Laying off the brownie sundaes!!!!

Well, folks, I went to the Doctor's apppointment on Tuesday and gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks!!! OH MY GOODNESS. So, yes, I have not been eating dessert. I couldn't really believe it but the Dr. said "it's about time you gained some weight!" We go back in 2 weeks, so hopefully I will have only gained 2 pounds. My blood pressure is good 108/68.

We also found out that Dr. C is going to be gone Oct. 29 & 30th. Uh oh. Last time I asked him to make sure he would be here, and he said the next day he was offered to speak at this conference in St. Louis that he said he just couldn't pass up. He assured me that I will be at home and have already had the baby at that point. :/ I'm NOT going to worry about it though. I've already handed that one over to God. hah!

Blake is making progress on the room. He thinks he will have it all painted by Labor Day. Then he will start working on the floors and we will be done! whohoo! That should take him about a week.

Next post: Baby Shower and Pictures!

31 weeks pregnant....already??!!!!

The time really has flown..I just can't believe we only have 9 more weeks (give or take, hah!) until we meet our little man! This isn't the greatest quality photo, but I had to use the timer because Blake was at work.

Next Dr's appointment is Tuesday. We go every two weeks now.

Today we went to this fab local store called The Baby Habit. I LOVE this store!! They have unique products that are environmentally friendly and well crafted. www.thebabyhabit.com They also do embroidery and custom diaper bags, burp cloths, bedding, etc. Anyway, tonight we went there after having a lovely meal at the cafe and I bought a Moby Wrap. I've been tossing back and forth between the Moby Wrap and the Ring Sling so that I can wear the baby. After visiting the store and talking to the owner about the Moby Wrap I finally made my decision based upon the fact that the Moby Wrap will be easier on my back. It's designed so that the ergonomics are evenly distributed. We got a black one because it goes with everything :)


Other news....Gary is back from Honduras and thankfully he made it out during the political unrest his country is experiencing. It will be nice to have all the JBU kids back and in the house.

I talked to my mom tonight for the first time in a long time and it was a good conversation. Her spirits are upbeat and she is very excited about the baby..even reading baby books while she is there.

Justin got invited to training camp for the semi-pro team that he tried out for today. He is very excited and knows that he has a lot of work ahead of him.

Blake has been working hard on the bedroom today and he finished the texturing! yay! Time to prime now and then I can paint :) He has been giving me massages every night since my sciatic nerve is so painful. He has been so patient with me lately. My hormones have been raging and it has been a very emotional week. I'm also not sleeping at all (4 hours last night--whohoo!) and that is contributing to my mood.

Janessa came over and we worked on the birth "plan"..it's not really a plan since nothing in birth goes as planned apparently! I will post it this soon.

I'll also start drinking red raspberry leaf tea this week to get the uterus strengthened. It is also supposed to help during labor to make it go faster. I'm also taking probiotics now so that I won't have to be on an IV antibiotic during labor. If you test positive for the Group B strep then they give you antibiotics during labor. Janessa has her home birth clients take a bottle of probiotics so that eliminates the need for antibiotics.

Next Saturday is my SS shower!! It's going to be so much fun!

Blake just brought me brownies a la mode. aahhhh I love him :)

I love a good bargain :)

We have an awesome flea market in town. I have bought several big pieces of furniture there at amazing prices. All brand new, overstock items from JC Penney or Target. I knew that I wanted a glider, but with all the choices out there I couldn't decide which one. I finally found one on Walmart's website that I was sure I wanted. Well, I went into Minnie's and they had the exact glider I wanted for $99!!! It is listed on the website for $220. It had the tags on still and was already put together. Dash decided he needed to test drive it first.

70 days to go!!

Blake and I can't believe that we have 10 weeks left until we meet Branflake. (I'm using his code name because some people still don't know his name.) I've been trying to keep it a surprise, but I'm pretty sure most people know by now. I'm really bad about keeping surprises a surprise. :)

We had our 4th childbirth class this week and Sarah came with us. It was another fun class!

We also had a appointment with Dr. C and it went well. We had an ultrasound to see where the baby is and he is head down--way down. I already knew he was head down because he's been hiccuping a lot lately. Gained a pound this month so I'm at 12 pounds total. Our appointments are now every 2 weeks for the next 6 weeks and then we go every week. I had some questions about what positions we can birth in and he said whatever I feel comfortable in--it doesn't have to be in the bed on my back. He also does only one vaginal check when I first get to the hospital and that's it. He won't do any at my regular appointments. Which I am SO happy about because I've heard it's really painful. (Thank you Crystal, Cindy & Megan!!!) We really like his laid back approach. As he put it "childbirth is a natural process". He doesn't want to interfere with that which is exactly what I want him to do...NOT interfere!

My to-do list hasn't made much progress. I took a week off when I went to visit grandma. Hopefully tomorrow I will get one thing started. The bedroom remodel is coming along nicely and we should have it completed in the next 4 weeks. When it gets finished I will post before & after pictures.

I've been having sciatic nerve pain again. I got a massage yesterday, which was so relaxing, but it didn't really help the pain. I think I will go to the chiropractor this week.

I got a letter from my mom while I was in Mississippi. It was nice hearing from her, but brings the fact that she won't be here for the baby's birth right back into reality. I hope she can get the help she needs there to resolve these issues that have caused her to make the choices that she has made.

Dad & Lanier got us the stroller that fits with our car seat. I can't wait to use it!


I haven't been sleeping well, but then again, I haven't slept well for the past 7.5 months!! If I'm not up going to the bathroom, I'm popping tums trying to get this nasty acid reflux to go away, getting a drink of water, or tossing and turning to get comfortable.

I had a wonderful time with my G-ma. We had lots of good conversation, watched old movies, I read two books, got my shopping trip to Hudson's in, and shared memories and stories. I didn't make it to New Orleans because the humidity kept me inside. It felt like a blanket of moisture on my lungs. Grandma had a hard time breathing even if we were out for 5 minutes. We took this picture on our way to Joyce & Darnell's where I had the famous grits. There is just something about those grits and chicory coffee.


While I was there Brenda Varnado stopped by and gave me a gift. She had crocheted a blue baby blanket for us! I just love it and she was such a dear to make that for the baby.

Over the hills and through the woods........

My two favorite people in the world!
I'm going to visit my g-ma tomorrow! I'm so excited--I haven't seen her since our trip in October and that is too long to go without seeing my grandmere!
We are going to relax in the A/C, watch movies, eat yummy Cajun food, shop at Hudson's, read (I'm taking 3 fiction books--no baby books on this trip!), nap, maybe spend an afternoon in New Orleans if it's not too hot, chat and have a good time. My grandma is my hero and an amazing woman. She's so insightful, wise, funny, generous, kind hearted and all the other wonderful words that there are. :)

Blake has to work unfortunately, but he is looking forward to some guy time that he hasn't had in awhile. He's also working on the bedroom project while I'm gone :)

Cute but Crazy

I caught Yoda mid-meow in every picture, so this will have to do. She likes to sleep on top of all the baby stuff so that's why I have towels there.
I just took this..it's his new favorite spot, but I'm getting ready to take it apart so he can't sit on it anymore :( He'll have to sleep on his bed.

This is where we are keeping all the baby stuff for now while we remodel the bedroom. We are sleeping in the dining room which is why the table is in the mudroom...and I'm getting stuff ready for a yard sale so this is our yard sale storage too.

The Third Trimester!

Today marks 28 weeks. Only 12 weeks to go! I have to say that it has gone by very fast. Almost too fast. In fact at this point I feel like I'm running out of time...for instance, we are going on a "babymoon" and we can't go for the next 6 weeks because Blake doesn't have time due to work. That leaves 6 weeks after that we could go. I really don't want to fly during that time because the baby could come early, right? Also, the airlines require you to have a doctor's letter after 32 weeks. So, that gives us basically the first week or two of that 6 week period. Right now would be an ideal time to fly somewhere, but Blake has to work. I'm thinking we will go somewhere close that we can drive to just in case I go into labor. Eureka Springs has some packages that would be very relaxing.

My project list keeps getting added to and only one thing has been taken off the list......It's just little things, but we can't them done until the room gets finished. Not that it all has to get done before the baby is here, but it will be much easier to do now than if an infant was present. Also, some of the things on the list will make our lives easier if they are done now rather than after the baby because of the kitty kats. Including adding three other locks (that they can't open!) to doors.
Speaking of the devil, someone thinks that he is the baby.......




Pathetic...this is why I can't stay mad at him forever when he keeps us up during one of his "wild hair" nights.

I got some baby gear from Crystal and her sister Charity. It was all going towards a benefit yard sale for Crystal's friend Kara who has cancer. http://www.karing4kara.blogspot.com/
Lots of clothes, diapers, a little bed the baby can sleep in--in our bed and when travelling, a stroller, some itty bitty Nike shoes...good stuff for a good cause!

Last week's childbirth class was a lot of fun. We learned about PAIN! hahah! Our teacher does things that make the class fun and the 2.5 hours fly by. We also watched a video that gave us the full frontal view of childbirth. Whew! Glad I won't be down there in 3 months!

I've been having dreams about our sweet baby. He likes to wake me up at all hours of the night and he makes me sleep sitting up too. We've been reading his books to him and playing different kinds of music for him. Everything from classical to punk rock, reggae to middle eastern. Blake is going to instill music taste in this baby from rock n' roll to gospel.

We can't wait for him to get here!!