A Merry Christmas...Lamb Style!

First thing is first,
ROBERT FINISHED HIS FIRST SEMESTER OF GRAD SCHOOL!!!
Let the new semester begin!!!

Our first Christmas with baby Austin! We made sure we stayed busy

We took a looong road trip to Michigan and Austin was surprisingly satisfied during the drive...until the sunset.
Austin got to meet his Great "Grams" Lamb

We saw lots of Robert's distant relatives from his mother and father's sides

Austin with second cousin, Ezra

It even snowed for us.

We stopped by my parent's house and visited for a few days

When we arrived back home, Christmas was upon us.

We got home on the 23rd, with lots of baking and shopping to be done.

We visited with Brian and Lisa Christmas Eve

Got up bright and early for our little family Christmas

Enjoyed a nice Christmas presentation at Church and then spent the afternoon and evening at the Lamb's for the family party.

One of my favorite traditions that Robert's parents have is giving a new ornament each year to each of their children representing something the family did.
These are the ornaments we got this year :)

We had a wonderful Christmas and especially enjoyed celebrating the birth of Christ on the Sabbath Day this year.

Austin is changing so much.. .... he cut his first two teeth the week before Christmas, he is laughing at everything, he loves when I sing 'The Itsy-Bitsy Spider', He loves playing with his daddy and snuggling me.

He is actually digressing with his sleep at night :P, waking up every two hours...growth spurt?

I think not!

He loves playing with his stuffed monkey and stuffed elephant. And has been rolling onto his side, but just rolled from his tummy to his back today! Love my baby boy!

Sleep Deprivation!!!

Wow! Austin used to be such a great sleeper, but since he turned 3-months I am rethinking all the bragging about him sleeping so well...
...for example, last night he slept for 3 hours and then only for 1.5 hour increments!!! What is a girl to do?!?!? This has been going on for the past week and I am beat! Robert has finals this week so he has been studying like crazy, which means I have been on double mommy duty. Thursday evening cannot come soon enough, then he will be finished for the semester :) Don't get me wrong Austin is a total sweet heart and cries very rarely, even when he wakes up to eat he just whimpers. He just eats and goes right back to sleep, but he eats and eats and eats...he is waking up to do so every 1-2 hours and that is straight craziness. Just a few weeks ago he was sleeping for 4-6 hours at a time. I was told this was the result of his " 3-month growth spurt", if that is the case, how long does this growth spurt last typically? Are we talking a week (obviously not), or are we looking at the entire 3rd month?? I must "google" my concern.
I'm sure that I will soon look back and miss these silly concerns one day :D

Bath Time is Fun Time!

Kicking, splashing and cooing...

Austin LOVES bath time!

November

So much has been going on since my last post...

Austin took his first road trip to see my family in Georgia

He is holding his head up like a champHe has the whole smiling thing down but not for the camera, of course... this is the closest i have gotten to a smile snap shot...
He loves taking a bath
we visited Santa at Bass Pro ShopsMommy is being a big girl :P
I moved him from the play yard in our room to his crib in his room.
We all sleep much better now :D
(This pic was taken before we moved him into his room) We are getting ready for Christmas now and I have vowed to post more often. Took a while for me to adjust to holding a baby so not much has been accomplished. Now he is 3-months old and able to entertain himself and not have to be held quite as much. Robert and I love to watch him...all the time pretty much, which is why I don't get much accomplished. I take waaay too many pictures and videos of his every move. If he has a slightly different grin or facial expression I try to capture it. If he's kicking, cooing and playing I try to capture it...you know, the whole first time parent thing.
This kid is just too cute!

Austin's Blessing

Baby Austin was blessed by is daddy on Sunday. Melanie and JT came from Phenix City and Robert's parents and siblings were all there. It was perfect! :) After the blessing we were going to have a picnic in the park but we got rained out. The next best thing, Grandma's! We went to Robert's mom and dad's house and ate bbq sandwiches and hot dogs. We only took one picture because I left the camera at the house... lame! But here were are, headed to church Sunday morning with Austin looking super handsome in his blessing outfit and Auburn booties, WAR EAGLE!!!I love my boys!

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Only 20-days left...hopefully less :D

Monday was my first day that I experienced swelling...ewwww! It was horrible. Like, below my knees and my ankles were huge and red and it felt like needles sticking in them. Luckily for me Robert was home and rubbed those bad boys with lotion. The swelling didn't subside much, but it relaxed them and they weren't tingling anymore, the ice packed made it feel better too. I should have take a picture, I had cankles!

Doctor's appointment yesterday and progression is looking...

...SLOW! I am 60% effaced and 1cm dilated...ONE!!! This is gonna be a looong month...

Mom is packing and ready to hit the road as soon as she hears the word :D

Take your time momma ;)

Robert is still needing to let his professors know the situation. He should be able to talk with them Wednesday b/c the past two days have just been orientation and he hasn't really spoken with his actual professors yet.

I have a Plan-B now :) If I go into labor at work, Robert's dad is the man to call if Terry is out of the office. Hopefully this will not be an issue, but we shall see. I really do not want to have another false alarm, those are just embarrassing.

I got the glider for the nursery.
We have new carpet throughout the house which is absolutely fantastic!
I am in the process of deep cleaning every inch of our humble abode.
Hospital bags are packed, even Robert's.
I still need to make these curtains.
I would love to find time to do a few crafty things in his room.
Want to download songs for my Ipod (not that I'll likely listen to it), but having issues with downloading.

All of my concerns are pretty minor and superficial now, with the exception of another false labor experience. It needs to be all or nothing at this point.

Look, I realize that I still have 3-weeks left, but I am sooo hopeful of this happening before my due date. I'm thinking that this must happen in the next two-weeks. August 30th is what I have my money on :)

36-weeks

So, here I am with 4 more weeks to go before my due date and well, I'm over it.

GET IT OUT!!!!

Yesterday was the worst day EVER!!! I was tired ALL day!

My doctor is a JERK! terrible appointment yesterday

I have not dilated at all!!!!

My back hurts 90% of the day

I feel a cold coming on :(

I miss my family...ALOT!

But on the bright side...

(there's always a bright side hiding deep in the bottomless pit of misery)

I am 50% effaced, so I am progressing on my own

Austin is nice and lodged into place

the carpet installer comes tomorrow

the Maxima was giving us problems, but it only needed a new battery

My doctor seems to think I will deliver before Aug. 30th :D

So in a nut shell yesterday was terrible and today isn't looking great either...

Robert is off tomorrow so hopefully that will make my week happier :D

35-1/2 Weeks...but whose counting...

Lisa took my maternity photos and they turned out beautiful!

I love them all, but just posted my absolute favorites :)

Austin's nursery is almost complete! I still need to do a few more things...

Get the glider/rocking chair

We should be getting new carpet sometime next week

I need another set of storage drawers for his closet
Wash his linens
Make Curtains

I took a big step and put his swing in the living room

and his high chair in the kitchen...

...this is a huge because I have had it tucked away in his room forever.

I know this is dramatic, but when I had Robert carry it out of the nursery, I felt like, 'wow this is really happening'. That feeling is kind of like de ja vu lately b/c it seems like every time I finish something I have that 'wow, not too much longer' feeling

Yesterday I had some pretty bad contractions (like the worst pain I have ever felt) and Robert met Uncle Terry and I at the hospital. Terry had to take me b/c I was at work at the time...poor Terry!

Anyways, false labor, of course BUT that pain not even being the real thing, made me realize EPIDURAL for sure!!! As soon as I walk through the doors, I'll put in an order for two just in case the first one doesn't work. My pain tolerance out of 10 is like a 1, just sayin'!

So the nurse gave me some Breathine to relax the contractions and it worked like a charm, but only for like 20-30 minutes. She told me to call my doctor when I got home if I started having them again and he would likely send in a prescription for the medicine in pill form. So sure enough they were back when I got home, not as bad as when I went into the hospital but I didn't want to wait until I couldn't hardly walk again. Called ol' doc and he pretty much said, riiight! Suck it up lady! You're body is preparing to deliver this baby and we don't want to stop the contractions...even though I still have a month left??? He's like this just means that you might go into labor in about a week. Wow! He was so at ease saying that too, like that is what I was expecting to hear or something. NEWS FLASH!!!! I'm not ready people! I am suppose to work until the end of the month and still be able to pull last minute things together during my week off before his due date...that is THE plan and I am a HUGE fan of plans! I mean I am sooo into this plan that I don't even have a 'Plan B'.

Yeah, so I am calling a pediatrician today so that I have that before going into the hospital. I have to pack our bags and wash baby clothes and that is pretty much it, well and move the bassinet into our room. Everything else can wait until after he gets here.

I just got tired thinking about all of this.

I must say, as much as I hate the term "cravings", I have been having cravings but just these past few weeks.

Fruit, pretty much any kind except berries
Ice!!!
I want ice all the time, crushed, chunks, whatever I just want to eat it

We are doing great and really getting anxious for this huge event.
If I can take care of these few last minute things
I believe I'll be as ready as I can be.

Hold off Baby Austin, mommy & daddy need a bit more time :D

33-Weeks

I was just cleaning out a closet and came across all of my unused needles, meds & syringes from IVF. WOW! I almost cried...almost, but not quite! I mean, just thinking about all that we went through to be here, 33-weeks along, only 7 left. I can't believe that this time last year we were stressed and trying to cope with the possibility of never experiencing this whole pregnancy thing. I know that I complain a lot about being uncomfortable and blah, blah, blah, but we are enjoying this brief moment more than any other experience. The anticipation of what is next. The excitement of decorating and getting clothes and cute little items that I don't even know the purpose of :P My favorite so far is laying in bed or sitting on the couch with Robert and having him place his hand on my tummy, feeling baby Austin rolling around and stretching to the max. It truly is amazing! Medical technology is amazing! I have never been happier than I am right now, just knowing that there is so much more to life and we will soon be blessed with him :)

While I'm feeling so chipper, let me just say how much I love Robert. He is an amazing man and I am so blessed to have such an incredible best friend that I can absolutely depend on for everything. And did I mention that he pretty much adores me, well he pretty much adores me :D Lucky, I think so!

Enough of that mushy, gushy stuff... let's chat about something more exciting, more...shallow!

....On a lighter note, or heavier, depending on what angle you are looking at...I'm pretty much HUGE now! That's right, huge! Apparently I have great elasticity in the gut thus far b/c no stretch marks...YET! Only time will reveal my stomach's fate. When I look down I don't see huge, but when I get a glimpse in the mirror I can't help but be amazed at the size of the beast. Wait, I'm gonna go measure this thing.....***measuring***.....HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!! 38-inches!!!! Yup, I wouldn't lie. That is the first time I measured since I first found out that I had a parasite growing inside me and then I measured....***looking for journal...that I didn't ever update*** RRRGGGG!!!! I only put my weight, which was quite a bit less than I'm currently tipping the scales at. Here, let's compare pictures, shall we?!?!?

Remind me, why did I cut my hair again???
Now that I compare the two, I haven't changed a bit!

Soooo, I thought I posted my to-do list like a month ago, but I did not :( I typed it all up, but I never posted it. Anyways, I am going to post that draft soon. AND to my surprise I have actually checked off a few things, AWESOME!

32-Weeks!

Baby Austin @ 32-weeks

I am sooo excited to meet this little fella! Seeing this ultrasound made me realize how close I am. Only 8 more weeks to go! He is head down with his feet in my ribs :) Doc says that babies usually take after the mother as far as birth weight, which is ridiculous b/c I was 9lb/11oz!!!! Just sayin', that is a big baby! He is currently 5 lbs., but we won't say what mommy is weighing in at :P I have made it a point to not step on the scale at home, doctor appointments only.

This morning I spent 15 minutes just trying to find a pair a pants that fit comfortably and didn't cut off all circulation when sitting down. I am down to two pairs of jeans. I have some khaki capris too, but only one pair of shorts. Let's be honest, I am oddly proportioned, even for being pregnant. I still have a flat booty, so when pants or shorts fit at the tummy, they look like a balloon around my junk. Sad.

So Tuesday Robert made it official, he actually referred to our baby as "Austin" :) It was pretty cute. Now we call him "Baby Austin". Also, we chose a middle name!!! I know, we're making progress. "Austin Michael". We are naming him after Robert's daddy :)

I really need to break out my camera and take pictures of his nursery. I found the perfect quilt, I mean I am in-love with this quilt. Got it at a little childrens boutique here in Montgomery, My Kids Attic. The quilt is white with blue trim. I think it is more of a coverlet than a quilt, it is gorgeous. Granted it probably won't be for long, ya know, being white! I made a bed skirt to match, using a white sheet and blue ribbon at the bottom. I still need to make curtains though. I hope it all looks nice together when I am finished. I am free after work all next week so I am planning to work on some of my projects during that free time. I think I made a list of things that I need to finish before Austin's arrival, I am pretty sure that I haven't checked one item off that list. I have had quite the busy month.

Lisa is taking maternity pics of me on the 31st, weather permitting. I am so excited! I am sure my next post will have less chatter and more pictures...well, maybe lots of chatter and lots of pictures.

Getting Excited and Ready...already???

I am getting sooo excited about this baby coming. We have been waiting for this time in our lives for so long and now here we are experiencing the fun, excitement and anticipation of a growing family. BUT I am finding out that being pregnant involves a lot more than toting a growing baby...

I have been REALLY emotional lately

I had to fight back tears when Valerie and Lanell took me to get a crib, thinking about it now makes me almost cry.
My doctor asked me if we had a name, and me being ridiculous, thought he actually was interested so I told him the name and then he checked it off his list. Seriously?!?! Fake it doc, look at me and pretend to care! It hurt my feelings, I wish I would have just said, yes and not been specific with him. I am not a fan of my insensitive doctor right now.
I have pretty much nagged Robert about making plans for the future, like HELLO why hasn't he thought of all the details I have been considering. These conversations generally end up with me crying. I'm sure that when I approach him with, "we need to have a talk" he cringes and the thought of what craziness I am going to come up with this time just causes a haze to settle over him. I have to give it to him though, he generally entertains me with some sort of comforting response, he typically knows the right thing to say.
Thinking about it now, I pity him for having to put up with my mood swings.
Don't get me wrong, I totally recognize how outrageous my emotions are, but at the same time it is how I feel. I am not generally a cryer, but these past two-weeks have been quite the roller coaster. Thanks Robert, for not making me feel crazy, I know it must cross your mind, "I hope this isn't permanent".

What is up with my sleep schedule?

I am not really tired lately. Before I got pregnant I was in bed by 9:30 sharp! Now I am awake until 11pm! Everynight! Sometimes I will wake up around 3am and be completely awake and ready to start my day, but force myself back to sleep so I can function at work later. I come home from work and am ready to chores. Last night I was mopping at 10:00, what is this all about?!?! Robert was trying to convince me to lay down and get some rest. I said initially that I'm not tired, but I am tired, I just don't want to waste my time sleeping when I could be doing something productive. Then when I finally do lay down my back feels like it is being pulled apart at my waist, dramatic? yeah, but that really is how it feels until I finally relax. I guess that is why Robert tries to convince me to go to bed early, he doesn't want to be rubbing my back at 11:00 :P

Dare I talk about being a stay-at-home mom...

This is what I have always wanted, to be a stay-at-home mommy just like my mom was. There is nothing I appreciate more than the time my mom spent, her life completely dedicated to her children and making sure we were all taken care of and always being there for us. Since I was little, I loved it and have wanted the same for my children. Well, here I am with only 3.5 months left until that journey begins for me. Let's not tip-toe around it, I am terrified! For sooo many reasons. let me share a few...

I LOVE my job!

I do not like change and no longer working here is going to be quite the change...we wll get into all of the other changes to come as they come ;)

I will no longer be contributing to the family financially.

and with each of these listed reasons has fears attached to them like am I going to be bored, am I going to enjoy being at home every day, how are we going to adjust to our new budget. Like I said a lot of fears and this is what Robert has to hear on a regular basis, and no I will not translate what "regular basis" means :P

Anyways, I just hope that I am good at being a mommy and I hope that it is satisfying. Only time will tell...

All apologies, this turned into Deep Thoughts with MB...

Next post will be a simple picture and update :D

6 Months??? Already???

I cannot believe I haven't posted since I was 16-weeks! So much has happened and sooo much has changed, namely my figure! There's no mistaken it now...

Quick update:
It's a BOY!!! Well, I'm sure you all have been aware of that for quite some time now.

He has a name, well kinda... His name is Austin, but we do not have a middle name yet. I'm okay with that though, as long as I am not referring to him as "baby boy" Robert and I have liked that name since before we knew the gender, but we had to make sure it was "the name" before making it official.

Right now we like several full-name options: James "Austin", Austin David, Austin Michael, Austin Travis and...I think those are the top ones...for now. Who knows what we will decide :P

I am trying to get his room together, but not really progressing in that department. Right now it just looks like a baby's storage unit... ouch! I am looking for the perfect crib and well, I have found several...maybe by my next post (you know, after labor :P) I'll have something accomplished with the nursery.

I am trying to prepare myself for being a stay-at-home mommy...ugh! I'll post about that some other time, let's just say I have mixed emotions.

Well, I'm off to the beach to roast the baby :D
Until next time...

16-Weeks

16 Weeks

I have not posted in forever! Just a quick update, we are doing great :)

The first trimester was less than fabulous :) I was pretty sick and ended up losing weight during my 3rd month. BUT the doc prescribed Phenergan to me and I'm mucho better now. I should have called and asked for it sooner, but I wanted to just suck it up and then people kept saying, "after 12-weeks you'll be fine"..."after 14-weeks you'll be fine", "you should be feeling better anytime now"...well, some are just sick for longer I guess :) I had to take a long lunch from work one day last week and get some fluids pumped in me b/c I was dehydrated but after that...well, I felt good for about 24-hours straight :D For the past week I have been trying to keep phenergan in me or else. This morning, before I could get a bite to eat, before I could get the ol' feel-good meds in me I was throwing up, brite and early. So at 16-weeks I'm still sick, but as long as I stay medicated :) I can eat pretty normal.

My tummy is starting to poke out so cute-like. Only this week have I finally been okay with my changing body. The initial weight gain and body changes only made me feel insecure, but I'm getting over that. Lisa and Allison let me borrow their maternity clothes and they are too cute! I can only wear a few things now, but nice to know I will not have to buy all new clothes for the summer. Actually I have only bought one shirt and a pair of khaki capris so far. I really don't need anything. Love having friends that are my size :)

As far as getting things for the baby, I still haven't bought anything...psh, I haven't even cleaned out the baby's room. BUT I've been thinking about it alot...that's good, right?!?! I mean, you have to think about it before you can actually go through with it. In my case I am putting LOTS of thought before doing anything :D Seriously though, I have to get a smaller desk for our computer room...keep an eye out for me...and I need to move the twin trundle bed out and put the full-size bed in the computer room. Robert and I have to do this before I get HUGE!!! I am depending on great yard sales this Spring to find some cute baby items. I have been scoping out my route for the month and it looks promising :)

I am finally exercising again. I have been walking in the evenings and trying to do stretching and yoga. I found a prenatal yoga dvd and its pretty cool, I mean it is no P90X, but it'll do. So yeah, that is pretty much what we have been upto. maybe I will be a better blogger in the future so my posts aren't so painfully long.

As a grand finale, we find out the sex of the baby in two weeks! Hopefully he/she cooperates and doesn't go all modest on us :)

week 8 update

I haven't posted in quite a while. Everything is progressing really well with the pregnancy. The little nugget is growing at 1mm per day :) No wonder I'm so tired! I still haven't had terrible "morning sickness". I usually feel my worst at the end of the day. I guess just being so tired and the eating a big dinner just tips me over the edge some nights. I am feeling better already though, just some days are more tiring than others, pretty typical. I STILL have this HUGE cyst on my right ovary. It is over 6cm now and looks like a large apple on the ultrasound monitor. Not much discomfort from it though, other than lots of bloating. Dr. Honea anticipates that it will start to shrink in 2-4 weeks.
I am no longer taking injections....this call for a celebration! I received the projesterone, IM shots for 8 weeks! Thankfully the little nugget has taken over on producing the progesterone so I am free at last...well, almost. I do still have to take the gel suppository daily until I am 12 weeks, so just 2.5 wks left :) I have only gained 2 pounds so far...YAY, but you can't tell from the looks of me. My stomach is so bloated from this cyst, that only 2 pairs of jeans are comfortable to wear : I feel like a huge fatty! No food aversions or cravings.

We're pretty great right now! I go for my first visit with my regular OB on Wednesday, hopefully I will get one more cute li'l progress picture and then I'll post all that I have.

Oh, one side note, I just visited a friend in the hospital that gave birthon Friday to an adorable baby boy! I saw the little cutie and teared up a bit. I have always been very emotional about special events, babies, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, you name it I will choke up even if I don't know the person, pathetic, I know. But seeing how precious this baby is and thinking I might be holding my own sweet baby in the Fall, words can't express how exciting this is for us! I'm sure most of you know exactly what I'm talking about ;)

A lot of rambling and blah, blah, blah!

Went to the doctor Tuesday and all of my bloodwork was normal, YAY! The 11th is my ultrasound, so hopefully we will get to see a heartbeat...they said it might be the following Tuesday before we actually hear it, but they will try for this coming up Tuesday. I am pretty excited, but still kinda nervous. I am still cramping quite a bit and having weird pains in my groin and lower abdomen area. Supposedly this is normal, "everyone is different". I think I will feel better about all of this weird stuff going on with my body after I see that there is something in my uterus and it is not the worst, ectopic. I am just so terrified of that. But all bloodwork indicates normal, so that is what I need to focus on and stop being such a Negative Nelly!

So, Lisa got me this super cool pregnancy journal. Rather than most week-by-week journals, this one is a day-by-day, starting with the day of conception. Robert and I love it because it tells us everything that is developing with the embryo/fetus as well as mom. It provides so much interesting information. It also has me measure my waist and weigh myself periodically to monitor my physical changes, as well as keeping up with mood swings, cravings (all of which is blank thus far...thank goodness) and whatever else is suppose to go along with pregnancy. I think I update like weekly or bi-weekly, something like that and then at the end of each month it has a journal page for whatever your heart desires.
LOVE IT!

Robert is doing EVERYTHING possible to take care of this little nugget and the momma to-be. He went out and bought a HUGE bag of fresh boccoli from Sam's to help with "brain development" this month and is making sure that I am eating enough and drinking plenty of water. Last night he went through all of my face wash getting rid of anything with sacylic acid in it...haha. Yup, he is ONE OF THOSE! He is sooo cute, annoying, but cute. I might have to make sure he keeps himself preoccupied with other things if he keeps this up ;). Seriously though, he has been so supportive and sweet. I love seeing him so excited :D

Luckily, no "morning sickness...yet...I'm keeping my fingers crossed since I am still so early. I do have pretty bad indigestion, but it is tolerable during the day and as long as I don't eat after 7pm-ish I am fine. Cheese totally turns me off though. The smell makes my stomach crawl! Cold cheese will not happen, but if it is melted over something, it is doable, but not something I desire or really care to have. Yeah, cheese is pretty much the only "don't" right now. I am not wanting sweets at all really. They don't make me sick, I just don't care to have it.

I STILL have not asked what my due date is (estimated Sept. 6th according to egg retrival date) so I don't know excatly how far along I am, none of that mumbo-jumbo really makes any sense to me, but I think I am 5 1/2 weeks??? I am confused because in my little book/journal thingy it says that this is the beginning of my 6th week, but online it says that I am 5 weeks and like 4 days? I seriously need to remember to ask the nurse Tuesday...for now I'm sticking to 5 1/2 :D