smiles now. I have a video of him cooing and smiling at me. It was SO sweet. Now he usually coos at the wall behind me while he is eating. He'll stop and grin then start cooing. It is really weird. He won't be looking at me or any actual thing, just staring off into space. He seems so intrigued though. He also likes to lay on his playmat and bat at his toys hanging overhead. He can grab the rings but doesn't really get that he has to let go of them. My mom bought him a giraffe that plays music and he seems to like it a lot also. I try to talk to him and sing to him. Sometimes he seems to like it and other times he seems like he could care less. I also read to him on occasion. He will stare at the pictures and seems to enjoy that, if I catch him at the right time. He does really well in his bouncy seat but does not seem to like his swing very much yet.

Today he slept more than usual and was really wanting to be held. He seemed to want to sleep a lot, but would only sleep if I held him. I spent a couple of hours today just holding him while he slept. I am not worried about him doing that on a regular basis because he does sleep so well at night. He has also discovered that his fingers are good to suck on. He can put himself to sleep if he sucks on his fingers and will allow himself to rest. I swaddle him at night though and that is what helps us to get the long sleeps. Those swaddling blankets are a miracle and a life saver!

I love my little man! He is so sweet and adorable!

3 weeks old already!

Wow! I can't believe that it has been 3 weeks since Seelie was born already! I only get little short periods of time during the day that I can read, watch tv, and play on the computer so I haven't really worked on Seelie's birth story yet. I still want to write it up, but I thought I'd do a quick update now instead.

The first two weeks were pretty hard for me. I was really tired and not getting any sleep. I think that having a newborn was a lot more challenging than I had ever imagined it would be. I also had the hormones going on and definitely had a case of the baby blues. I cried a good bit during the first two weeks, but the fog seemed to lift at about the 2 week mark.

Seelie is doing pretty well with the breastfeeding, but he absolutely refuses to latch on to my left breast. He does great on the right side though. So I'm just feeding him on the right and pumping on the left. I offer him the left side a couple of times a day and am hopeful that he will eventually take the left again. If not though I've been advised that he will be just fine if he only ever eats from the right. I am also getting a lot of good frozen milk supply saved up for when I go back to work which is nice. He still has times when he will pull off and scream bloody murder for awhile. I have figured out that most of the time it is one of two things 1) he slept too long and is over hungry or 2) he has gas that is bothering him. Most of the time it is reason 2 and if I can wait him out and soothe him long enough he will pass it and be ok. It can be really tough though when he cries for 20 minutes straight.

We have had a lot of visitors which can be really nice. The first week we had people everyday which got to be a little bit rough, but then in the second week it slowed down a lot. Now for the most part I look forward to visitors to break up the day. I enjoyed them all along, but during that first week I was just overly tired and would have loved an occasional nap that I wasn't able to get during the time when we had visitors.

Seelie is growing SO fast!! We took him to his 2 week checkup on 10/2. He weighed 9lbs 30z which was a whole pound more than his original birth weight! So he is eating and growing just fine. I can tell a difference in his face from the weight that he has put on so far too.

We have been taking lots of pictures of him and try to take one every day or every other day. I will try to post a few soon.

We started with the cloth diapers at about day 8 or 9 and have really been enjoying them. The disposables leaked a LOT and the cloth don't leak nearly as much. Really the times when he leaks tend to be when he is laying on us and it kind of comes out the side of the leg or if the top isn't tight enough and it comes out the top. He had a touch of diaper rash on his tush from the disposables but it doesn't seem to be bothering him much. I have been treating it some but not diligently. It was getting better and then just kind of has stayed the same, so I'm being more aggresive about putting the diaper rash cream on it. He doesn't seem bothered by it at all though at least.

I have been recovering from my C-section a lot better than I had imagined that I would. I had my staples out on 9/24 and the incision felt a lot better after that. I continued to take my pain meds for about a week and a half post partum, but then was able to stop them. I still have a little bit of soreness in my lower stomach area at times, but nothing major. I still have to be careful about lifting things and not overdoing it, but generally that isn't a problem. Tony is hear at home with me, so he does most of the chores and tells me to chill as much as possible. Basically all I do is eat, sleep, and feed the baby, with a little tv watching and internet surfing thrown in ;-) I am starting to get a little bit antsy about being stuck in the house so much. Also I'm struggling a little bit with being SO tied to Seelie. His schedule is well.. non existant. So I can't say at X time I'm going to feed him and then run to the store for an hour while he sleeps, because he could wake up and want to eat again 45 minutes after I lay him down OR he might sleep for 3 hours. I haven't quite gotten the hang of taking him places yet either. We have been to his doctor twice and my doctor once. Then on this past Tuesday I took him to a Breastfeeding support group that was about a 30 minute drive away. We ended up being there for 3 hours, so I fed him during that time and he pretty much slept the rest of the time. Other than those outings we have taken him next door to my grandma's house for Sunday dinner last Sunday and today. As much as I want to go on outings, they Really wear me out. So over the next week or two I'm hoping to get out a little bit more. Tony has been doing all of the grocery shopping which is Wonderful, but I told him that next time I want us to both go and take the baby just so I can get out. I did take a walk to the mailbox by myself yesterday which was REALLY nice and refreshing.

As for Seelie's name... It has a few different origins. The FBI guy on Bones is named Seeley, which is where I heard it as a first name. I also know a lady at work whose last name is Sealy, so it was on my mind from her also - she's a friend but we didn't name him after her. Also, there is a fantasy link that Tony liked. The term Seelie court refers to light fairies in scottish folklore, so he thought that was pretty cool. I just really liked the name and thought that it was very uncommon, but not at all weird. We tossed it around early on and it just stuck for me. We didn't decide on Dakota until a few minutes before they wheeled me away for the C-section. We had a really hard time agreeing on a middle name that we liked with Seelie and our last name, Peacock. I am happy with his name though and I think we did a good job :-)

Well, he is stirring from his nap now so I better wrap it up before he gets too fussy.

Seelie Dakota Peacock is here!

I don't have time to write the full accounting of our labor and delivery story just yet. I'm going to, but in the meantime I wanted to at least post the basic details and share a couple of pictures (if I can figure out how).

Seelie Dakota Peacock was born on 9/18/09 at 7:30pm. He was 8 pounds 3.3 ounces and 21 inches long.

I was induced on Thursday evening with Cytotec and had 3 doses of that through the night. My water was broken at about 9:30am on Friday and the pitocin was started around 10am. I labored until after 5pm w/out any pain medication. I was at 6cm when my midwife checked me, but the baby's heartrate was concerning. He was having difficutly handling the contrations. Basically the midwife said we were most likely going to have to do a C-section because he was no longer tolerating labor, but we could go ahead and get the epidural and see if we could get him to come vaginally. I had the epidural and then in short order dilated completely, however the baby's head still had not come down at all. So, I ended up with the C-section. They said when the got him out that he had been turned wrong and his head was stuck against my pelvic bone so he would not have come out regardless. It was not at all the labor and delivery that I had hoped for, but in the end I got a beautiful baby boy so it's all good.

He is so cute and sweet. He had taken to breastfeeding pretty well for the most part. The last couple of days have been a struggle though. He gets really mad and just wails instead of taking the breast into his mouth and eating. It is very frustrating. We are working through it though.

He sleeps well and for good chunks of time. He has a habit though of sleeping really good during the day and then wanting to be awake a lot at night. I'm not too concerned though since he is not even a week old yet. I expect that it will take a little bit of time to get him on a better schedule. Plus with the breastfeeding it is not like he's going to sleep through much of the night anyway.

Tony and I did write up something with more detail while we were in the hospital, but it is from his perspective and on his computer. In the next few days I'm gonna get it and tweek it to my perspective and get it posted here.

Thats it for tonight, All the details coming soon. :-)

The pictures are: Seelie just after birth in the nursery getting cleaned up; Me, Tony, and Seelie just after we got to our post partum room; Seelie bundled in a towel because my family thought his head might be cold; From left: My mom, Tony, Seelie, Me, My dad, Leila (middle sister), and Michelle (youngest sister) - our whole family; Seelie in his going home from the hospital outfit.

Getting induced tonight.

Well, I am 41 weeks today. I went in for my appointment at 11am. They checked the amniotic fluid and placenta first with an ultrasound. The tech said that the fluid was low and the placenta was not looking great either. Then I had my blood pressure checked and it was 150/80. I figured by this point that they may start talking induction. I had my non stress test and the baby seemed fine.

Then I saw the midwife. She started off saying that my blood pressure is high and I had protein in my urine which isn't good. So then she checked me. I am about 1cm dilated and thinning, but that's not a whole lot of progress. She checked with the doctor and he said that he wants me to be induced tonight. They said that since I'm at 41 weeks and the fluid is low and my blood pressure is rising it just makes the most sense.

I will go in at 8pm and they will do Cytotec every 4 hours until morning. They said that is a vaginal pill that is supposed to help my cervix open and possibly start some early labor. Jeri (midwife) said she will be there tomorrow and that if I progress well in the night and get to at least 3cm then she will probably break my water. She said that may be enough to get labor moving, but if not then they will start the pitocin and we will go from there.

I am adjusting to this, but it is Completely the opposite of what I wanted my labor and delivery to be like. I hate the fact that I have to go into the hospital before I even have the first contraction. I had REALLY hoped to labor at home for most of my labor. I feel like that would be more comfortable and help me be less likely to need an epidural. I'm still going to try not to have the epidural, but we will have to see how it goes.

I know that what matters is that the baby is healthy and that I am healthy. Ultimately, I'm excited to know that I will be seeing my baby tomorrow! I can't wait to meet him!

It may be a week or so before I come down from the clouds enough to tell all about his birth, but I do promise to do so. :-)

Due today? Yep. Having a baby today? Nope.

Well, they call it an estimated due date for a reason I guess. I wasn't expecting anything today since I really haven't been feeling any contractions or having any other signs. I went to work like normal and had an appointment with my midwife at 11:00am. I had my Non Stress Test first. It went fine. I was really relieved by that because I had been a little bit worried. I know that if they determine that the baby isn't doing that well, then they start talking induction and I would prefer to avoid that if possible. I guess I was worrying for nothing though because his little heart rate increased with every movement he made just like it is supposed to. My midwife said he "passed" within the first 10 or 15 minutes of monitoring. My blood pressure was 130/74 which is still good. I then saw the midwife. She said that my cervix is about 75% effaced which is more than last week and that it is thin and soft. She said that his head seems to be down a little lower than last week, but not fully engaged. I have not started dilating at all though. So, I go back in a week for another NST and they will check my amniotic fluid at that time also. Maybe he'll come before then.

I went back to work of course. All day people were like, "Are you still here?! When is he due?" I can't tell you how many times I said, "today's the due date, but he's not coming anytime soon" It is nice to know people care and are interested, but it kind of gets old. I'm not too impatient personally. I'm still mostly fine. I have swelling on workdays simply because I can't get my feet up high enough during enough of the day. It really isn't that big of a deal though. They hurt a little if they get too swollen, but it's minor. Other than that I'm fine. I'm not in pain or particularly uncomfortable. I am actually enjoying being at work too. I have a big project that I'm trying to finish before I go out. If it doesn't get done it will be ok, but I like having a pressing project. My day goes by WAY faster that way and I don't dwell all day on "when is the baby coming".

Well, who knows when he'll come, but I'll come give all the details once he does :-)

Still hanging in there...

I had intended to start trying to post weekly, but haven't really been doing so. Oh, well. Everything is still going fine. This baby boy is determined to stay put I think. Tony and I have been telling him all along that he has to wait at least until his due date and I think he might just obey us ;-) We were hoping not to have him over Labor Day weekend for a few reasons. My main reason is that my midwife was not on call this weekend. Tony's main reason is that he doesn't want the baby's birthday to be too close to DragonCon. LOL.

Speaking of Dragon Con... We decided that we'd better opt out of going this year. I know we both really wanted to go and there were a lot of really good guests there this year, too! There was no way to know when the baby would decide to come and I couldn't have handled all of the walking around. I teased Tony a lot that we could go as long as he'd be ready to drive me home to the hospital at any given time. He said no way! I have been having to stop myself from logging onto the website to torture myself with what I'm missing. One of my friends on Facebook is there and she posts the occasional tidbit that is torture enough.

I have been enjoying a nice 4 day weekend this weekend though. I work under the Georgia Department of Human Services and due to budget cuts we are having Furlough days all year. Friday was our first one for this fiscal year. We had them last year too but you got to choose your one day a month. This year they are closing all DHS offices one day a month. They connected the ones the could to holidays, so we had Friday before Labor Day. We'll get an extra day at Thanksgiving and December 31st to go with New Years. We already get 2 days at Christmas so I guess that's why they did New Years. Anyway, we don't get paid for furlough days, but I'm kind of used to it after last year. I was really looking forward to this being a 4 day weekend and am glad that the baby has not made his debut yet. My plan is to work from home on Tuesday which will also be nice. I won't start my leave until the baby actually comes in case he decides to be late. For my leave purposes, I'm also glad that he didn't come before this weekend. For some reason my leave balances just work out better if he waits until at least his due date.

I had an appointment with my midwife on Friday and she had scheduled an ultrasound, so Tony went with me. We were able to see the baby and everything looks fine. The Ultrasound tech put his weight at 8lbs 2oz!! I am not too worried because my understanding is those measurements are often off by a good bit, but STILL!! If he's already 8lbs and not ready to come out yet he could get scary big before he comes. My midwife did not act concerned at all though which is good. She checked me and said that my cervix is softening and thinning, but I am not dilated at all. Also the baby has not dropped yet. I am scheduled to go in on Thursday (the due date) for my next appointment. She said that I will have a Non-Stress Test at that time assuming that he has not come yet. She said that at this point they don't have consistent growth so they use the NST to determine that they are getting enough oxygen, etc. She said if I go for another week after that then at the next appointment I would probably have an NST and an ultrasound, just because the further along you get the more they like to monitor things. That makes sense to me. My weight at my 38 week appointment had gone up 5 pounds (I went in the afternoon instead of morning though, which I think matters). At this appointment I was down 2 pounds from that weight. I was happy with that. I think that proves my point that the 5 pound jump had to do w/ going at a different time of day. I am really hoping NOT to hit the 40 pound mark!! I am currently at 36 pounds, so I might be able to stay under 40 total if he doesn't stay for a full 2 weeks over. My blood pressure was 130/60.

My only two issues that I've had have been sleep and swelling. I basically sleep poorly and swell all during the work week. I've found that weekends are different though. I sleep better on the weekends for some reason. I have been swelling less on weekends mostly because Tony has been insisting that I stay in the recliner or on the couch w/ my feet up for almost the entire weekend. I'm not really quite sure what the deal is with the sleep though. During the week I was waking up every 1.5 hours to roll over and/or go to the bathroom (usually I'd do both). Then this past week I had a few days where I woke up every HOUR to go to the restroom and roll over. Last weekend though I had one night where I sleep in like 4 hour increments. And since Thursday night I have slept WONDERFULLY all 3 nights of this weekend so far! I sleep for longer chunks of time and don't feel the urge to go to the bathroom EVERY time I wake up to turn over. It also helps a little that I get to sleep for longer if I want to since I don't have to get up for work, but even without that I'm just having more sound sleep. One of my co-workers had said on Thursday that maybe it is related to knowing you have to get up for work in the morning and feeling like it is that time already. I didn't think so at the time, but now I sort of do think she could be right at least to some degree. Also, during the week I tend to ask myself if I'm in labor every time I wake up in the night, whereas for some reason I do that less on the weekend. I think that may have to do with the fact that during the week Tony goes to work 45 minutes away and if I've started labor in the night I don't really want him taking off to work. I don't know though. I have been not worrying as much about my swelling since last weekend. After I was able to really keep the swelling down by keeping my feet up, I determined that it is not a big medical issue. I figure it is just gravity and part of normal pregnancy. At work I try to keep my feet up, but it is hard for several reasons. One is that the few places I can put my feet to get them up can get very uncomfortable very quickly. Then there is the fact that I'm in a cubicle and people like to walk by and ask me if I'm having a comfortable and/or relaxing day. That really makes me ill when they make comments. I'm like look at my HUGE feet and tell me if I look comfortable?! They can get pretty big at times, too! For the most part they don't really hurt, but when they get particularly big it feels really tight and they hurt a little bit. That is when I put them up on top of my desk, which usually gets the most comments. lol.

We got the extra dresser for the closet and I decided to put all of the clothes in it. I decided that it makes more sense for all of the clothes to be in the same place. I have blankets in the changing table/dresser in the side with the shelves. The drawers will hold diapers, bibs, receiving blankets, burp cloths, and extra sheets and waterproof pads. Yes, we are using cloth diapers. I'm actually very excited about them, too. I will be home with the baby for the first 3 months during which time I plan to use cloth exclusively (after the first couple of days - they say that first poop is too tar-like for the cloth). After that Tony may be able to be home for another month, possibly, so that would be another month of cloth. Then the baby will have to go to daycare. I plan to attempt to get them to do the cloth diapers for me, but I am not holding my breath. If they won't then I will do disposables for daycare and continue with the cloth for nights and weekends. Most of the people I know think I'm crazy, but it just makes sense to me. It is cheaper and better for the environment. Also there will be a lot less chemicals coming in contact w/ the baby's bum. I've read that cloth diapered babies have less diaper rash AND potty train quicker. It helps a lot that Tony is completely on board with me. He helps me a lot around the house already and I have no doubt that he will help in anyway that he can with all of the baby stuff including diaper laundry. We also are both very stubborn people. We've both had people making bets that we won't stick with the cloth diapers. Both of us have said that we HAVE to stick with them now since people don't think we will. LOL. ;-) Plus my sister has put a lot of work into those diapers so I have to put them to good use. My parents used cloth for us and have been supportive also. They were lucky enough to have had a diaper service at that time though, so it will be a tad different for us than it was for them. I also have one co-worker who basically has kids my age and she said she did cloth and it isn't that big of a deal. It is nice to have a couple of people who don't think I've completely lost it at least. :o)

I think tomorrow I will probably be doing about the same thing that I did today... laying on the couch, reading, and watching tv. It was a nice day and I look forward to another one like it. :o) I know that I would get tired of it quickly, but there are times when I sort of wish that I could just start my maternity leave now and not go back to work. I know that it is better for me to go back to work though because it keeps me busy and I'm not just sitting at home waiting to go into labor all day. I know that if I were to stay home all week that would eventually be all I thought about.

I have the baby's room pretty much ready. I still have a few things to find places for, but in general things are ready. I packed baby's hospital bag today, but I still haven't packed mine yet. I actually don't think that I will pack mine really until I'm in labor. I feel like most of what I would want to take with me is last minute stuff. I am not planning to run out of the door at the first sign of a contraction anyway, so I figure I should have time to pack it once labor starts. If for some reason I don't have time, then my mom or sister can always come collect a few things for me.

So, I think I'm ready for this little man to make his appearance whenever he gets ready. It's ok if he wants to stay put for a few more days. I don't want him to stay put for too much longer than his due date though. Mostly I don't want to end up in a situation where they want to induce labor. I REALLY want him to come on his own! I am VERY determined not to have an epidural and I know that inductions often lead to way more intense contractions. I have faith in my body though and I think it is all gonna come together when the time is right.

Well, I should probably start winding down for bed now. Maybe next time I write it will be to say what a beautiful baby I have ;-)

37 weeks today!!

I can’t believe it is getting so close to my due date! I’m excited and I can’t wait. I’ve been very tired lately and am not having the energy to get a lot done during the week after work, so I’m sorta hoping that he will stay put until at least his due date so that I have a little more time to prepare for his arrival.

We had a Wonderful baby shower on August 2nd. I think we ended up with about 30 people! It was wonderful to see everyone and to feel so loved. I got a lot of really great things and felt like I was opening presents forever. The food was really good and the cake turned out SO cute! We played the dirty diaper (w/ chocolate in it) game and did baby food tasting as part of that game. We also did the clothespins game where you cannot say the word baby or someone can take your clothespin. The winner is who ever has the most pins at the end. Our other game was where they guess how big around my belly is using toilet paper, or in our case crepe paper. It was a lot of fun. I think the best game by far is the dirty diaper game because it really gets some funny reactions from people! Some of the larger items that I received were the swing/rocker that I registered for. It is a swing, but then also is kind of a bouncy seat and when they become a toddler they can use it as a rocking chair. I also received a neat floor play mat that has pieces you add as they grow to make it a little tunnel to crawl through. My grandmother crocheted 2 blankets for the baby, one of which has a little hood built into it. They were both very nice and will be treasured. My sister gave me 2 diapers that she had finished making and a really nice BIG diaper bag that she made herself. She is still working on the rest of the diapers, but is making 16 total. I talked to her about the fact that I’m going to need a few more, so she is going to make me some more, but I will pay for the supplies on those. I got a lot of other really nice things, but I’m drawing a blank right now.

We had my work shower on the following Thursday. It was very nice also and I was really impressed by the turn out for it. I think we had around 20 people! I got several nice outfits, a Cuddle U (like a boppy), and a bunch of gift cards! I am very grateful for the gift cards too because I have a few things that I still need to get. They will be helpful in finishing up my shopping.

I feel like I’ve been working on Thank You cards and sorting and washing things ever since the showers. In reality I’ve mostly only been working on it over the weekends because I just don’t have the energy after a full day of work. We bought our crib and changing table/dresser two weekends ago and Tony put the crib together last Saturday. I have been washing all of the clothes we got and trying to sort them into sizes. Did I mention that we got 4 boxes of hand me downs from a friend? Then another friend from Kansas sent us two more boxes of hand me downs! I was so excited because we have more clothes now than I know what to do with! And that suits me great because I am terrible at clothes shopping ;-) I really have no idea what the best way to organize the baby’s things is, so I’m just doing the best I can. I hung up the sleepers (w/ the feet), sleep gowns, one pieces w/ short legs, and some of the shirts. I folded the pants and the onesies (w/ no leg) and put them in the changing table thing. It is basically a dresser w/ 3 drawers and then a door that opens to 2 shelves. I have already filled the top 2 drawers and am still on my 3 month and smaller stuff. I don’t have a whole lot that is bigger than that yet, but my friend is planning to bring me her 3-6 month hand me downs soon. We did get a small 4 drawer chest of drawers yesterday that was my cousins at one time. It is painted kind of funny (white w/ blue scallops and pink dashes – very girly though) but we are planning to put it inside the closet so it shouldn’t matter. I still have to figure out what to do with bed linens, blankets, burp clothes, cloth diapers, baby towels, wash cloths, etc. I have a practically empty linen closet right outside of the baby’s room that I was thinking would be the place for the linens and towels, but I’m not sure. Maybe just towels, and bath stuff go in the closet (closer to the bathroom) and then the sheets, etc should go in the room since that would be where they are used. I don’t know. I also have already put the cloths in the dresser/ changing table, but am now wondering if I should put all the blankets, burp cloths, etc in that because that might be the better staging ground for the cloth diapers. I had planned to get a diaper stacker, but haven’t gotten one yet.. not sure if I will or not. I know that I need all my diapering supplies easily available near my changing station or on it. I think there could be room there on the actual dresser for a caddy of some sort to put a supply of wipes, diapers, and other changing essentials and then I could keep the backup supply nearby. I don’t know though. I can see an advantage to having the clothes in the drawer of the changing table also since I can just reach in and grab something. BUT, some of the clothes are in the closet and some across the room, so I don’t know if that will be annoying. Ugh. I would have never guessed that putting baby’s room in order would be such a difficult thing to do. Oh, well, I’m sure we’ll figure something out and I can always make Tony help me move everything later if I change my mind about the configuration ;-)

I saw my midwife last Thursday and today. Last week we did the Group B Strep test and today she said that it was negative. That is good because it means I won’t need antibiotics and therefore no required IV for the birth. She checked me last week at my request and said that nothing has started yet. She did not check me this week. I don’t think it really matters because I could be 0 cm today and have him tomorrow or 2cm today and have him in 2 weeks. She did recommend that I start taking Evening Primrose Oil capsules to help my cervix to soften. She said that it can be helpful especially for first time moms and for natural childbirth. My blood pressure last week was 140/70 which worried me a little bit, but she said that it was not a big deal because my first bp was 130/70 so it wasn’t too high for me. Today it was back down to 125/75, so I felt a lot better about that. I have been swelling pretty much daily now for at least 2 weeks. It is mostly in my ankles and calves, but sometimes my feet get pretty big. It isn’t too uncomfortable, but it just bothers me to think that I’m actually swelling. Jeri (midwife) says it’s no big deal, just a part of pregnancy and the heat of the summer. I have been drinking lots of water and I prop my feet up when I can so I don’t know that there is too much more I can do about it.

Ok. I’m going to wrap it up for today, but I’ll try to update more often now that we are getting closer. Don’t hold your breath though ;-)

Oh, yeah, Linda. We haven’t seen Julie & Julia yet, but it does sound good. I’ll have to check it out. We did go see Harry Potter though! I like Tristan too… hmm… I’ll have to run that one past Tony. My sister recommended Bastion Atreyu Merlin Peacock, but I’m certain she was kidding ;-) Our dad’s middle name is Merlin though, so the whole family has really been pushing that one.

34 weeks and counting!

Oops, I didn't mean to wait so long to post again. I've been thinking about blogging, but just haven't really been in a mood to sit and write.

I am 34 weeks now! I had a doctor appt on Thursday and everything was fine. I have gained 28 pounds already. I had hoped to keep better control on my weight, but I haven't felt like exercising and I have been just eating whatever. My blood pressure continues to be good. It was 120/60 when I went on Thursday.

Last weekend we had a family reunion in North Georgia. We usually camp for the weekend, but this year I had said that I was NOT camping. Well... Tony ended up not being able to go with me because he had to be on call for work. So my options were to camp w/ my parents or do 7 hours of driving in one day w/ my sister. I ended up doing the camping. My parents do pretty plush camping though so it wasn't too bad. We had electricity, computer w/ internet and movies, inflatable mattresses and bathrooms nearby of course. We also went tubing on Saturday. It was fun, but the water was Really low and we had to push ourselves along for about a third of the 2 hour "float". I enjoyed it though. Our reunion was good as usual. I rode home with my sisters and was able to visit my youngest sister's apartment in Atlanta that I had not been to yet. I was disappointed though because she wouldn't let me see the cloth diapers that she is making for me. ;-) That's ok though cause I get to see them soon.

Anyway, my ankles started swelling Friday night and have had varying degrees of swelling everyday since then. I originally was still holding onto the idea that it was just a food issue because I ate fast food twice on Friday. I even still hoped that for the duration of the weekend because the food was hit or miss and there was a lot of activity + not much sleep. But this whole week it just hasn't really cleared up. Tony says that I still haven't been eating very well this week, but I think it is just this point in the pregnancy coupled with the heat. I am just trying to keep my feet propped up when I am at home and drinking lots of water.

Tomorrow is my first baby shower! I'm SO excited! I can't wait. My sister and mom and I have been working on getting prepared most of the week. The biggest issue we have though is that my sister works from 3pm until 10 or 11 most nights and mom and I work 9 to 5ish jobs. So when we are at work she is home and vice versa. She has to work tonight also. We went over earlier though and got a few things hashed out. We had originally debated whether to have two showers or just one. I didn't think we had enough people to have two though. So, we did the one. Once we started sending out invites though the guest list just kept growing! By the time we were done we had like 46 people including myself. Then a couple of people have called and said "I'm coming and bringing So & So also". The additional guests are people I'm happy to have, but I'm like OH BOY are we gonna have a pile of people at this thing!! My sister's house is set up well for a big crowd though, so I'm hoping it will still go fine. I can't wait to see everyone! I also ordered a special cake that is hopefully going to be Really cool! It is going to be sort of "Ace of Cakes" style. I've requested that it have blocks spelling BOY and be Winnie the Pooh themed. I haven't seen the final sketch/idea, but I've seen enough of her other work that I'm sure I'm gonna be happy with it.

I've been so excited about this weekend! I woke up at 5:30am Friday morning and was not able to go back to sleep!

I'm really glad that the shower is this weekend because I have begun to feel really big and am getting more and more uncomfortable. I feel like I've been 33/34 weeks forever now! I am beginning to be just READY for the due date to be here and I know I have a long way to go before then. I think the shower is a good diversion and then will give me stuff to do afterwards also. We can start actually setting up the room and shopping for other stuff afterward.

I'm having my work shower on Thursday, which I'm looking forward to also! I am just trying to get through the first shower before I think too much about the work one though. ;-) We are having it at Cheddar's at lunch time. That is how we generally do showers at work. I expect a decent turn out at that shower also and it should be fun!

We still have not completely settled on a name for this little boy. I have a pretty good idea of what the first name will be, but we can't decide on a middle name. We are still working on it though.

We took our hospital tour today. I mostly wanted to refresh myself and Tony on where exactly we needed to go to check in. I was pretty pleased with the tour. The lady was really nice and indicated that the hospital is very open to doing most of the things that I want and had put in my birth plan. I am planning to go natural and try not to labor flat on my back if possible. She indicated that it is best if you can be unmedicated because you can move around and get into different positions better. She was also encouraging about breastfeeding immediately and having the baby room in. Our hospital has Really tight security in the Labor and Delivery area because a few years ago a lady stole a baby from there. What I like about the extra security is that they take the persons name (make them a badge) and then call your room to ask if the person can come back. I think that it will be nice to have a heads up that people are coming and be able to head them off if it is a really bad time. The only thing that I wasn't really excited about is that the laboring bed looks REALLY uncomfortable, but I told Tony that is even more incentive for me to try to stay at home as LONG as possible. I don't want to go to the hospital too early and have to be in there with them poking and prodding me any longer than necessary!

On the one hand, I can't believe I only have 6 weeks left and on the other hand, I can't believe I still have to wait 6 more weeks!! I am so ready to meet this little one, but I know that I still have a lot of prep work to get done before he arrives. Now I just have to find the energy to do all of those things ;-)

I'll post all about my showers soon!

30 week check up

Hey! Sorry it has been so long! I have been thinking about my blog a lot over the last week or so, but just haven't been motivated to actually write anything.

Everything is going well. I had my 30 week check up today. I have gained 21 pounds so far, which is more than I really wanted to gain, but not terrible. I really haven't been watching what I eat and I haven't been exercising at all, so I think 21 pounds is probably pretty good considering. It has been Incredibly hot here and I have not wanted to do anything much less exercise. My blood pressure was 130/70 and it has been staying in the 120-130/70-80 range the whole time. My uterus is measuring 32cm which the Dr. said was fine and the baby's heart rate was good. I saw Dr. Barnes today, not my midwife. He said that everything looks great and I can expect to start feeling occasional contractions soon.

At my 28 week check up I had my glucose test and didn't pass it. A week later I had to do the 3 hour glucose test. I was really nervous about that one. I feel like I have noticed my blood sugar fluctuating more than it should on occasion, so I just knew that I was going to have gestational diabetes. My mom gave me a few tips on what to do and not to do, but I really didn't have time to do any of them. I took the test on Wednesday and got my results Friday. They said that my fasting blood sugar was a little high, but that the rest of my numbers were fine. SO, I'm not diabetic!!! Thank goodness! I know that I still need to eat well and be careful, but I'm glad that I don't have to do special diets, etc. I am on a schedule of going to the doctor/midwife every two weeks now.

I have been staying fairly busy. Tony's friend and his family came down as scheduled. We had dinner with them on Friday night and then went to the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday. We ended up having quite a crowd. It was my MIL - Betty, Tony's BF, his two kids, a couple from Atlanta, then our out of town friend - Kevin, his mom, his wife, and their daughter. We had a really good time and spent over 6 hours at the aquarium. Kevin had bought the big combo tickets that included the aquarium, the IMAX, and the Titanic exhibit. I think most of us adults enjoyed the Titanic exhibit, but the kids (and adults connected to them) weren't thrilled and kind of sped through it. It was a little too museum-y for the little kids.

Then my cousin came to visit from Texas. She stayed with us from Tuesday to Sunday. She painted a nice big mural on one wall of the baby's room and then two smaller murals on the adjacent walls. I'll have to try to post some pictures here (they're on my facebook already if you have an account). It turned out really good and I really love it!

We had a good reunion that weekend. It was at a new location and there was a swimming pool, so I took advantage of it and swam. I was lucky that I have a bathing suit that is a two piece tankini style that was too big before and fits nicely over the baby belly.

My mom and I went to Florida for the weekend of June 20-22. I had that Monday off and my mom was able to take the day also. We had a nice time. My dad and two of his friends were there Saturday and Sunday morning, but they went fishing. We went to the beach and shopping. Sunday evening we did a little scrapbooking, too. It was nice to get away and it was the only chance I'm gonna get this summer to go to the beach.

We don't really have anything planned for the 4th, but I'm sure we'll end up grilling out or something. I know that Tony is looking forward to relaxing a bit.

This past weekend I received a whole bunch of hand-me-down baby boy clothes. I am super thrilled with them. There is probably enough there that I don't need anymore clothes for the under 6 month time period. I'm sure I'll get a few more clothes at showers too though. We are going to have the shower August 2nd I think. It was going to be July 19th, but my sister (who is throwing it) is out of town this week and the invites really would need to go out this week. I figured, since we hadn't even finalized the guest list, that wasn't happening. So, we are moving it. I am starting to get a little bit nervous about the fact that we have so little for the baby so far, but I don't feel like we should buy much until the shower.

Well, that's the basics. I'll try to check in at least as often as I go to the doctor ;-)

24 week news

I had my 24 week checkup last week. I gained 5 pounds in one month, which was a little high, but not terrible. I'm still at 14 pounds for the pregnancy according to the doctor's office. It's really more like 18, but I like their numbers better ;-) My blood pressure was 120/70, so I was really happy with that. I had been getting a tad nervous that it might be a little high. I have these headaches occasionally that just won't go away and it makes me nervous. I think I found the solution though, which is Extra Strength Tylenol instead of the Regular strength that Tony
originally got me. He thought since I was pregnant that I should take the lower dose/strength stuff. UH, not if it does Absolutely nothing! My next visit will be the glucose test which I'm not looking forward to. I don't like sugary sticky drinks. blech. Hopefully it won't be too bad AND hopefully I'll pass it and not have to do the bigger one!

I have been feeling the baby moving a lot more these days. Tony felt him move once last night, but in general is still not being patient enough to Really feel him. He doesn't leave his hand there long enough. He moves a lot in the evenings and first thing in the morning.

I've been staying pretty busy lately. This past weekend Tony had the guys over two nights in a row. I spent my time watching TV and starting a cross stitched Pooh baby blanket.

One of Tony's friends is coming in from out of state tomorrow with his wife and 5 year old. They are staying til next Tuesday. We are supposed to go with them and Tony's BF and his two daughters to the Georgia Aquarium and possibly the Atlanta Zoo. I am looking forward to it. We haven't been to the new aquarium yet and it should be fun to see it through
the kids' eyes.

Two weeks from now my cousin is coming in from Texas to stay for part of a week for our family reunion. She is an artist and has volunteered to paint some Pooh themed things on the walls in our baby room! I'm excited about that! I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Gonna be busy, but I'll try to check in periodically with an update.

More from the baby files

Thanks, Linda! I really enjoy writing about our travels because it is fun to relive it plus it will help me remember in the future. I'll keep Mythos in mind for whenever we do make it to Universal. Did I say already that Tony swears that we won't take our children to Disney/ Universal until the youngest is at least 4 years old. I think I can convince him to go before then though ;-)

So, lately I've just been plugging along. I was really busy this past week and I think I over did it a little bit. Monday I went to water aerobics for the first time in months. I really enjoyed it and am going to try to start going again. I did ok and didn't feel like I overexerted myself, but I was definitely ready for bed that night. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked 10 hours each which meant going in earlier than I'm used to and staying late. Thursday I drove 4+hours round trip to see one of my foster kids and ended up not getting to see her (which means I have to make that drive again before the end of the month!). Then Thursday night we had our first natural childbirth class. (more on that later) By the end of Thursday night I had a killer headache. I went to bed and it continued throughout the night. I slept some, but not a lot. When I woke up I still had the headache. I ended up staying home and finding some extra strength extended release tylenol that finally knocked the headache out. I figure that was my body telling me that enough is enough. I didn't get enough sleep this week and I ate really badly on Thursday. I think my body just refused to keep up that pace. Today we slept late and then cleaned house for a bit. Other than that I've been taking it easy. I feel fine today which is good.

So, natural childbirth class. We signed up with Belynda Enzor because our midwife, Jeri, recommended her. She teaches out of her home which is about 45 minutes from us. She only teaches for our midwife now and apparently there aren't that many couples wanting to go the natural route these days. There is only one other couple in our class. They are at 36 weeks already! I was shocked. I can't imagine being that close to my due date and just starting classes. Then during class the lady said that Jeri is considering inducing her soon because she's retaining too much water. Belynda recommended that she eat more protein. We'll see if they make it to the end of our 4 week class. Basically, we are learning the Bradley method, but Belynda doesn't keep her certification current so she is just teaching "natural childbirth". I felt like I learned a few things in the first class and most of all Tony seemed to really pick up a few things. I was watching some of the birth story shows on tv today and he was making little comments about not going to the hospital too soon etc. I was proud to see that he's getting something out of the classes. Before we went he was like "can't we just look this stuff up on the internet?" He was only half serious, but I think he sees the value now. Anyway, I really like the instructor so far and am looking forward to the rest of the classes. I have also bought the book "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" and am reading it. I've already started "The Birth Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. It is pretty good and actually pretty interesting. I put it down a few weeks ago though and just haven't had a chance to pick it up again.

Things seem to be going fine with the baby. I feel him kicking and moving around several times a day. I especially feel him when I'm relaxing in the recliner in the evening. I also notice him going to town on weekend mornings when I sit and drink coffee while reading. I guess the coffee wakes him up and he gets to rolling around good in there. I don't drink a lot of coffee usually less than a full cup, but it I enjoy the coffee and the kick-fest. Tony still hasn't felt him moving yet. I think partly the kicks aren't hard enough yet and partly he's not patient enough. We have plenty of time for him to feel it though.

Mother's Day weekend was pretty relaxed for me. Tony had the guys over on Saturday so I mostly just chilled - reading and watching tv. Sunday we hung out at my grandma's for awhile. Neither of my sister's were here for Mother's Day so I gave my mom the gift we got her. We bought her a simple to use digital camera w/ a memory card. My sister gave me two necklaces for Mother's Day before she left for her trip (she went to D.C. w/ her boyfriend).

We haven't started our registries yet and I feel like I want to get started on that soon. I know some of the things I need, but I'm not really sure what I want. I would love to get "green" versions of things like cribs and mattresses, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth it. I also am planning to cloth diaper and I know that those are Expensive. I would love to get some of my diapers as gifts at showers, but I don't feel that most people will go through the effort of ordering them online and I don't know of any local stores that sell them. I did see some of the prefold diapers at Walmart the other day, but I was thinking more of getting the All in one kind that look kind of like disposables. Anyway, I guess I'll just hope that most of the other good stuff is "showered" and then my big expense can be the diapers.

I go back to see Jeri on Thursday. I will be 24 weeks. On the one hand, I can't believe we are over half way and then on the other hand I can't believe I still have so far to go! I'm excited and ready! I know we have a lot of preparations to do between now and then though. I just hope to continue to be healthy and without complications throughout.

Til next time,
Amber

Chattanooga trip report

Well, we've been back from Chattanooga for a few days now, but I just haven't gotten around to writing. We had a very nice time and the weather was gorgeous while we were there.

We were both really impressed with Chattanooga and I kept saying "I can't wait to bring the kids back here". We stayed at the Marriott Convention Center which was really nice. The staff was really great and very friendly. We got a special deal that was for 2 nights, breakfast buffet for 2 for 2 days, free valet parking, plus our tickets to the aquarium, Imax, Rock City, Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway. That was all that we had committed ourselves to do anyway because we were not sure how much I would be able to handle. We didn't want to overdo it either, just enjoy ourselves and relax some. We wanted to stay 3 nights so I added a night at their weekend rate which wasn't bad AND I got an Amazon.com gift certificate for staying on the weekend. :-)

So we started Saturday (which I already wrote about a tad) by getting to Chattanooga, checking in and heading for the aquarium. When we got to the hotel we found out that there is a free electric shuttle that runs through downtown to the top attractions. Basically it makes a loop from the aquarium to the Choo Choo. Our hotel was a little off the loop, but the bus made a stop right outside the door. It was Really nice! We were able to ride it to the aquarium and to all the restaurants that are in that area. Most of the ones we had picked out were right in about a 3 block radius of the Aquarium. It also made it nice and convienent to go back to the hotel for a rest. The busses ran about every 5 minutes and we could be back at the hotel in about 10 minutes which is Awesome for a bus service! There was a nice mix of locals and tourists using it also which was neat.

We went to the Aquarium and Imax on Saturday. It has been probably 13 or so years since I had been, so needless to say they've made some changes. I am 99% sure the "ocean journey" building was not there the last time I went. We really enjoyed it and I really like the way it is laid out. I was discussing with Tony that the family annual pass is only $100 which is a pretty good deal. It would be right at $60 for 2 adults and a child for one visit, so if you could make it twice in a year it would be a great deal. I think it is something that children would enjoy more than once. I could definitely see going to Chattanooga twice in one year if the kids enjoyed it. There are a lot of family oriented activites there. Anyway, the Imax was pretty cool too. That was my first Imax experience. I was a little nervous because sometimes the 3d glasses give me a headache. They seemed to be ok though. I sort of had a bit of a headache going into the movie already though.

By the end of the afternoon I had developed a pretty bad headache. I took some Tylenol, but it didn't really help (it never does). We ate at 212 Market Restaurant for lunch. It is a certified Green restaurant. It was very nice and good. I had mushroom and spinach ravioli that was very good. Tony had the turkey, lettuce, and green tomato sandwich with onion rings. He said his was very good also. It was a very filling meal. For dinner we went to Big River Grille & Brew Works. There is also an outpost of this place at Disney's Boardwalk hotel. They brew their own beer which was exciting to Tony. I was starving when we got there so we ordered an appetizer of the jalepeno cheese dip. I ate too much of that and wasn't able to truely enjoy my dinner, which was a shame because it was Awesome! I ordered the Shrimp & Grits. It was so good that Tony was jealous and was a Huge portion. Tony got the beer flight so that he could taste all the different beers. He got about 2 ounces of 8 different beers. He said that the one he liked the most is the one that he was going to pick originally - a Vienna Lager. He ordered the Blue Crab Stuffed Chicken. He said that it was pretty good. I had a bite, but I was really too focused on my Shrimp and Grits to care. ;-) We really enjoyed our dinner here and would return in the future.

Sunday:
We decided to sleep in a little since we didn't have a breakfast deadline. We got up and made it down to the Blue Plate Restaurant around 11:30am. They have a patio that allows you to look out at the river. It isn't really on the river because there is a big grassy area and a road between them and the river, but the Valet guy said that it is as close to on the river dining as you will get. Tony had picked this restaurant and really wanted to eat there for Saturdays dinner. I wanted to eat there too, but we decided that they had more of a breakfast/lunch menu than dinner. So we thoroughly enjoyed breakfast here. I had the white omelet made with egg whites, mushrooms, peppers, and spinach, with cheese grits. It was really good. Tony had the Blue Plate Omelet made with Avacado, blue cheese, and corn salsa w/ a side of hashbrowns. He said the omelet was good, but the blue cheese was stronger than he would have liked. He used to not be a blue cheese fan at all, but lately has discovered that he likes some of the milder blue cheese. I think he was assuming it would be mild and it turned out not to be. But he ate all of it, so it must not have been Too strong.

After breakfast we went back to the hotel to pick up our car - boo! so that we could drive less than a mile to the Chattanooga Market. I was tempted to walk, but we weren't sure if we would be up for that much walking - there, around the market, and back. The Chattanooga Market happens every Sunday during the summer from 11am to 4pm. This happened to be opening weekend which was great timing on our part. I found info online and wasn't really sure what exactly to expect, but they said it had lots of vendors and there would be live music all afternoon. I was expecting it to be outside in the sun, but it was in an open air pavillion which turned out to be Awesome. The pavillion kept the sun off, but the sides were open which let in the cool breezes. It was warm but not hot under there and since I forgot our sunscreen it was really nice to be shielded. There were quite a nice variety of vendors - artists, jewelry, farmstands w/ produce and eggs, baked goods, yard art, food and beer. There was a nice area in the back with tables and chairs in front of the stage so that you could eat and/or listen to the bands. We walked through all of the vendors and then sat down to watch the music. We caught the tail end of one band, Tin Cup Gypsy, that I really enjoyed. Then we were able to listen to the whole set of the next guy, Jimmy Davis. We both really liked this guy. At the end of his set Tony went over to chat with him and bought his album. During the set he talked about how he travels around playing small venues like this and that he camps out everywhere he goes. Tony was all smitten with this idea - like "hey, I could be a traveling musician and camp out everywhere" Uh, yeah, and pay your bills with what? Anyway, we had a good time there and stayed until like 3:30pm.

We went back to the hotel to drop off the car and jump on the shuttle. We also knew that the shuttle would take you across the river to the "Northshore district" and so that was our plan. We had picked out a couple of restaurants over there and were going to eat and shop. Well, we didn't realize that the Northshore shuttle doesn't run on Sundays. While we were on the shuttle a local was explaining this to another couple and told them that they could walk over to the Northshore and that it was not too far. She told them about a walking bridge that one of my coworkers had told me to check out. Tony and I debated whether we wanted to walk or not. We had planned this to be a nice relaxing day and had managed to take it easy so far. But, we decided to go for the walk anyway. Well, I had us go down a hill that we had to go back up to get to the walking bridge, so that started us out a little worn out. Tony kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to walk over there. I had offered to go back and take the car, but he didn't want to deal with the car. I said that I was fine with walking but that we would have to take it easy. Well, that walking bridge was nice and long and the sun was awefully bright! By the end of the bridge we were contemplating taking a cab back to the hotel when we were done eating. Tony was really hot and tired and it showed when we got to the restaurant. He was just a little grumpy. We ate at Mudpie which has a big variety of food to choose from. We decided to focus on the Cuban food and just share a small selection of things. We got a cuba burger (chorizo on a bun w/ potato sticks), tamale, papa relleno (potato ball stuffed w/ meat), and plantains. It was all pretty good. I didn't eat any of the tamale that was mostly Tony's. I wasn't as pleased with my cuba burger as I had hoped. It was ok, but the sausage patty was really small compared to the bun and it didn't have as much flavor as I expected. I've had chorizo before and it is usually pretty strong. Anyway, we had a bunch of water with our meal and relaxed in the A/C for awhile. After that we were refreshed enough that we decided we could shop a couple of shops and then tackle the walk back to the Aquarium. So we hit a couple of the little kitchy shops. I made Tony sit with me for about 5 minutes at the start of the bridge before heading across it. It was shady there and I knew that we wouldn't be shaded on the bridge at all. There is a nice big park at the foot of the bridge on the Northshore side. There were a lot of people out enjoying it while we were there. They also have a big fountain play area for the kids were the ground is flat and the water shoots up in the air. There were a ton of kids running around in the water and screeching with delight! If I hadn't had so far to walk back I was tempted to go join them in the fountains! On the way back across the bridge, the sun went behind a cloud a bit and there was a nice breeze which made it very nice. The walk back was a lot easier I think mostly because we didn't climb a big pile of stairs right before getting on the bridge - that was how we got back up the hill I made us go down before. Anyway, we were pretty tired after our Northshore excursion, so we went back to the hotel to chill for awhile.

The shuttle stops running pretty early on Sunday and we had a late lunch. So we decided that we would have to take the car to whereever we wanted to go for dinner. We waited until about 8:30 to head out and chose to eat at the Hair of the Dog Pub for dinner. The sun was going down and the temperature was really nice so we chose to sit outside on the patio. It was really nice out there with a little bit of a breeze going. We ordered the Chipstravaganza Overloaded, which was fries covered in white gravy and Beer Cheese soup. OMG it was So good! We munched on that and Tony had a couple of beers. We then decided that we really didn't both need to get a meal, so we shared the Jalepeno Corn Dog platter, which came with more fries. We dumped the fries in what was left of the cheese sauce and ate them that way. The meal came with 2 corn dogs so we each had a corn dog. I was so full when we finished. We lingered and just enjoyed the evening air and atmosphere. It was nice. I also liked the fact that they serve until 2:30am every night, so even though it was Sunday we didn't have to worry about them not being open or trying to close on us.

Monday:
We had to get moving a little bit earlier on Monday because we had free breakfast buffet and it ended at 11am. We got down there about 10:30 and were the only ones in the restaurant - imagine that. (we really didn't see many other guests during our entire stay) Anyway, they had biscuits, gravy, grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast, and oatmeal all prepared and in the warming trays. They also had cereal and pastries to choose from. I had biscuit and gravy, grits, eggs, sausage, and a piece of french toast. I also got a cream cheese danish, but only ate a few bites of it. To drink I had a coffee, water, and milk. I drink a lot w/ my breakfast ;-) Breakfast was good and filling, which proved to be a very good thing.

We had decided to do Lookout Mountain today, so we got in the car and headed out. I figured that even though the weather was a nice 80ish we still would want to get the outdoor walking over with early. So we went to Rock City Gardens first. I've been there several times before, but, again, it's been a long time. I had forgotten how nice it really is, and probably appreciate it more now that I'm older. The rocks shade a lot of the trail so the temperature was really nice and cool for most of the walk. Tony took a ton of pictures and we really enjoyed just taking our time wandering through the rock formations. At one point we got behind a family w/ two little boys. They had just gotten ice creams and the littlest one (probably about 3 or 4) was trying to go down the stairs with the ice cream in his hand. The dad asked to hold his hand and the boy was like 'no I can do it' then he couldn't reach the rail. So he eventually let his dad hold his hand. We were standing there letting them pass and just cracking up at this kid. The dad said this is your chance to pass us. Tony said, oh we have a son on the way so we're just seeing what we've got to look forward to. Which made us all chuckle. I'm sure the dad said something encouraging about it being fun, but I don't recall. Anyway, we piddled so much going through Fat Man's Pass that they got way ahead of us and we didn't see them again (until we were on the same tour at Ruby Falls). I also enjoyed the Fairyland Gardens part with all the little black-lit figures of nursery tales. It is really cute.

After we left Rock City we headed over to the Incline Railway. We were getting sort of ready to eat, but didn't see anywhere to eat. We ended up following signs to the top station of the Incline Railway. I think it might have been better to start a the bottom, but we went ahead and did it from the top since we were there. It is really creepy sitting in that slanted railway car and seeing such a dramatic drop below you. Before it starts moving it seems as if it's going to just plunge down the mountain like a rollercoaster ride. Tony asked if it was going to be fast. I said I really didn't think so. It was nice and slow though. The views were neat. At the bottom we got off and saw a restaurant across the street. We figured we'd go there and eat, but they were closed. There were no other shopping or eating options so we got back on the next train to go back up. It was pretty cool going back up the mountain too. It was actually a little disconcerting and I was a teeny bit disoriented when we got to the top for a minute or so. It is neat and I would take the kids to do it once, but it is not really something that I see us doing over and over.

Next stop Ruby Falls. We went straight over there and they had a snack bar, but Tony and I agreed that we didn't want just any old junk food when there were so many good restaurants back in town. So we held out for lunch afterward. We had to wait a few minutes for a tour to start. They told us the tours last about an hour, but I swear it was at least an hour and twenty minutes! It was really neat. I don't think I'd been to Ruby Falls since Middle School, so I really didn't remember much of what we would see. It was nice and cool down there and the cave formations are really neat to see. The actual falls are pretty cool also. This is one I would do again. They also have a Haunted Caverns tour around Halloween that I bet is really cool!

By the time we were done and headed back to the hotel it was about 3:30pm. We decided to eat at Bluewater Grille which is a sister restaurant to Big River Grille. We got there during Happy Hour so we got a $5 appetizer of Tavern Shrimp. Tony got discounted beer too which is always a plus. We decided since this was a late lunch that we would share the Lobster Mac N Cheese. It was delicious! We said we were splitting it so they split it for us so that we each had our own bowl. That was really nice. It came with this bread covered in some sort of cheesy creamy spread that was warm. The bread itself was So good and rich. Then we decided to splurge on dessert. I'd been wanting dessert at every meal, but we never had room for it. They had mini desserts, so we each got one. I got the chocolate peanut butter pie and Tony got the key lime pie. They came in shot glasses with a little spoon that was perfect for them. I really enjoyed mine and we both agreed that it was the perfect amount of dessert.

After lunch we went back to the room and just lounged the rest of the afternoon away. It was so nice to just chill. We were not hungry until pretty late, but decided that we better find something to eat or we would be starving at midnight. We ended up driving over to the Northshore area to eat at a Tapas bar called Tera Nostra. We got there about 9:30 and they officially closed at 10pm, but that was fine. We knew we didn't need a lot of food, so we just made our selections up front. We got sweet potato logs, empenadas, pheasant ravioli, and spinach phyllo. It was also a wine bar. Tony and I both decided to have a glass of wine (I figure one here or there isn't going to hurt anything). The girl encouraged us to buy the whole bottle and said that we can take it with us if we don't finish it. So, we did and I had a tad more than one glass, but Tony drank the rest of it. We sat on the patio here too, which was a well decorated little alleyway between two buildings. It was very nice and we enjoyed this meal. We didn't feel too bad either because there was another table that was still there when we left.

Tuesday:
Tuesday was check out day. We went down and had our breakfast. Basically we had the exact same breakfast that we had the day before, but still enjoyed it. Then we checked out. I had to actually do a real checkout because the bill they printed was wrong. The front desk clerk was really nice though and fixed everything with no problems. Then sadly we headed out of town and home again. We got home about 2:30pm and settled back into the house. On the way home we talked a lot about baby names.... but I'll tell more about that in my next post ;-)

So that is a pretty good recap of our Babymoon, our last hurrah before our lives change forever. I enjoyed it and can't wait for our new way of travel to begin now!

Later!
Amber