(Edit) And in this Corner...

Weighing in @ 9lbs 5oz and standing (well laying) @ 22 inches!!!

Introducing Matthew Keith!

March 27, 2008

Here's his 1 day old picture - my favorite so far!

Bragging Rights

Saturday morning at 4am is when it all started. No, not labor. I was sick this weekend with some random stomach bug. Don't know where it came from or who I got it from, but it was not very fun. I couldn't keep anything down, not crackers, not even water. We talked to an on-call dr, and she said it didn't sound pregnancy-related. That was one of our theories, cause we've read that nausea and all that accompanies it could be a sign of labor. But she also said that if I can't keep anything down then I should go to the hospital and get an IV. I decided to stick it out for a couple more hours to see if I felt better, but that didn't happen. So Josh drove me to the ER, and they took me by wheelchair to the maternity ward. We figured they'd want to monitor the baby during this ordeal. They got fluids in me and gave me Phenegram, an anti-nausea medicine, and I zonked out. The dr. came in to check on me, but I wasn't aware of that, cause I was in a deep sleep. When it came time to go, the nurse was taking out the IV and helping me out of bed, but I felt like I was sleepwalking, cause my mind was not totally there. On the way home we picked up the RX they gave us, and we also bought some lighter items for me to eat: gatorade, 7Up, pudding, applesauce, chicken noodle soup, stuff like that. And when I got home I slept for a while and got up sometime after dinner. I was able to hold down some applesauce and water. I think I had crackers too. By the next morning I was still sluggish and weak, but I knew I was on the mend. We stayed home from church, which felt weird to do on Easter Sunday, but we showed up that night because we were having an Easter party for the kids we're in charge of in Adventure Club. By then I was more back to my normal self, but I was still taking it easy with the food. I didn't want to overdo it.

So why the title to this blog? I must brag on my husband, because he was the best nurse. He held my hair back for me while I threw up and got me a puke bucket to put by my bed. He let me know when he thought we should go to the hospital, and he listened to the dr.'s instructions while I was in dream land. He also told me that I looked pretty in a hospital gown. And he meant it too. I thought that was so sweet, and completely unexpected. Cause seriously, who ever looks good in a hospital gown? So, on to more bragging. He picked up all this light food for me to eat, and he made sure I was getting enough liquids in me. He took my temperature Saturday night, which was a good idea, because it was higher than normal. He wet a washcloth for me to take to bed. I was up several times to use the potty and rewet the cloth, and every time I came back to bed he asked if I was ok, if he could do anything for me. Even in the middle of the night he was so attentive to my needs. On Sunday he made sure I took it easy. He emptied the dishwasher and loaded it up with the new dirty dishes. Then he basically cleaned the rest of the kitchen and picked up other things around the house. I didn't have to worry about a thing cause he was here for me. Sunday night when we were in bed I thanked him for taking care of me this weekend, and he said, You're welcome. I enjoyed it. He's such a sweetie. I don't deserve him. I love you, Josh!

I had an appointment today. There's not much to report. I gained two pounds since last time, and the baby's heart rate was 142, and everything else is progressing the way it should, so I'm doing good and the baby's doing good. At this point we're just trying to be patient while we wait for him to arrive.

And last but not least, here is the last installment of BABIES FOR DUMMIES.

Almost Done :)

Here's my nine month belly picture! Yup, that's right, nine months. I'm 38 weeks, folks, which means I could go at any time! That thought is a little scary, but more exciting than anything else. We've been waiting forever it seems, yet it's gone by fast at some points. Now it's just dragging out and we want to see him now. So I know this picture of me isn't the greatest, but hey, I'm not exactly feeling myself, so I gotta work with what I got, you know? And what I got is this mondo belly that gets heavier and more in the way each day. Come on, kid! Come outa there!

We ordered a new camera the other day. Our other one still works fine, but Josh wanted me to have something smaller I can carry with me so I can capture all the action and adorableness of this baby. It's a brown camera. Isn't that cool? I've never seen a brown camera before. We got it from Amazon, and then we went to Best Buy to find a sleek little case for it, and guess what? I got a brown case for it :) I know, I know, I am so coordinated and trendy.

Oh, so I've picked out the cutest baby announcement cards. The only thing is that I can't buy them ahead of time, because it's a photo card. So once he arrives and we get a picture, then we can go about ordering them. The nice thing is that we can type in his info and I won't have to write it over dozens of times. I just wish I could have the envelopes early so I could fill out addresses. Oh well, this'll give me something to do while I'm home with the baby. Yeah, like I need something to do with a new baby in the house. I'm sure I'll have my hands full, especially since this kid is half Josh :)

Alright, jabbering time over. The next time you hear from me might be "the big moment," so be ready. Cause ready or not, here he comes! Well, not right at this instant, but soon ;)

Birthdays and Baby Showers

Saturday was my birthday, and the day started out wonderfully. Josh made me breakfast in bed, and he even washed all the dishes and put them away later in the day. What a guy! Then I got ready for my baby shower at my church. It was so much fun. The theme was fish, because I like Finding Nemo and becaues I called this kid fishy earlier in my pregnancy. The decorations were mostly blue. One, cause I'm having a boy, and two, because the ocean is blue, so it worked out great :). There were blue balloons, blue tablecloths, and even blue punch with vanilla ice cream floating on top. It was really good, by the way. But I also drank water, like a good pregnant lady is supposed to :). Oh, there were also splashes of orange in the decorations. Orange balloons, and orange goldfish crackers on each of the tables. I thought that was a cute idea. And you wanna know how creative they got? They put live goldfish in little bowls on each table! It was so cool!




The food was great. They ordered Subway sandwiches with toppings, and then people brought in side dishes, like fruit salad, pasta salad, veggie trays, chips, jello salad. Everything tasted so yummy. And they ordered a cake that was delicious too. They even bought me a pint of my favorite ice cream to eat with my piece of cake. Anyone know what my favorite is? Ok, I'll tell you, black raspberry. It's purple and perfect :)



The festivities began with prayer for the food, and then we got to eat. I got to go first-yay! Then while we were eating we played a game. There were 10 baby pictures of people in the church, and we had to match them with which person we thought it was. I didn't do so great, 6 out of 10. But it was fun. And when someone won the game, I got a little gift too, so that was fun. Then we played the next game. There were six sealed bags passed around, and we had to guess what baby item was in each one just by feeling it and shaking it, no peeking. I did bad on that too :(. But the good news is that I got to open them all and keep what was inside. Some of the items were bibs, pacifiers, Desitin, teether toy, stuff like that. Next on the agenda was our special speaker, my very own mother-in-law. She told me she was nervous, but it didn't show at all. She spoke about different types of bird's nests, like making your nest (marriage), filling your nest (babies), and leaving the nest (grandparenthood--is that a word?). Each stage is special in its own way, and she was saying that the last stage some people get sad about, but she's happy about it. Cause as a mother you are working at it full-time for years, so when the kids move out, you get to retire. Your job of raising children is done. And your reward? You get to enjoy grandbabies :). At the end she had me open a box, and it was full of Josh's baby things. There was his baby blanket, a couple outfits he wore, and even pictures of him wearing them. It was such a special gift, and I told Josh we'll have to dress our boy in his clothes and take a picture. Then I can compare my two men and see how much they looked alike at the same age :).

The next and last part of the shower was opening gifts. But first I needed a potty break. But after that, I got to sit in a rocking chair and read cards and open presents. I got cute clothes, many practical things from my registry, quite a few hand-made things, including a diaper stacker, a blanket, a quilt, and a quilt made by my baby's grandma. So this kid now has blankets made by his grandma and great-grandma. I think it's awesome. I opened a lot of bath items, which was great, cause that was something I didn't have a lot of, and we got baby wipes, our diaper pail, highchair, swing, nursing stool, and even some gift cards and checks. Oh, and two people made me diaper cakes--those were cool. I just can't believe everything fit into my car to bring home! Josh was excited to see everything, so we started to organize some things so he could see who got us what. I was so tired by the end of the day, but it was a fun day. For the most part my husband and I ignored the piles of baby things invading our space and chilled on the couch for a while.

The duck on top of the diaper cake has the cutest giggle when you press his foot-very adorable!


Isn't this bag cute? That's totally me, pregnant and eating ice cream :)


Here I am holding up some stroller toys in my right hand and some baby blocks in my left.


Yay for clothes! I needed more sleepers for this baby, and I got my wish.


The box with the baby swing in it is there on the left side of the picture. It's Baby Einstein brand, so it's very colorful. The unwrapped gift is the highchair.


This is the baby blanket my mom-in-law made. I love the colors she used.


And here's my family. My mom-in-law's in the middle with me, Hannah's on my left and Beka's on the other side of Mom.


These are the three fabulous ladies that made this day possible. They planned the day and put it all together. From the left, Janelle, Cathy, and Lisa. Thank you guys! I had a wonderful time!


Oh, I have to add this. These are the favors. Lisa spent hours and hours making these by hand. She had to cut out the paper, stamp on the decoration, fold and crimp it, fill them with mints, plus she hand-made the tags and tied them on as well. You know you're loved when somebody puts so much time into something for you. I think they turned out so beautiful.


Is everything organized and put in its place? Not yet, but I'm getting there. My mom-in-law offered to wash baby clothes and burp cloths and blankets for me, so I've got those in a bin ready to give to her. And I pulled out the clothes I already have and the new stuff to count how many onesies and sleepers I have and in what sizes, to see if I need to get anything else like that. Now I'm working on thank you notes, because I'd like to get those done before the baby comes. I feel like I'm working so slow on this stuff, but I have to remember that I am a lot slower at things because I need more breaks, and it's harder to get up from the floor, and I get tired easier. Plus when my pinched nerve bothers me, I need to try to relieve that, and when the swelling gets bad, I need to put my feet up. Sometimes I feel like all I'm good for is sitting on the couch, propping up my feet, and drinking water. It's gonna be so nice to be back to my normal self someday.

I Survived

Yes, it's true, I had my first internal exam today, and I am alive to tell about it. Well, there's not much to tell really, and not much you want to know for that matter. Let's just say, yes, it hurts. People say, oh, it's uncomfortable, and I can agree in this way--pain is uncomfortable. I know that relaxing is supposed to help, but it's hard to relax when you know what's coming. You're waiting in the room hearing nurses walk by and wondering when the door will open. When the doc comes in, you make small talk while he dons a blue glove and tells you to lay back and relax. Ugh, I don't even like reliving the moment in my head. See, the doc does it fast so he'll be done sooner and you won't be uncomfortable anymore, but that doesn't give you much of a chance to relax, now does it? Not that I'm saying I want him to do it slowly either. It's not exactly a win-win situation, it's just one of the "perks" of being a woman (guys, you'll never understand). But it's all over for now, until next Friday. Well, actually it'll be the following Monday, cause they are closed for Good Friday. I must say that I am very thankful to God that I haven't been internally checked sooner. It's not fun, folks. Oh, and another positive--I was practing my breathing techniques during the exam. Don't know how much it helped. It didn't really get my mind to focus on something else. Hopefully that breathing stuff works for labor, though.

Ok, onto happier subjects. I feel like I've been celebrating my birthday all week. I've gotten cards in the mail, a check, and even a gift or two. Tomorrow's my official birthday, the Ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was murdered, but also the day I was born :). I originally wanted Josh to make me a cake because I love cake, but I'll be having cake at my baby shower, so I told him it wasn't necessary. He did let me open my gift last night. It was no surprise. It was the only thing I asked for, and I even saw him order it.



This is the CD from the Broadway production that my sister and I saw in New York over Christmas. It has all the original songs from the movie, plus a bunch of new ones they wrote for the show. We had a great time and the music is beautiful. Ah, memories :)

Oh, so before and after my exam, I did some errands while I was in that area. I looked in some stores in the mall, but I also walked all around for exercise. When lunch time rolled around, I was very tempted to get bad things. Sbarro was calling my name, and Cinnabon was wafting its sweet smells in my direction. But I opted for a healthier choice, Subway. I got tuna on wheat with lots of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. So it was like having a salad and a sandwich all in one. I was pretty proud of myself. But it was kind of an easy decision, since I knew what dessert was going to be...

I went to Coldstone for my free birthday ice cream! I must say it's not ideal eating ice cream by yourself, especially when it's a cool, rainy day, but I soon forgot that once I took my first bite of Peanut Butter Cup Perfection. Mmm, it was perfection indeed! Chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cups, chocolate fudge, and peanut butter all mixed together for a tasty treat--it was divine! I felt like the girl in those Dove chocolate commercials where she takes a bite of the candy and suddenly the world around her is a velvety chocolate dream. Yeah, I went there today (sigh).

Alright, I need to go chill for a bit now. All that walking and doing stuff this morning has bothered my pinched nerve, so off to the haven of my heating pad!

Pinched Nerve=Pain in the Butt

Since Sunday I've been dealing with a pinched nerve on the left side of my lower back. Well, it's actually lower than my back, that's why I call it a pain in the butt, cause it's somewhere in that area. It's more like in my pelvis, which is in the same region, and it's completely internal. Which means, it's one of those pains that you can't really get to in order to try to relieve it. You know what I'm talking about? I took Tylenol one morning, but it didn't touch it at all. And then I've used a heating pad, but that doesn't help either. I had Josh apply some pressure to it, which really only made me more aware of the pain. It was one of those times where the pressure helped, but then it hurt it at the same time, you know? And laying down doesn't really help, because as I get up, I feel it all over again. I guess there's nothing to do but wait it out and pray that it goes away.

I was reading today about how the ligaments in my pelvic area are softening right now to prepare for labor, so I wonder if this pinched nerve is a result of something like that. I mean, it makes sense. Three more weeks until my due date, so technically I am full-term and the baby could come at any time. Though if this pinched nerve is gonna hang on until he comes, then I want him to come today! I know what you might be thinking, That's trading a measely pinched nerve for hours of labor, are you crazy? Call me crazy, but I'd rather be in labor than have this, because then I know the pain is working towards a goal and that the end will be in sight. And besides, Josh and I can't wait to have this little guy in our lives, so we are all for having him come now :) Sure the car seat isn't installed, and the crib isn't made up yet, and the nursery isn't well-organized, but that's ok! Come anyway, little dude! You so totally rock, Squirt! That's from one of my favorite movies :)

Alright, here are some more BABIES FOR DUMMIES. Enjoy!!











P.S. I received a few cards in the mail yesterday from my family that lives in New York. It's kinda weird that they all came on the same day. Anyway, I thought I'd do a shout out to Josh's aunts and grandma, since you guys read my blog. Thank you for the baby shower gifts!! Hopefully after the baby's born we'll get a chance to visit you so you can meet him.

That's all. The end.

Snow Day!

We got our first blizzard since I've lived here, and it was awesome! We got at least a foot of snow--it was so much fun! My friend Ericka drove two hours to come see us. She had to drive through some snow, but she said the highway roads weren't bad, and she made it by dinnertime on Friday. She was coming to be at my baby shower on Saturday, but that got cancelled because of the storm. Unfortunately, she can't get the time off work to be here next weekend, when the shower will be. But such is life. She came this weekend to visit with us, and I got to open the gifts she bought us too.



After dinner, we headed to my in-laws' house where we spent the night. Even though Josh's dad and two sisters were away at a b-ball tournament, it was still a full house. Laura came home from college for spring break, and Sarah and Donald were staying at the house as well. And we stayed up late too, so it was kinda like a slumber party :). Josh brought the Wii with us, so we played that on Friday and Saturday. The snow stopped Saturday in the late afternoon, so Josh and Donald took to shovelling, while us gals stayed nice and warm and comfy inside the house :) When we got back to our apartment for dinner, our sidewalk had not been cleared (no surprise there), and we took some pics of my buried car.

(here's our sidewalk. What? You can't see it? Oh, that's cause management doesn't consider clearing sidewalks a top priority--they did clear it a little for Sunday morning, and it looked like they even put down some salt--how nice of them to save the best for last)


(and here's my car, all snug and cozy in her white winter blanket)


Then, get this, our church usually cancels services for bad weather, so we were watching the news stations to see the name, but we never saw it. I was kinda surprised that we were still gonna have service, but I was happy about it. We didn't go to Sunday school, and when we pulled into the parking lot, there was no one to be found. So yeah, morning services were cancelled, but we never saw the announcement or heard it on the radio. What a waste of gas! Tonight there is church, so we'll be there once again, but this time, there'll be others :).