Quick Update

Well, our little man is officially 10 days old and we have been home with him for a week. In some ways it feels like it's gone by so slow and in other ways it's gone by too fast. I'm not looking forward to FJ going back to work! But at the same time, I think we're getting a routine down and we've been out and about with him so as soon as my driving privileges are reinstated I should be able to take him places with me. Not sure exactly where I will go, but right now if I want anything I have to ask someone to get it for me. Not that we don't have a great deal of help and support, but there are just some things you don't want to ask people to bring you! ha ha!

Of course we are reading articles left and right...one makes us feel terrible so we keep reading until we find out that we are NOT at risk for SIDs or he IS supposed to sleep this much or he might not have an outie just because that is how it's looking right now! (Love ya Curt, but nobody wants an outie...). I have nothing but time when I'm feeding him in the middle of the night so I am on my iPhone reading ridiculous articles which is probably the worst thing I can do. The good news is that you can always find an article that agrees with what you want it to say. The REALLY bad news is that Amazon.com has an app that lets you buy things online ridiculously easy. SCARY!

Everyone tried to tell me about the love you feel for your child. I realized it would be intense and even the mothers that told me about this said I wouldn't understand till it happened (which after 9 months, became really annoying since they were admittedly trying to explain the unexplainable...but then again, everything was pretty annoying after 9 months). I love Rhett so much! Everything he does makes me smile and laugh. He's so funny and his little personality is coming out more and more each day. I am so glad I get to spend so much time with him over the next couple of months and I already know I am going to miss him when it's time to go back to work - but at the same time, I'm excited for all that he'll learn and develop in daycare (except the colds, ear infections, etc). He is absolutely adorable. When he cries, my heart breaks for him even though I know he is just cold because I am changing him or he needs to burp and I put him on his side to try to eat. I'm getting used to it, but WOW what a change.

Our friends and family have been TERRIFIC!!! I am 100% biased, but I do believe he is one of the cuter babies I've ever seen and our friends and fam are being kind enough to go along with this theory. Not only are they supportive, but we've had tons of food dropped off including breakfasts, lunches, dinners and treats! People have offered to help run errands, too. It's been awesome. My sis was able to come for a few days. Rhett was able to meet some of my family, too as they were in town for Christmas at my uncles. It's so neat that he was able to meet his great grandmother (my grandmother, Nonny). He'll meet his other great grandmother, Mimi in Chicago in February when he gets baptized (eeeek -- we still have to take a class at the church for that).

I have also had a handful of friends who have recently had babies who have been tremendous help and support. I ask them very blunt, stupid questions. My brain was a bit scrambled in the hospital when they gave me some of my instructions to take care of myself and my c section incision so I've been able to just ask. I have also asked about feeding, sleeping - anything and everything under the sun. These girls are so quick to respond and without any judgment!!! What an awesome network.

As for our friends who are baby-free - they are just as awesome!! Everyone is so genuinely excited for us and Rhett and just smitten with our little man!! Even Aunt Jill who swore she wasn't going to hold Rhett till he could hold his own head up can't get enough of him!!!

There is so much to say about how he is doing. He can move his head. When he's hungry he thrashes his head all around and it's not very nice of me, but I burst into laughter because it's so funny. This is actually a baby reflex (rooting) so it's not unusual but I find it to be hysterical. He makes certain noises and faces when he sleeps, dirties his diaper, etc and of course I laugh uncontrollably when he does this...anyone who knows me knows I think that bodily functions are quite comical. He is tolerating clothes a lot better. At first he hated us maneuvering his body to put on his clothes - he is working with us rather than against us. He randomly stretches his arms and legs out. My fave is what I call "touchdown baby". He just throws both of his arms straight above his head, it's pretty awesome! He also fist pumps on occasion, OF COURSE!!! He has his dad's finger toes and I have mixed emotions about this since I'm not overly fond of FJ's finger toes -but they are shared which makes them adorable (on baby, not on dad - for the record, I am not changing the rules about FJ keeping his finger toes off of me!!!). We keep his hands in little mittens to keep him from scratching his face for the most part but he can grab a hold of my hand through the mittens. His legs and arms are long like a monkey! It's awesome!!! I think he might end up being pretty tall which runs in my family. His eyes are blue and gorgeous. I'm not sure if they'll change or not, but he can see about a foot in front of him and he stares at me sometimes and I know he can see me and it's really awesome! So essentially, as expected, I am absolutely in love with him!!!

Rhett is HERE!!!

What an adventure!!! Rhett arrived safely at 8:51 on December 17 weighing in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. He has a full head of light colored hair and pretty blue eyes. We aren't sure what color his eyes or hair will be, but he's gorgeous!! He has the prettiest skin and the sweetest demeanor. He has been so good and is so lovable. He's met several of his fans already and loves being held. Even in 2.5 days, he's already growing and changing.

I had a c section and require as much if not more care and attention than Rhett. FJ has been AMAZING. With me and with Rhett. And I've probably cried a little more than Rhett!! FJ has changed almost every diaper (the nurses have changed a couple), is a swaddling expert and has figured out certain ways to do things that Rhett really loves. Rhett lights up when his dad picks him up and I love watching FJ grab Rhett with confidence and take care of him. Watching my husband and seeing him be such an awesome father fills my heart. I thought the day that I married FJ was the most perfect I had seen him - in a church promising to love, honor and cherish me for the rest of our lives with tears in his eyes. But seeing him these past few days I realize that I am luckier than I ever could have thought possible!!

We've been taking a lot of pictures and most of them are terrible. I just grab the camera and say "oh that is so cute!" and snap away. I'm trying to collect some of the "best of". I'm pretty sure I will have tons to report on in the coming weeks. For now, we are all doing great. FJ is working hard to take care of both me and Rhett. We are all healthy according to the doctors. We should be going home in the next day or two (Monday or Tuesday) and the adventure will really start. I can't wait to discover all of these new things with our son. Wow. Our son!!! That still has such a strange ring to it!!

Happy Birthday, Rhett!!!

If all goes according to plan, we should meet Rhett in about 3.5 hours!!! I can't believe it! Of course, I'm not counting on everything going as scheduled - that would be setting myself up for disappointment! ha!

So here's what happened to lead up to this point. First off let me say that we are both healthy and doing great, so no need for any worry. We have a c section scheduled for 8:30 this morning at Northside Hospital (Atlanta/Dunwoody/Perimeter location). FJ will have my phone as well as his and will call folks if we need anything at all. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers being sent our way this morning. The support we've received from our friends and family over the past 9 months has been unreal. Rhett is a very lucky little boy!

Yesterday morning at 9:10 I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment. The roads iced over Wednesday night in Atlanta. Folks who live in ATL know that this means the entire city shut down and the roads were taken over by absolute idiots. FJ and I showed up for my appointment (FJ wanted to go to this one for whatever reason) and the Kaiser office was closed. Someone told us they were on a 2 hour delay. On our way back home, I called the Kaiser office to see if I was supposed to just come on in at 11:10 or what.

This is why they should give pregnant women their own phone number. When I called, they offered to reschedule my 39 week check up for next week. I calmly, or not so calmly pointed out that I already had an appointment for next week...a 40 week check up. So a 39 week check up at 40 weeks was hardly helpful. The woman on the phone tried to calm me down by explaining that they were simply looking out for the safety of their patients and staff by delaying the opening of the offices until 10 and canceling all appointments before 10. I, in turn, explained to her that my safety was hardly considered when I wasn't alerted of this and drove to the office and back home anyway. I settled for a 3:50pm appointment with the Physician's Assistant that we had seen for most of our appointments before 36 weeks.

We went for our appointment and at the beginning, Susan (our PA) mentioned that she could get us into the ultra sound room to take a look at Rhett. She did the usual exam and I'll spare the details but she did some other 39 week tricks to see if they could tip the scales and get him moving. Let's just say it was not comfortable. Or fun. We almost left without the ultra sound, but FJ asked and she got us in there. Immediately she noticed that his head was where his butt should be. This is bad. They had thought for the past several weeks that his head was down. Again, I'll spare the details, but for 3 weeks in a row, they had been able to "confirm" that he was head down. Apparently there is a part of the butt/spine that feels like the head... ewww. So many jokes coming to mind -this kid's rehearsal dinner for his wedding is already loaded with stories and jokes. Poor thing.

She went over some options as she was taking some measurements, including bringing me back Monday to see if he had turned on his own and making that appointment at the hospital so that they could try to turn him if he hadn't. Apparently this often stresses the baby and will cause the hospital to induce labor and results in an emergency c section. That sounded like no fun. After getting some calculations (of course he was not cooperating, why would he?), she determined that Rhett was around 8.5 pounds...which is huge. There is no turning this huge baby!!!

Susan went to find out doctor, Dr. Smith to find out who was on call for Friday and if they could get us in to get him out. Dr. Smith was the doc on call for Friday (today) and called Northside to schedule our c section. She came in and talked through our options with us. We obviously did NOT need to be sold on skipping out on the scary, procedures with the risks of harm to the baby. Sign us up for the express route!

So, here we are. I'm so excited and absolutely terrified. I don't know too many folks who love to have blood work done, have IVs and are overly fond of needles, but I do have a bit of a physical reaction to these things which includes tears, light headedness and the occasional passing out. So this should be an adventure.

Today is major surgery, but we are fully prepared. So much so that I haven't had anything to eat or drink since midnight and about to die of thirst - mostly because I can't have anything! Our bags are packed, we are walking out the door to go meet our little guy. We have a few hours of paperwork, blood work and prep. Assuming nobody in "real" labor or with an emergency comes in, we'll go in for surgery at 8:30 and Rhett will join us around 8:45 or so! It's pretty quick and easy, the recovery is the hard part!!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!! We'll be at the hospital all weekend. We'll probably be a bit preoccupied so don't get offended if we aren't answering our phones or returning emails or texts. :)

We'll follow up soon!!!

A few of my favorite (pregnant) things...

With Christmas 12 days away and our due date 10 days away, I thought now would be a perfect time to share a few of my favorite things...for being pregnant (otherwise, at this point, this post would be all about wine...). I have had a lot of friends who have gotten pregnant in the past couple of months and of course I can't resist giving the type of unsolicited advice I hate getting. Though there are a handful of people who are always welcome to advise me - I'd say they can give me unsolicited advice but I don't think I've left them alone long enough to (Allison!).

I have sent a handful of emails where I intended only to share a link to a body pillow and of course they ended up 3 pages long. Shocker. So I figured I would try to put the majority of it here so I can just send THIS link when I'm being nosy and rude to my friends during their exciting times. I really don't mean to kill the magic and mystery so if you have no interest in this or don't want spoilers, stop reading!!!

The single most important thing that I possess that has gotten me through the past nine months is my body pillow - affectionately referred to as "Body Pillow".
http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Snoogle-Total-Body-Pillow/dp/B0000635WI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292340222&sr=8-1
Amazon does free shipping on orders over $25 - a curse and a blessing.

I would strongly recommend getting the ridiculously expensive covers, too. They aren't hard to put on and the pillow gets a little gross after sleeping on it every night, so the pillow case is a definite necessity to help cut down on the acne that if you are like me is going to come no matter what you do to prevent or treat it!

Another life saver has been maternity leggings (Gap has my faves - extra comfort worth the extra $$) and Old Navy has some great maternity jeans, even skinny jeans! Target has good maternity tees and tanks that are longer and cover the belly as it grows. I invested in some PJ shorts from Motherhood Maternity that I have probably worn about 6 nights a week...I've done laundry around the timing so that I can have them dry before I go to bed... I've been able to get through a lot of the colder weather with sweaters that are really short sleeve sweater dresses - I just wear long sleeve tees under them. Super comfy and I've gotten a lot of compliments. Clothes are a pretty personal thing, I guess. I just had no idea where to shop and a lot of places are mostly online. Plus it's hard to try things on because you honestly have no clue how big you are going to get or what the weather will be like when you do!

Along those lines - Bella Bands! They were great for the first part and I plan on using them again after Rhett gets here. I think I got them on Amazon, but you can just Google them. I got one in white, one in nude and one in black. They look like tank tops coming out of the bottom of shirts or sweaters and can buy you a few extra weeks in your normal clothes!!

I wish I had a cure for the nausea - that almost did me in. Aside from trying to keep my blood sugar from dipping, I got nada on that! A lot of snacks throughout the day, fruit especially. The headaches - those were terrible. Sadly the only thing that made them better was to move around and get some exercise. But of course it hurt to move around. Catch 22! I do believe that exercising as much as I did (and please know I could have done MUCH more) was super helpful. It also made me feel a lot better about getting bigger. It's a mind trip for sure!

I have no idea about the next chapter - nursing accessories, post pregnancy clothing, etc...but I'll try to keep yall posted on that, too. I don't have a whole lot of advice or key items at this point, just the handful I've mentioned above!!

Good luck to all of our friends who are on their way down this crazy path and thank you to the ones who have gone before us who gave me the tips that I used!!

Last day of work...(this year)

So today is the day. I got in my car this morning for the last time and made the dreaded commute. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts which I've only actually done once before. I've meant to, but I haven't. I'll spare all 3 of the blog readers my order, but I did satisfy the craving I've had for hot chocolate for weeks now. Which also means I got to avoid the shot of caffeine that normally comes with a Dunkin Donuts run. Please note I said I never stop on the way to work - not that I don't go there.



I've been working since May to make sure that when today came, I would be able to wrap everything up and leave (for a couple of months) with my head held high and knowing I didn't leave anyone in a bind. Of course issues come up and there are ongoing projects that haven't been completed, but I think a lot of my work has paid off. I'm not as stressed as I thought I would be. But I've also been pretty okay about putting things into perspective, though, so that's been helpful.



I'm definitely going to miss my work friends and office gossip. I'll miss our emoticons on our corporate IM (these things are ridiculously awesome). I'll even miss the challenge or the feeling of accomplishment when months of work come to fruition and a deal is signed! I'm actually very close to being 100% for the year on my main measurement and I'm over 100% for the last trimester (we don't use quarters), so those are both great pieces of news.



So, all of that is very boring... the exciting part is that we are that much closer to Rhett being here!! As of this past Wednesday, AKA my last doc appointment, we aren't expecting him this week (weeks begin and end on Wed/Thur in my doc appt world), so I'll hopefully get to enjoy some of my vacation. Of course I have a long list of errands I need to run, but I'm a lot less worried about getting them done now that I'll have some more time!!



I can't wait to see what he looks like and see FJ holding him! This is going to be so awesome. I'm fully aware that it's a lot of work and we are up to the challenge, but we are both really excited and it's been awesome to know that so many of our friends and family are, too!!!

Just an update

So with all of the updates on what we've been up to, I've forgotten the thing people want to know the most... the doctor's visits, arrival schedule, etc.

Our actual due date is December 23. At this point I am going to the doctor every week. This past appointment, Thursday of last week, they said that they didn't think it would be in the next week. This isn't really an exact science so she immediately followed up by saying "but it could be tomorrow."

They can't really tell us if they still think the 23rd or not. We are just waiting and seeing. They estimated that he is about 7-7.5 lbs right now...he's a big boy!! EEEEK!!!! So if I go to December 23, he'll be a little over 8 lbs. Again, just another estimation. Good news is that big babies are typically healthy and sleep well? Bad news is they are big.

I am 1 cm dilated. I am not effaced. Sorry if that was TMI. I won't go into what either of those mean. And honestly there is not much significance to those measurements since labor is different with every woman and every pregnancy. Some women dilate from 0 cm to full on labor quickly, some stay at 3 cm for weeks. Some women drop (baby sits lower) weeks before labor. Some drop in the hospital. So there really just aren't any boxes to be checked saying I'm on the way. I'm literally just waiting and seeing. And we all know how I feel about that! Ha ha!

I'm being a pretty good sport, I think... We have 2+ weeks left till our due date so I'm hardly impatient. I've said it 100 times in the past 3 or 4 days, but while I am ready to not be pregnant, I'm not quite ready to have the baby here. I know how to take care of him right now - eat well, get rest, etc... I know where he is 24/7 and he is protected. When he's out, I have NO clue how to take care of him. And I have a feeling he'll be a bit more vocal :) I'm honestly not looking forward to being newly un-pregnant either. A lot of folks have a misconception that your body just snaps back to pre-pregnancy mode. I'm not looking forward to the hormone flood - I didn't handle the one going into pregnancy very well. And I'm not looking forward to yet another new body to get used to and come to terms with. And obviously, the physical pain of the recovery is not too exciting. A lot of people, including me formerly, do not realize the trauma that having a baby puts on a woman's body. When you stop to think of it, it's really common sense. However, I think the magic of a new little baby kind of distracts from the common sense of it all.

As strange as it sounds, I'm also nervous about seeing him. I know I'll love him - he's our son!!! I get that, so I'm not in need of a speech about how my life will change or I will feel a love I didn't know existed. I'm reallly excited for all of that. But babies look funny on those first few days and they arent' necessarily all pretty and soft and cute. So I'm nervous to see him and meet him...again - I know none of that will matter and I will love him and he will be beautiful. I didn't say this was rational, I'm just sharing that I'm really nervous about it all!!

It will be so funny to look back at this in a few months or years and remember how strange all of this was to me and how silly my feelings seem then. But for now, they are VERY real and VERY strange! ha ha!

So that's the update. We (Rhett and I) are both healthy as horses (or ponies). All of our vitals are strong and I can't speak for him, but I feel fine aside from the obvious discomforts. The first few months were terrible with the pregnacy symptoms (I'll spare everyone including my future self from the details), but after about 15 or 16 weeks, it's been pretty smooth sailing!! FJ might disagree as a passenger on this crazy train, but God willing - I could be convinced to do this again with some wine and nice jewelry!!!

Feliz Navidad!!!

Feliz Navidad!!! We had our annual family Christmas with Mark's family and we got to host this year. We actually planned for that (or maybe schemed is a more appropriate word) without any inkling that we would be pregnant at Christmas. Much less 9 months pregnant!! Part of the benefit of hosting is that you are not responsible for a main food item and you get to pick a theme. I chose Mexican. Shocker. We provided homemade salsa, homemade guac and cheese dip from the Mexican restaurant across the street. I also wanted to provide dessert - another shocker. You would think that I actually make these crazy concoctions considering how excited I get about them, but these miniature cake tacos were the creation and brain child of Kate at http://www.andeverythingsweet.blogspot.com/. I put the candy buffet together and it just gets easier every time. I actually randomly had all of the candy since I had red and green from various prior events. These buffets make me happy!!!

Of course we also supplied beverages. We all know that I don't begrudge others because I can't partake!! So knowing our family, I provided various varieties of good beer as well as good white wine! ha ha! Well, I assume it was good - I didn't taste test it and I'm not positive I would know good wine from bad at this point. I also made some organic margs, but I don't think they were touched! But you can't have a fiesta without them!

I also put a picture of our table up...this is the first time we have ever set our table and eaten at it. I was VERY excited. We've had the Christmas plates (the reindeer plates from Pottery Barn - too cute) since last year so I was really excited. We had to borrow a table cloth - ha ha, we don't own one!! Well, we might now - Joani let us "keep it" at our house for next time we need it!

I also know that the fam is full of good sports so I got some festive head gear and took a few fun pictures! We had a great time and played the famous gift swap game. Yet another shock - FJ and I came home with the gifts we brought after several rounds of stealing from anyone who got in our way. What fun is the gift exchange game with family if you don't cheat?

We had a terrific Christmas and got lots of advice, stories, well wishes. We'll see everyone probably pretty close to Christmas day at the hospital!! I can't believe that next year we'll have Rhett with us!!

A night out!

We have been working hard for several weeks on getting the house together and moved around. We've been up to our ears in "baby stuff" (I know, get used to it...). So we rewarded ourselves with a night out. Or maybe FJ just decided to take advantage of his designated driver one more time? I would have...

Crossfit Peachtree was having their Christmas social and I haven't missed one yet, so I was really excited to attend this year! I haven't seen Ray and Bridget (the owners and the folks who helped get me into Hawaii shape for the wedding/honeymoon and even encouraged me to get my cert, entrusting me enough to put me on their coaching staff) since I stopped coaching at CFPT. I wasn't even showing yet, so you can imagine what a shock it might have been to see me at 9+ months pregnant!! ha ha ha! In a bar no less. It was great to see them and hear about some of their recent travels and the newest addition to their fam - a German Shepperd named Luna. It was also great to see some of the other coaches and members. A lot of familiar, supportive faces! Everyone was really excited about Rhett. I was also very proud and excited to tell them that I had been crossfitting at Crossfit North Fulton by our house until a couple of weeks ago (stopped because of the cold and the errands that were consuming our lives). I have no idea if they were just being nice, but everyone was being very complimentary, too. That's always fun!!!

It was awesome to see old friends and we had another party to go to, as well! It was another birthday and we know how I feel about birthdays. Let me pause to mention that I also attended a birthday dinner on Thursday last week for a good friend, Lindsey! I somehow got away without taking any pictures - but they are on Facebook so I'll see if I can steal some and post them. I am beyond being selective - it's not like it's possible for me to look skinny in any of them! ha ha ha!

We went from Midtown to Buckhead for Wes's bday! As luck would have it, we also got to see Lindsey on Day 3 of her bday celebration!!! Reagan, Julia, Mike D, Andy and some other great familiar faces were there! We had a blast and I'm really glad we were able to make it. Wes is responsible for one of my favorite Bacon t-shirts and FJ's "A Poodle is my Homeboy" tee...just a fun Wes fact for you! ha ha!

We were home before midnight, but it was nice to get out for a night and see some folks!!!

Falling behind - shocker!

So, total shocker, but I fell behind on the blog again! So here goes a handful of posts and updates...

Thanksgiving - what a great week! I worked from home Wednesday and Friday and we were able to get a lot done. My sister came in for the shower and came back for Thanksgiving, too. My oldest nephew, Trevor (almost 13) also came so it was fun to hang out with him, too.

We went to my dad's wife's brother's house (I just like to complicate things) and spent the holiday with Carolyn's family which is a lot of fun! Tons of food, games, football, etc.

On Friday night we went to FJ's high school's football game (Chattahoochee). They are having a terrific season and are undefeated. This was a play off game, too. So FJ, Billy, Packie and I ventured to their old stomping grounds to relive some glory days. It was ridiculously cold!! Being from Metter where football was HUGE, it was really weird to go to my first ATL suburb school football game. I'm pretty sure my single A high school football stadium was about the same size as Chattahoochee's! They were up 14-0 at half time so we ducked out -- it was cold and FJ had to work the next day.

So on Wednesday we had movers take our guest room and living room furniture to FJ's parents' storage unit (it was borrowed) and also had them move our master bedroom suite to the guest room and move the den furniture to the living room in preparation for our new furniture to be delivered on Friday! So Wednesday and Thursday we had an air matress in our master bedroom where April and Trev slept and the boys camped out in the den if they wanted to watch TV.

Friday the furniture was delivered and of course there were some glitches. Why wouldn't there be? I'll spare the details, it all got worked out.

Saturday, the baby furniture was delivered...the assembly kit for the crib was NOT! And here we went again!!

The past couple of weeks have been a lot of up and down with getting ready for Christmas and finishing up some changes to the house. We are getting to a point where we are winding down, though and couldn't be more excited!!

Happy late Thanksgiving!!