The Big Snow

So as most of you know, we ended up getting a TON of snow right before Christmas this year on December 20. Up to 20 inches. Although we had some issues with snow removal (our neighbors have NO idea how to shovel and somehow don't realize that it is incredibly rude to pile snow BEHIND their neighbors' cars who have not come out to shovel), we made it through and were able to drive up to Rhode Island as planned on December 22.
Here are a few pictures from our storm:

In our backyard:


Outside of our sliding glass door while it was still snowing:



The snow was "this high":


Connor and Mommy and Daddy:



Mommy after shoveling:



Daddy shoveling:



Our little bear:

Two Months!!

How is it that Connor is already two months old? It seems like we just brought him home yesterday...and at the same time, it definitely feels like we've had him around for awhile.
He's been doing lots of cooing and smiling and he actually had a sad cry the other day (like he had a pout on his face when he was crying...usually he's just screaming with abandon when he's upset). When he's on his back on his mat he rolls to the side but doesn't get all the way over yet.
Last night was his first night in his crib and he did fairly well. He slept for 3.5 hours, then for 2.5 hours and now he's upstairs with Ian resting. His pack n' play is down in the dining room and he napped in it for a short time yesterday. I'm trying really hard to get him on a schedule, both for when Ian is home with him for three weeks and when he heads off to daycare. I had a sad dream about that last night (lots of anxiety about someone else taking care of him), but I'm sure it will be okay.
Here are a couple of pictures of our big boy taken over the past week or so:

Cool dude:


Baby Bear:


Better than my crib:

7 weeks and Turkey Day!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Connor's Nana and Grandpa came over and we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggies, cranberry sauce and rolls. We had a lot of fun and took some great pictures. We were also able to Skype with my Dad and Barbara and my Nana and Aunt Susan, who were able to see Connor for the first time. We also Skype'd with my mom and my brother Brian. While it wasn't as good as seeing everyone in person on the holiday, but it made it a little easier. We're looking forward to seeing the New England contingent for Christmas!!
Connor was 7 weeks old yesterday and I can't believe how fast time is flying! He's going for his 2 month check-up/vaccines on the 10th of December and I'm not so thrilled about that. The good thing is that my mom will be coming into town that morning, so Connor will be able to get some good snuggle time in with his Grammy.

Here are a few updated pictures of our big guy!

Connor and Daddy:


Connor and Mommy:


Connor and Grandpa:



Our Table:



Our Little Turkey:

Connor Thomas is ONE month old!

It is unbelievable to me that just 4 weeks ago Ian and I welcomed Connor into the world. After the first couple of shaky weeks (exhaustion, issues with nursing, recovering from the birth), it seems like we're falling into some sort of a routine, which is nice.
Milestones this week include growing out of almost all of his "newborn" clothes, falling asleep at night almost immediately after nursing, and smiling at Ian and I. He's so much more alert this week than he has been, and he's also starting cooing a bit...it is so amazing how quickly things change and how he continues to grow each moment. We are so lucky!!!

Here are a couple of pictures from this week:

week three

this week marked the week that ian went back to work and connor and i were flying solo at home. the week went pretty well and ian had friday off so it was really only four days at home just me and the kiddo.
he's sleeping a little more at night and only waking up about three times to nurse, which is helpful in letting ian and i get some sleep. he'll be moving to his big boy crib in the next couple of weeks and we'll be moving the pack n' play out of our room. i'm playing it by ear, since it's really easy to nurse him right now in bed, but I figure if I put the monitor next to me, then I'll just have to go into the nursery to feed him.
we also went back to the pediatrician this week for his check-up and he's up to 7lbs, 12 oz and 21 inches (he was down to 20 inches at his first couple of appts. despite being measured at 21 inches at birth). he's doing really well and his baby acne has almost all cleared up at this point. at the beginning of the week, it was EVERYWHERE on his face and just looked to be really painful.
here's a happy halloween picture of our big boy!

week two

hard to believe that two weeks ago today ian and i were in the hospital gazing at our new baby boy in his bassinet. fast forward to two weeks later and ian's holding a dozing, post-nursing connor on the couch.
connor lost his umbilical stump yesterday so ian gave him a bath today. he seemed to like having the water pouring over him, but was not a fan when it stopped.
he continues to nurse like a champ and i've started pumping and freezing milk when i feel like i have a lot of extra during the day. i figure it's good practice to get into.
we've got a doctor's appointment on monday and he's going to be getting a bunch of vaccines at that point...not looking forward to the aftermath of that, but i figure i'll just nurse him a little extra and give him all of the snuggle time that he needs.
we're also starting to get food deliveries on monday from our church. three evenings a week for a month (!) someone from our church will be stopping by with dinner for us. i figure i may as well put regular (read: maternity still) clothes on and make sure that i'm showered on those days :)
i'm going to go and join ian and connor on the couch now...rainy day and evening in virginia means snuggling with two of my favorite guys.

my new playmat!

here's a picture of connor "playing" on his playmat. he's not so much "playing" as he is warily looking at everything around him...that's my boy :)



a short video that i shot is here

week one

connor thomas is one whole week old today!

my mom was here with us for the week and left today...ian and connor and i had a nice day of napping and eating and catching up on some tv on the dvr. it is cold and rainy and gross here, but the weather just made me feel a little better about wanting to sit around the house all day.
we took him to the doctor on wednesday and found out that he had lost 12% of his birth weight, so we had to bring him back to the doctor for another weigh-in on friday...and found out that he gained 10 ounces in 2 days! i'm breastfeeding and my milk came in on late wednesday, so i think that was just what the doctor ordered. he's been filling diaper after diaper (sometimes right after we've changed him!) and that actually makes us very very happy.

birth story:
so people have been asking about the birth and if i don't put at least some of it down on paper now (while ian is holding a fussy baby and watching the MLB playoffs), then it might just never happen.
we went in on october 9 for a routine doctor's appointment. i hadn't slept in three days due to this itchy rash that was covering my lower torso and was spreading to my hands. i thought i'd mention it (again) to the doctor and he'd just give me some cream or something since i wasn't due until the 12th. but no, he checked me (and I hadn't progressed since the week before) and just said, "go to labor and delivery, you're going to have this baby today or tomorrow. i want them to induce you. this rash is going to get worse before it gets better and I think you're going to have a big baby anyway and will probably need a c-section." i had really been hoping for a natural childbirth and was hoping to avoid the epidural as long as possible and so I was a little distraught about my entire birth plan being thrown out the window with really no explanation.
after a few phone calls home, we headed across the medical campus to labor and delivery and i answered a million questions, got into the hospital gown and had the IV started. they gave me a medicine to get me to 100% effacement and then they started the pitocin drip (along with the first of 5 rounds of the antibiotics for the group-b strep that I had). the contractions were getting strong and i decided to have some nubane (sp?) so that i could rest for a bit, since I hadn't really had any rest in days and I knew that I had a big night ahead of me. ian and I watched jeopardy and i was answering questions right in between the contractions, which ian found hilarious.
at that point i was still without the epidural. about two hours into the pitocin drip, the contractions were coming about 1 minute apart and they were right on top of each other. at that point, i was so tired, i begged for the epidural. i hadn't slept in four days at that point and i was concerned that i wasn't going to have enough strength for the birth. the epidural was an interesting experience and i was honestly terrified that i was going to move and he was going to paralyze me. the anesthesiologist was hilarious though (very dry humor) and it went very quickly. we had the most amazing nurse in our room named ruth, who actually wasn't supposed to be in our room, but the nurse that she took over from had to go into an emergency c-section, so we really lucked out. i honestly credit her as the reason that i was able to have a vaginal delivery and not a c-section like the doctor (who was not my doctor, but someone else from the service) was pushing for. in fact, up to an hour before he was actually born, it looked like i was going to have to have a c-section.
so, once the pitocin worked it's magic and i was at 10 cm, it was time to push. ian was not planning on watching the actual birth, but honestly, once it got started, there was nowhere else for him to look. he was the most amazing coach and i honestly don't know how i would have gotten through it without him.
i pushed hard and in many different positions for two hours and then the doctor had to go to another emergency c-section. they decided that i should stay on the pitocin and also should up the epidural so that i could sleep for a couple of hours while the doctors went to do the section. once they came back (actually about an hour before) i started pushing again. connor's head was under my pelvis and it didn't look like he would turn the corner. but ruth got me up and pushing and the next thing I knew they were calling for the doctor and for the pediatrician (when my water broke while i was resting after the epidural was placed...the only natural part of the childbirth and definitely the weirdest...there was meconium in the fluid, so they were going to need to take connor away right away to suction his mouth and clean the poo off of him). i pushed about five times, ian was watching everything and coaching me on, and the next thing I knew, there was a bunch of pressure and a pop and at 6:43 a.m. there was baby connor's butt sticking up in the air. i couldn't stop crying and they took him over to the warmer. the second i heard his cry was probably the most amazing moment in my life. ian went over to the warmer and ended up holding him soon after he was wiped off, suctioned, diapered and swaddled. i had quite a bit of tearing so they were fixing me up for about a half an hour. i had a lot of blood loss, so they were talking about a transfusion...the doctor managed to stop the bleeding with a few extra stitches though, so i avoided having to have blood.
the next few hours were kind of a blur. i remember ordering breakfast because i hadn't eaten in 24 hours and getting transferred to our private room. ian's parents came in the early afternoon and then my parents and my brother came in around 3 and 4. it was a great experience to be able to share him with everyone. the next couple of days were spent having all of the standard tests run, having his circumcision, entertaining visitors and just trying to rest. since my milk hadn't come in right away, we ended up sending him to the nursery to have formula, because we were so tired and he was so hungry. the lactation consultant assured us that we had made a good decision for ourselves as parents and not to beat ourselves up over it.
we got connor home on monday afternoon, and had a house full of visitors. we had lots of food and i finally laid down for a short nap (i have NEVER been so tired in my entire life). i was pretty stressed about the whole milk issue and so had a bit of a rough evening. we ended up giving him a little more formula and took him to the doctor on wednesday...and the rest is history.
we're enjoying every moment with our little boy and can't believe that we made him! he's so cute, very precocious and is just generally a chill baby (except for his fussy times in the afternoon).

here are some more pictures:

getting to hold the baby for the first time:


"oh daddy, i can't believe they blew it, either!":


beautiful flowers from all of connor's grandparents:


being guarded by miles and oliver:



sleeping baby:

welcome connor thomas!!!

Connor Thomas McMichael was born on October 10, 2009 at 6:43 a.m. He weighed 8 pounds even and was 21 inches. We could not be more in love with our baby boy. He's got a healthy set of lungs and is the cutest thing ever.
We were so blessed to have all three sets of grandparents with him the day he was born and for the next day too, since the H1N1 restriction didn't happen until Monday (and he was born on Saturday)! He is so loved and we just really couldn't be luckier. Lots of flowers and presents and being held and it was just really great.
Both Ian and I are pretty spent at the moment as Connor seems to have his days and nights reversed, but we're trying to get that fixed...I'm working on getting the breastfeeding under control...it's pretty much the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I know it will be so worth it.
We go to the pediatrician's tomorrow and my mom is staying with us for the rest of the week, and that has been wonderful. Ian and I were able to get to the store today while Connor napped in his swing and my mom made us dinner (yummy veggie lasagna).

Here's Connor and Mommy:


Connor and Daddy:


Connor and his Da:


Connor and his Grammy:


Connor and his Mim:


Connor and his Uncle Brian:


Connor and his Nana:


Three Generations of McMichael men (Ian, Connor and Grandpa):

39 weeks!

okay baby. i'm getting really ready for you already. so any time you feel like coming would be awesome :)

i've signed up with Apple's Mobile Me service and we'll start posting pictures/video here when we have it:
http://gallery.me.com/birchmegan. I also bought a new iphone (with video!) yesterday. I'm pretty excited about it. what i'm not so excited about is that the hospital is not allowing any visitors due to H1N1/flu season, so looks like baby's first couple of days are going to be just with his mom and dad. I'm pretty bummed about it...but truth be told, maybe it will give me a couple of days to heal and then we'll be ready to celebrate the day we bring him home.




more later.

progress...

2 cm dilated and 90% effaced. doctor t seems to think that the baby will be "on time" which means that in less than 10 days e and I should be holding our son!!!
i think we're going to rest and relax this weekend and enjoy the quiet time with the kitties. because once baby comes, the whole world changes :)

38 weeks

yep. just 14 more days until the due date.
we'll see if he comes before then. more updates later.

still waiting

we went to the doctor's today and found out that my strep b test came back positive, so i'll need to get antibiotics as soon as i get admitted to the hospital.
the doctor didn't check me for dilation or effacement, so we're just in a holding pattern until the next appointment. did I mention i'm not a very patient person when it comes to waiting?
ho-hum.

woo hoo!

i'm typing this quick update from home. where i am working until the baby is born. there is something so wonderful about not having to fight for a seat on the metro and being able to keep my feet up all day. it's excellent and i love it. :)

37 weeks...

for all of you not in the know today marks the day that baby C could come and would be considered "full term". while we'd like to get him to october and closer to his 40 week "birth-day", i would be perfectly fine with him coming whenever at this point. miles and oliver have just joined me in the nursery (my computer is hooked up here too) and they are sniffing around the things that haven't made it out of boxes yet (ergo carrier, breast pump, etc.) i'm pretty sure that they are super-aware that something major is happening, and we cross our fingers that they adjust to the baby well.

as for now, they are cuddling up to Ian as much as possible (my belly is too big...plus i'm pretty sure they just prefer him ;) )

the braxton hicks contractions are getting more pronounced and i (hopefully) only have to make the trek into DC one more time tomorrow before i can work from home (per the doctor). if for some reason i'm not allowed to, then it's looking like i'll be taking early maternity leave. not ideal, but i also absolutely cannot handle any more of the metro in. my feet look like sausages (as do my hands) and i'm having a hard time walking with the sciatic pain in my left hip. awesome.

and now we start the weeklies...

had our 36/(37 weeks on sunday) appointment today. after the strep test, dr. t checked me and i'm 75% effaced and 1cm dilated. i know that some mommies stay at this point for weeks, but he said it's a good sign that the contractions are working. baby c is head down and according to the doctor has dropped into position. so we're on track for an on-time delivery (october 12...unless he comes a little early). but again, this baby is on his own time frame.

when the doctor came into the room today and took one look at my feet and hands, he said, when is your last day in the office? I told him that i was planning on working up to my delivery date, and he said he didn't want me commuting to the office anymore, since he was a little concerned about the swelling. so he wrote me a note saying that while i can work from home, he doesn't want me to go into the office. fingers crossed that this works out with my HR department, and if so, my last day on the Metro until after he is born will be on Monday (so I can get my stuff out of the office that I'll need to work for the next two weeks).

Ian and I both have the day off today (mine is my birthday day off that our office gives us, just a week or so late) and so we're heading to the pediatrician in a little while (just had a nice breakfast at this place we used to go all the time when we first started dating and we were the ONLY people in the restaurant).

I'm going to put these swollen feet up for a bit. more later.

36 weeks...

We had another great baby shower last night thrown by the McMichael's. Lots of food, lots of presents and lots of fun. We will be eating leftover cake for weeks (and I'm okay with that ;) )

This Friday we have another doctor's appointment first thing in the morning (7:45) and then we have a meeting with our pediatrician in the afternoon. We'll probably try and get as many other errands done as we can (I'm taking the day off) and then we're going to another barbeque the next weekend. Provided that baby C doesn't show up early.

Part of me is hoping that he stays put until his due date, since I've budgeted for that amount of time off of work, but part of me is hoping he comes a little earlier...I really don't think my skin can stretch much more at this point...the stretch marks are coming fast and furious these days. :(

Just four more weeks to go!

35 weeks and 30 years

Well...it's official. I'm 30. Not quite sure how I'm feeling about it after a day of it, but I guess, honestly, I'm so preoccupied with the baby that I'm not really focusing on it.

I guess, all in all, I've accomplished a lot for being 30. I have a BA, an MFA, a husband, a house and a baby on the way. Things I'd like to do in the next five years include running a marathon, finishing my book and finding a publisher. Do I foresee those things happening? Absolutely.

More later. This peanut is kicking like a maniac and the only way I foresee it stopping is if I lay down for a little bit and listen to the rain.

34 weeks

34 weeks.

Just 6 more to go.

Maybe.

Today we had the 34 week checkup and baby has a strong heartbeat and is in the down position, so unless he moves (i don't even want to know what that would feel like as he is SO big already), we're on track for a regular delivery. The doctor wants me to finish up the bottle of "no contraction" meds and then I'll be a little short of 36 weeks. He said at that point, given the size of my belly (and the corresponding size of the baby), it will be up to the baby to come whenever he wants.
I'm really rooting for an early October delivery since I'm so stingy with my time off from work/paid time off of work that I'll have to use, but kiddo is going to come whenever he wants to.

I turn 30 in just a few short days and am finding that I'm not as frightened about it as I once was, given that I have lots of other worrying to do (baby, work, other things). My mom is coming to town for the weekend and we'll get all of the kiddo's clothes washed and the nursery finalized. Then it's just waiting time.

E's parents are throwing another shower for us the following weekend, and I'm really excited for that too. Provided that the baby doesn't come early :)

33 weeks

Ian and I just got back from a short trip to RI for a baby shower thrown by my Mom. Pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=150046&id=736320258&l=8fc5bc1c7d.

We've been home in VA for a couple of hours and we've already unpacked the presents. I need to start on my thank-you notes, but I think i'll wait until tomorrow night. Tonight I think we're going to watch the DVR'd new Project Runway and eat our pizza....

so tired and just 7 more weeks to go!

32 weeks...

Got back from the doctor's a little while ago. Everything is status quo at this point. I'm starting to get lots of aches and pains related to pregnancy and my hormones are starting to really rev up, which I'm sure is fun for everyone around me.

When the doctor measured my belly today he said I'm measuring 4 weeks bigger than where I'm supposed to be at right now. When I asked him what that meant, he said that I'll just be having a big baby and that I'll still probably go to 40 weeks. He also reminded me that this baby is on his own timetable, so who in the heck really knows :)

We're heading up to RI for our first baby shower tomorrow and e's got a wicked cold. I'm really hoping he's not miserable the whole time...especially since we have to drive up and back in three days.

That's all for now.

the best thing to come out of the L&D visit today...

we got to see peanut again! here's our sleepy baby. his eyes are closed at the top of the frame, and you can see his little nose and the top of his mouth. the round thing towards the bottom is his hand (if that gives you any perspective).

still not quite sure what you're looking at?
ian's devised this helpful key:

31 weeks...oh hello baby!

so ian and i decided to go to church this morning for the first time in a month. we get to church and by the end of the service, i was having severe cramping. thinking that i might be getting some cramps because i was dehydrated, i had a bottle of water as we were driving back to our house. we were supposed to go out to ian's folks house for lunch and at that point, we decided to go home, see where my pain was at, and then head out to manassas.

by the time we got to the house, the pain was coming in pretty consistent waves and i decided to call my ob/gyn and ask him what to do. we waited for him to call us back for 20 minutes and then i decided we were just going to go to the hospital and have him call ian's cell phone (we live 20 minutes from the hospital). about 10 minutes from the hospital, the doctor called. ian repeated all of my symptoms to him, and he said, okay, head right to the hospital and go to labor and delivery.

at that point, i was starting to get really panicked thinking that i was going to deliver this little boy today (the contractions were pretty regular and painful). we got into labor and delivery, got checked and then i was put on the fetal monitor and given some medicine to stop the contractions. the doctor determined that i was having contractions, but since they weren't doing anything to my cervix, that we didn't need to worry about anything. they still wanted to stop the contractions though because i was in a tremendous amount of pain. long story short, they determined that it has something to do with my IBS and so now i'm taking another medicine to relax my uterus for the next month or so. longer story short, the baby is totally fine and he weighs 4 lbs (!!) right now. we got to see him blinking and sucking his mouth in the sonogram and we have a picture of his face now. i didn't think it would be anything i wanted to see until he came out, but there he was! :)

so now i'm completely wiped out and looking forward to an evening with the best husband ever (he's going to be a WONDERFUL labor coach) and my healthy, kicking baby. what a day. what a day.

30 weeks?

okay. now is the time for a nice, deep cleansing breath. i'm 30 weeks along? in seven weeks, i could potentially be tucking my son into this very empty crib (except for the cat that I keep finding in it)? in ten weeks I will almost definitely be doing so? where on earth did the time go??

my dad and stepmom (mim and da) were here this past weekend and we had a great time visiting and hanging out. we went up to baltimore on friday for the orioles/red sox game and despite the earlier crazy thunderstorms and traffic, we ended up staying for 7 innings of the game and it was a really great time. i can't wait to bring this little boy next year to his first trip to the yards. :)

i start my "every two weeks" doctor's appointments on thursday and then in september we move to every week. we head up to RI in three weeks for a short visit, and then it's going to be my 30th birthday before i know it! 

and then the baby will be here. the next ten weeks are going to absolutely fly by!!!

28 weeks later....

I can't believe that we're already in the home (ish) stretch. today begins the beginning of the third trimester. peanut's other grandparents (nana and grandpa (this name is still being worked out, i hear :) ) came over today to bring the crib set that peanut's grammy sent in the mail. we put the bedding in the crib that peanut's mim and da bought (boy, oh boy this kid has lots of love coming at him already!). pictures are in the previous post. 

e and i went to an all-day childbirth class yesterday and it was pretty great. we learned a LOT and feel a little more confident about the way things are going to go. i'm still sold on a natural childbirth, so now we need to practice the deep breathing techniques (honestly, learning these as a general coping with life mechanism is a good idea) and get a hospital bag ready at some point. we'll also be writing a up a birth plan to work on with our doctor and hopefully we'll be good to go. 

we still need to buy some things, although i'm waiting to see what we still need after we have our baby showers, and then i'm looking forward to three months with this little guy. he's a real mover and shaker now, which is great, but it also keeps me up some nights. it's okay though...i keep reminding myself that this is all going to be worth it soon enough. 

here's a 28 week picture of e and i. i didn't realize how puffy my face was getting...oh well...

peanut's crib

 

27 week picture

Can't believe that next Sunday marks the beginning of the third trimester! Baby is going to be here before we know it and we're SO excited. A gentleman at church (who we have met a few times before) stopped us to point at my belly and say, "and I'd like to offer you a congratulations!" (yeah, we don't go as regularly as we should). Then he said, "you two just look really happy together. that's great."

It was nice to hear that from a pseudo-stranger and even nicer that it's true. We are really just blessed to not only have this baby coming, but to have so many great people in our lives that are excited to meet him. 

The picture above is in the baby's room in front of his crib. Once we have the room a little more together (crib set, things on the wall), I'll post more pictures.

26 weeks

Holy moly how time is FLYING!

We spent the weekend moving some furniture (e did the bulk of the work) and painting (again, all e) and getting things in order in the baby's room, since we got a phone call when we returned from Martha's Vineyard saying that his crib and dresser are in. They'll be delivered this week and e can't WAIT to put the crib together. :)

Once the two big pieces are in the room, then we'll move a recliner upstairs and we should be all set with furniture for the nursery. I'll post pictures once we have a mattress and the crib set in the crib, since those are the things that will really pull the room together. 

We removed the doors to the closet in the nursery and replaced them with two long curtains. It's convenient for us, doesn't take up a lot of space, and I've already found Miles and Oliver curled up behind them on two different occasions today. 

I had my 26 week appointment today and made my next three appointments (30, 32 and 34....that's right, after the next appointment, I'm going every two weeks!) I have to make an appointment to take a blood glucose test in two weeks and then I have to have an iron test done (all standard) and that's about it for now. Baby Mc has a strong heartbeat and has been moving and kicking and all sorts of stuff this past week. It's pretty cool that e can now feel the baby moving and we can feel kind of where he is in my belly. For example, right now there is a smooth, flat and hard part around my belly button, so I'm 99% sure that's his back. When my belly is a little squishier, I'm pretty sure that his back is towards my spine and there's just more "empty" space, read: amniotic fluid, etc.

I finished (ha!) registering this weekend at Babies R'Us and Buy Buy Baby, since I had more time to think about the things we need/want and the space that we have to put them in. It's been much easier to visualize space now that we have an idea of what the office is looking like. I'm still trying to stick to the greens and yellows and browns and oranges, but there are some blue clothes in there as well. 

More later. For now, back to work I go. 

what's in a name?

a lot of people have been asking ian and i what we're going to name the baby now that we know it's a boy. it's a decision that we're not taking lightly; after all, he's had a life of having to repeat and spell his name, ("Ann? Eden?"), and half the time we end up giving my name at restaurants because it's so common. and speaking of which, i know what it's like to sit in a class and be referred to not only by my first name, but my last, just so that the teacher can differentiate between the three other little girls with the same name. 

so we're thinking long and hard about baby boy mcmichael's name and we'll tell everyone when he's made his grand appearance into this world. because there's also the very real chance that he'll show that beautiful little face of his and we'll say, "whoa...that kid is SO not a [insert name that Mom and Dad picked lovingly for him here]."

it's a BOY!!!!

we were SO excited to find out (almost right away) that we'll be bringing a baby boy home from the hospital come October. The doctor said he couldn't be any healthier and that he weighs 1.5 pounds right now (i knew ALL that weight wasn't mine ;) ) 

here are a couple of pictures from the appointment. the doctor took plenty!

Here he is saying "Hello world!" (his thumb is actually touching the top of his nose.) Look at those long fingers. I think he'll be some kind of a musician :)

See how the doctor marked this one:

Here's a profile shot (he's got a hand in front of his face, to the left)

22 weeks and counting

22 weeks today and feeling pretty good. ian and i made it out for a nice 4 mile walk yesterday morning and I think we'll try and keep that up throughout the pregnancy (maybe shorten it up a bit as i get farther along), but it was nice to get out and in the fresh air for a bit. we're going to find out if peanut's a girl or a boy on friday! can't wait!

21 week picture time

No, that's not a bowling ball. That's our baby :)

Dr.'s office went fine today. I'm heading back on some meds for my incredibly painful heartburn and hopefully that will give me some relief. Between that and my new bland food diet (see you later tomato sauce and pizza....:(....), hopefully my tummy will be feeling better. The doctor said, "you sure have a mover in there" as he tried to get the baby in one place long enough to hear a heartbeat. he likened it to trying to hear a fish in a fishbowl. it won't be so hard once baby gets bigger though. 

21 weeks

ian and i spent today registering for the peanut and both agreed that it was way more fun registering for a baby than it was registering for the wedding :) we're registered at buy buy baby (a store that we have down here and that you can order from) and babies r us. 

i have a doctor's appointment in the morning and then we've got 12 days until we know what we're having!!

i was able to do a short workout today and i think that helped my back problems a bit...i spent yesterday on the couch with heat and ice and had to miss a bbq up in baltimore :( oh well...i've got to go up to baltimore for a meeting this week and i need to be focused and ready for that....so resting was in order.

more tomorrow.

20 weeks!

we're halfway there! this weekend my mom was in town and we all went shopping at a couple of baby stores. peanut now has a crib (thanks mim and da!) and a dresser (thanks grammy!) and we have pretty much decided on the nursery theme :)

the baby is kicking quite a bit at some random times. mostly i can feel the kicks when i'm sitting at work or right after i eat. 

we've got another appointment next monday (june 1) and then we get to see peanut again (and find out what we're having!) on june 12. i can't wait to see how the baby is growing. judging from my size, peanut is plenty healthy.

19 weeks

tired. hungry. 

enjoying the nice weather. 

excited for my mom to come visit this weekend. 

not much else new to report.

here's the baby (kicking up a storm as i snapped this picture) belly. i took this picture in what will soon be peanut's room. once we clean it out. this weekend, perhaps?

peanut and mommy road trip

i'm heading up to philadelphia for the weekend to hang out with peanut's auntie julia and enjoy some quiet girl time before peanut's arrival in october.
i'm sure peanut's papa is looking forward to some bachelor time this weekend, too.
when i get back it will be 19 weeks already (almost at the halfway mark!). we'll find out the baby's sex (if it cooperates) on june 12. i know the baby's not even close to ready to come out, but I can't wait until october to meet our daughter or son. :)

Happy Mother's Day (18 weeks)

I'm 18 weeks today! Friday, we had an appointment with our doctor and got to hear peanut's heartbeat again. baby is moving around a little bit now...i can mostly feel movement when i'm laying still...or if i have anything with sugar in it (juice, etc.). then i normally feel a couple of quick kicks. 

happy mother's day to all of peanut's grandmothers-to-be and to all the mommies I know out there!

still 16 weeks

but this time, there's a picture. of me, new summer haircut, baby belly that just won't stop growing and a scary monster face. :)