She's HERE!

Turns out I never needed to go buy those teas, etc. that I was going to have to get to try to convince Wren to show up :)  Instead, I went into labor very quickly on my own!

Thursday morning we woke up, dressed for work, and started our day as usual. I had a "holiday lunch" at my school in which parents are invited and it's a pretty big deal for the parents and kids so I dressed up and was ready for my turkey and banana pudding! I definitely had a feeling that morning though and told Evan that I thought we shouldn't make the trip to Charleston for Christmas at this point (Wren would be at most 10 days old on Christmas day if she was born that morning) and also that I felt that we would meet her by the weekend.

At school, I was nesting all morning - I got grades put into the electronic gradebook, papers straightened up to send home, etc. I was definitely nesting. My doula, Rachel, texted me to tell me she had a very vivid dream of my labor to which I responded that I hoped it was vividly quick and painless! As lunch approached, many of the parents were very sweet and were coming up to me expressing their congratulations. I told a few of them that I had a feeling it wouldn't be long and that I may not be at school tomorrow, eventhough at that point I hadn't had anything more than the mild braxton-hicks contractions I'd felt all morning. 

We ended lunch, went out for a quick recess, then came in for SSR (30 minutes of silent reading). Rather than conference with the students as required, I spent that 30 minutes nesting some more. After SSR, we had writing and I was so excited to teach one of my favorite writing lessons. It was 1 o'clock at this point and as I began the lesson, I realized I was having a few stronger contractions. I did a quick teaching of the lesson and then allowed the kids to work independently while I hopped out of the room to make copies of morning work for the next day. Before the kids left for their specials (they last an hour and the kids go straight home afterward), I told them that I thought I may not be there tomorrow and we went over their routine for the next day. I dropped them off at specials and stopped in at my principal's office to tell her I was having contractions, was going home, and I needed them to find someone to cover my car duty.

I left school around 1:40, called Evan, called my Mom, and called my doula on the way out. By the time I got home at 2, my contractions were considerably stronger. Evan arrived home about 5 minutes after me and at 2:40 we decided it would be a good idea to call my doctor's office. Our nurse advised us to call back in an hour with another update, so we bided our time by straightening up Wren's room a bit, and packing the car. Oakes was going to be picked up from daycare by my cousin so we also got his overnight bag packed and put on the front porch for them.  By 3:30, we were ready to call the doctor's office again - my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and were getting more intense. They had us come in for a quick exam (rather than send us to the hospital for triage).

My last "belly shot" before leaving for the doctor/hospital.

We arrived at the doctor's office at about 4pm and were hooked up to a non-stress test to measure the fetal heart rate and the contractions for about 15 minutes. Once they established that we were having regular strong contractions, the doctor (Dr. R, the pregant one who is on-call on Thursdays and was not too excited about my Hand-Foot-Mouth due to her pregnancy) did my cervical check and I was 5cm dilated. We were on our way to the hospital!

At the hospital, we headed straight for L&D (I need to applaud Evan's speedy driving and superb non-valeted but up front parking!) and were ushered into our requested water room for birthing. I think it was my very first contraction in that room in which I leaned over a chair for support, and my water broke. With meconium. Again. The meconium was certainly different (less green than with Oakes' and more brown) and the nurses informed us that it meant a NICU team would be present. Boy, we knew those familiar words. This all happened at 4:45pm.

Our doula, Rachel, arrived moments later and the nurses hooked me up to another non-stress test to make sure Wren wasn't experiencing anything out of the ordinary. She was healthy and once they put in my hep-block for a possible IV if needed, I was allowed to labor freely thoughout the room. I began by laboring leaned over the birthbed but realized that tensed up my shoulders quite a bit so we then changed to me sitting on the birthing ball leaned over the bed.  They ran water in the tub for me (which again, I never got to even use - sigh - but the sound of the water running was pretty good white noise for me at that time) and I began feeling the urge to bear down with many of the contractions. Dr. R arrived soon after and informed me I was already 7cm. This was so hopeful to me as I knew that I it was moving quickly.

At 6pm, Dr. R checked me again and said I was 10cm, 100% effaced, and while Wren was STILL at station -2, I would be ready to push. I'm pretty sure my off-color cheer let everyone know that I was definitely ready to push! I was allowed to push while kneeling over the head of the bed, with my back to the room (very similar pose to how I was laboring) and we only had to push for about 25 minutes before Wren made her debut at 6:29pm. 

The birth was so different than Oakes. I felt a bit removed with my back facing everyone as I didn't actually see Wren arrive, though I felt it much more than with Oakes. They whisked her away to let the NICU team inspect her in the room and all was well - praise the Lord! I birthed the placenta and Wren was cuddled on my chest, finding her way to my breast.

The mother-baby unit was also a completely different experience than with Oakes as we weren't tethered to machines and when Wren cried, monitors weren't beeping. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep that first night and on the second day we actually were tied to monitors as Wren's bili-levels came back high.

So we are home now with some still high bilirubin levels. We've been to the pediatrician's office daily for checks and it's slowly coming down with the help of bili-lights and a bili-blanket. Since we are continuing to go down, we get a slight break from appointments and get to go back on Friday morning for our next bili check and hopefully we'll receive some great news.

On a side note, Oakes became potty trained over the weekend as he spent it with Oma and Opa and they were on a mission. :) Today was the first day he stayed in his training pants all day with no accidents!

Finally, I have to give a huge shout out to my most favorite person in the world, my husband. Anyone who knows him well knows he doesn't like to be in situations in which he doesn't have control. And labor/delivery is definitely one of those places. So from his speedy driving skills (and running yellow lights, to boot!) to his calming music he put on for me in L&D, he definitely deserves a "husband-of-the-year" award. Now he just has his next out-of-his-control challenge: infanthood.

One of Wren's very first photos.

(And a very informative sheet of notes in the background - so glad Evan got this shot!)

Our sweet girl, just a few days old.

40 weeks!

I've said it since the beginning of this pregnancy, I want to make it to my due date, maybe even past it, and here we are! It's both exciting and frustrating as I know my girl is fully developed and ready to be here, but I'm also impatiently waiting to meet her! (On a side note, I want to point out that Evan has said for quite a while that he couldn't see me making it to my due date...)

We had a great weekend this weekend, even though the full moon and lunar eclipse didn't bring out Wren. I ended up spending about 5 hours in my classroom on Saturday getting loose ends wrapped up and Evan spent that time at home finalizing and turning in his project and paper for his grad school class this semester (it is due Wednesday so we are glad it's out of the way!). We got to go out for Mexican with some friends Saturday night while Oakes was out of town so that was a nice treat and I also did a lot of bouncing on my yoga ball this weekend in hopes that Wren would bounce out. Oh well... Beyond that, I spent the weekend doing a million and a half loads of laundry, wrapping Christmas gifts, and cleaning the house. I'm not sure if we can really call it nesting as I never felt any "urge" to do these things; I think it's more that I was forcing myself to nest as I know that labor could follow that! :) So the house is really quite clean now, all of our laundry is washed and folded, the floors are vacuumed, and the grocery shopping is done. If Wren doesn't make her appearance soon, then this only means the house will have time to get dirty again - ugh!

Oakes, helping me bounce Wren down :) He's a cutie! 

Some delicious cookies Aunt Tina had made for us!  Thank you, Tina!

Oakes, with a happy mouth full of cookie! :)

Alright, now for the anticipated doctor's appointment update and belly shot:

Blood Pressure: 122/80 (seems a bit lower!)
Weight: -3 (total weight gain = +16 pounds)
Heartrate: 144bpm
The belly is measuring at 39 weeks [yay, I feared she was getting too big]
Dilation = 2+cm  
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 50% (slow progress!) 
Station = -1

So I've definitely felt some pre-labor progression happening with my body but nothing that huge (some braxton-hicks, etc.). Of course, my body isn't showing this, but that seems to be how I roll with pregnancies -- I imagine that if Oakes wasn't under stress during his labor, he'd probably have been late as well since I was progressing so slowly with his pregnancy as well.

Dr. C was much more rigorous with the exam today which I asked for. I figured I'd delay having my membranes stripped until next week so this was a pretty good compromise. We also went ahead and talked about induction, as Dr. C mentioned that the induction spots at the hospital can fill up quickly and he'd rather have me on the calendar and postpone or not need it, than have to try to fit me in later. Usually he schedules things on Wednesdays but he said he had 2 major surgeries next Wednesday so we looked ahead to Thursday, December 22nd as the date. Thursdays are also the day that his new Dr. on staff is on-call and I mentioned this to him, with regards to the Cocksackie (Hand, Foot, Mouth) virus and the fact that she's newly pregnant. He did say that he'd be there to deliver if need be (yay!) but I do feel a bit guilty about it. 

So... we still have our weekly appointment next Monday at 3:30 (unless Wren comes early) and our induction is scheduled for Thursday, December 22nd (unless Wren comes early). Believe me when I say that I'm on mission now.

The 40-week shot.

39 weeks

And we're back from the doctor's office. I was so hopeful that we'd have some progress, but alas, Wren is apparently very comfortable where she is and it looks like she's following her big brother's footsteps. Evan wisely decided to decline playing our fun guessing game of "how much have we progressed" so while I was hoping for 3cm and 80%, I was quite let down. At least someone is comfortable. ;)

Blood Pressure: 130/60
Weight: +3 (total weight gain = +19 pounds)
Heartrate: 168bpm
The belly is measuring at ?? weeks ***
Dilation = 2cm [still]
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% [still]
Station = -1 [but he said he was being generous with that - boo!]

***So we never found out how big my belly was measuring. This is how the conversation went when Dr. C was measuring me:
  Dr. C: "So remind me, you are due on Saturday?" (he puts away the tape)
  Me: "No, on Monday."
  Dr. C: "And how much did Oakes weigh?"
  Me: "8 pounds, 2 ounces, but you are scaring me... how big am I measuring, anyway?"
  Dr. C, chuckling: "Remember that boys typically weigh more than girls."
  Me, as he steps out to get the nurse for my cervical exam: "But you're avoiding my question..."
So we never found out, but I am hopeful that he's not telling me for my own peace of mind :)

Also, I'd like to think my 8lb weight gain in the past two weeks can be attributed to my swelling that has popped up. Speaking of swelling, we got to go to the hospital on Sunday morning as I was incredibly swollen on Friday and Saturday night and also had two instances of vision issues last week, so my doctor had us go in for a stress test (or something like that) where they just monitored me and the baby: heartrate for baby, contractions, and also my blood pressure every fifteen minutes. My blood pressure readings were 128/80; 124/71; 123/69; 115/72. All was good, but it truly wore me out as I was emotionally drained afterwards.

Dr. C also told me that he was a little more vigorous on the cervical exam to sort of strip my membranes, but not really. He said I'd be coming off the table if he did it fully and that if I make it to 41 weeks, we may just be experiencing that!

So we have a busy week this week - tomorrow is Evan's staff baby shower at school and mine is on Thursday. We also have my school staff party tomorrow night which we're planning on going to if all goes well.

39 Week Belly Shot:

38 Weeks

So we're back to reality from a long, much needed break. Our family thoroughly enjoyed the cabin and the stillness that it provides. Being at a place that isn't my house for a few days is a great way to make me relax (Evan always says I can't sit still so this gave me that opportunity). We also got to see all of Evan's family and Oakes got some play time in with his cousin. And to our surprise we also ended up stocking up on clothes for sweet Wren. Aunt Amy gave us a nice gift box with quite a few outfits and Uncle Dustin & family gave her a super-cute stuffed animal and some sleep outfits. We came back from the cabin on Friday afternoon so I was able to do the laundry and get all of her outfits in her drawers. I also went to K-Mart and picked up some roller shades which were super-cheap. I figure we'll try putting up one shade and see how it goes before we unwrap and tackle the rest. That will undoubtedly be Evan's job over the next few weeks. :) And to end our weekend, we took Oakes to the doctor on Sunday for another round of antibiotics as he has another ear infection.

We had our 38 weeks appointment today and it was quite the disappointing one. Not much change cervically and a five pound (!!!) weight gain -- must've been all that great food I was eating over Thanksgiving! I was really hoping for a little more dilation, even though I'm also hoping she waits until her due date to arrive, so I guess I can't be please either way, huh?

Blood Pressure: 104/62 [much better!]
Weight: +5 (total weight gain = +16 pounds)
Heartrate: 156bpm
The belly is measuring at 38 weeks (I'm 38 weeks)
Dilation = 2cm [still]
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% [still]
Station = -2 [still]

38-week belly shot

Oakes, kissing Baby Wren

37 weeks

Ooooooohhhh... Wren has been feeling like she's doing little corkscrew twists into my pelvic bone this week. Not too comfy. But - I have been sleeping much better and that's a huge plus. So I'll take the random twitches of pain for sleep. And heartburn? With Oakes it was only at night; with Wren it's in the mid afternoon each day. She'd better have a head full of hair. On a really really positive note, I've schedule my last prenatal massage (a 2-part birthday gift from Evan) for Wednesday morning and I am soooooo excited for this.

We got our confirmation from the hospital last week and are now good to go as far as not having to fill out paperwork between contractions. We also got news that since I'd been participating in nurse phone calls through my insurance company throughout this pregnancy, they are waiving our co-pay for the hospital! Whoo hoo! This makes me actually kind of like my insurance company right now (I won't hold my breath, my rates will probably go up again next year to pay for this, but for now I'm happy).

Appointment was today and I am negative for Group B Strep, which is good. I also have to go back in on Wednesday for another blood draw for a follow-up on my thyroid. I'm not sure if this is standard or not as I thought I was finished with all of my bloodwork, so I'll ask on Wednesday and will keep you all posted. Now for my stats:

Blood Pressure: 122/60 [we had them measure this before I stepped on the scale :)]
Weight: -1 (total weight gain = +11 pounds)
Heartrate: 168bpm
The belly is measuring at 37 weeks (I'm 37 weeks)
Dilation = 2cm :D
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% (still)
Station = -2 (Dr. C said it wasn't -1 yet, but it also still wasn't necessarily -2)

Here are the "37 Week" belly shots:

For kicks, I got this photo from Dan last night. It's a photo of toddler Evan holding infant Dustin (I think). Can you tell who our sweet Oakes resembles? And can you tell who Evan resembles? I'm pretty sure Oakes knows exactly how he'll look over his lifetime now ;)

And a last sweet family shot. We went to the Biltmore Estate on Sunday (gotta get some good use out of those yearly passes!) and decided to try to take a family photo in their kitchen garden. If you want to see the rest of the photos (Oakes even pet a goat!) go to our picasa site: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab=mq#photos/105260897615925465755/albums 

Nursery is f.i.n.i.s.h.e.d. (kinda)

We're about 98% done with the nursery.  WHOO HOO!!!!

We took the day trip down to Ikea last Friday and picked up our last things for the nursery, and after a few days of perfecting things, finding places for things to go, and doing some loads of laundry we can comfortably say that we're done.  All I have to do is sew on a few embroidered flowers onto the two red pillows and we need to look around for some light-blocking shades.  So that's the missing 2% and honestly if it doesn't get done before Wren arrives, I'm totally cool with it.

Here's a view from the double bed. This is the crib that Mom and Dad are loaning us until they'll need it in June when Tina moves out and takes their crib.

So this view seems a bit overwhelming with all of the color, but it's really a lot calmer in person.  We built a lot of the room around the rug and I absolutely LOVE the rug.  The bunting on the wall was added last minute but it totally works.  As for the duvet cover - it's way colorful and busy but will look great in here temporarily and will also look great in Oakes' room.  So while it's busy-looking in there now, it will be a LOT calmer in a few months when Oakes gets the bed and the futon moves in here (which is a dark frame and a cream cushion).

Another view but from in front of the closet door.  We ended up buying the door hanging thing like Oakes has because I love the one Oakes has SO much.  It's insanely handy when I'm cleaning up at night and need to remember to put something in Oakes' room in the morning.  So I just drop it in one of his pouches and it's right there when we go to wake him in the morning.

And a much calmer view from the double bed looking at the window seat and closet.

So here's a quick photo of me that we took yesterday.  I don't like that all of my belly shots on here are me in my yoga pants and dark tee, so I decided that I needed one of me in one of my cuter work outfits.

36 weeks

We both had the day off of school on Friday for Veteran's Day (happy Veteran's Day, Dan and Dad!) so we dropped Oakes off at school and then drove to Ikea, shopped, and returned in time to pick up Oakes from school. We wish we would have had time to visit some friends, but we were on a mission and on a time limit. So what did we buy? A rug, a door hanging thing, a few Christmas gifts for Oakes, and a duvet for the bed in Wren's room among some other smaller things. Oh, and we picked up a crib and mattress for Mom and Dad, but Wren will use it until they need it (Mom and Dad are going to have to buy a new one eventually as Tina will take the crib with her when she moves out in a few months, so until Oakes gives up his crib we will use this loaner for Wren).  We have a lot of it set-up but it's not photo-ready.  I'll post updated nursery photos by the end of the week though!

We also had our 36 week check-up today which began with Dr. C coming in and announcing that in his entire career, he'd never had a patient with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease!  So I'm a first for him and I guess it's a learning experience for all of us.  He hadn't received the paperwork from my ultrasound so hopefully we can all see that at next Monday's appointment, however since the ultrasound looked great, we don't think there will be any follow-ups to this ordeal.  Today's visit also included an internal exam and a Group B Strep test -- we're in the final stretch and these pelvic exams will be weekly from this point forward. 

Blood Pressure: 130/70

Weight: +4 (total weight gain = +12 pounds) -- It's a lot for 2 weeks, but Dr. C was happy.

Heartrate: 150bpm

The belly is measuring at 36 weeks (I'm 36 weeks)
Dilation = 1cm (I actually cheered "YAY" when I found this out!)
Effacement (thinning of cervix) = 40% (another cheer from me!)
Station = -2 (baby is typically at -3 throughout, then -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, and 3 would be birthing time!)

For some good measure, here is where I was with Oakes at 36 weeks:
Blood Pressure: 118/78 [much better than I am with Wren]
Weight: -1 (total weight gain = +31 pounds) [much heavier than I was with Wren]
Heartrate: 168bpm [this was Oakes' usual bpm]
Belly Measurement = 39cm [maybe because of the weight gain?]
Dilation = closed [we didn't "open" until the day before Oakes was born!]
Effacement = 60% [we stayed at 60% until the day before Oakes was born]
Station = -2

Now for the belly shots:


Cheesing it up for the camera - except Oakes actually has a mouthful of cheese...

 

The "36 week belly shot"



34 Weeks

Happy Halloween!


This past Monday marked our 34 week "birth" date and the belly is a big ole basketball.  Luckily, I haven't had hardly any feet swelling since my last appointment and I think this is due largely to the fact that I haven't had to be in a sitting position for very long (like car trips, etc.).  Yippee! 


So to update you on our lives:

• I finished out my target registry,
• Oma, Opa, and Aunt Amy stopped by for a nice visit and dinner on Saturday night,
• we did Halloween with a son who is no longer afraid of his doggy costume and quickly realized that by saying "trick or treat" he'd get candy :)  Also, Oakes has moved into the "big boy" class at school so the potty training has officially begun (rewarded with Halloween candy, of course!),
• Oakes had a doctor's appointment to follow-up on his ear infection and hand, foot, and mouth (all is good!),
• and we had our 34 week check-up today.  

We've also worked a bit more on Wren's nursery and with an unexpected package from Oma that arrived last week, we were able to add some diapers, wipes, a crib bumper, mattress pads, changing table cover, and a cute pillow to her room!  Oakes and I went through all of the "baby" toys this past weekend and filled a basket full of rattles and toys for Wren to play with when she arrives.  He also helped me begin to fill her nightstand with socks, burp cloths, and bibs.  I've got to say, Oakes has been quite the helper in preparing for Wren and he's super-cute about talking to her in my belly and giving her kisses each night!  His friend, Eli's, mom had her baby girl this past week and Oakes knows all about baby Abbie.  We got to have a sneak peek at her on Halloween and hopefully we'll spend some time over there over the next week or so to show Oakes that Eli is a big brother also.

So here are two belly shots from Monday and our appointment update from today!
Blood Pressure: 114/70

Weight: +1 (total weight gain = +8 pounds)

Heartrate: 150bpm

The belly is measuring at 33.5 weeks (I'm 34w 2d) so that's good. Wren is also not breech and Dr. R said she could even wiggle Wren's head back and forth through my stomach in the lower abdominal region so Wren was definitely in the "ready to launch" position. They also took my 2nd sample for my bloodwork, though the doctor said my numbers from the first one were great so there shouldn't be any need to worry.  Oakes went with us to the appt and got to hear both Wren's heartbeat and his own with the doppler!

Our ultrasound is scheduled for next Thursday, November 10th at 3pm.  And our next doctor's appointment is on Monday, November 14th at 4pm (we have a pelvic exam and our Group B Strep test). After that, we'll begin going weekly to the appointments - yikes! ;) We'll keep you all posted on any progress!

31.5 Weeks

Our doctor appointment from last week was rescheduled as they had some sort of training to attend, so rather than having a 30-week update, you all get a 31.5-week update!

Things have been crazy since my last post: Oakes turned 2 and we had a successful non-clingy birthday party.  He also had his 2 year-old check-up which was not so fun as he threw quite the temper tantrum.  Then a few days later he got pink eye and an ear infection so we've been recovering from that this weekend!  Overall, he's been incredibly pleasant through all of this (except the tantrum), so that's a plus.

Oh, and I also became an aunt again!!!!  Tina had baby Eva on Friday night around 8:15pm.  She was induced the night before as her blood pressure had been through the roof for two days in a row and the labor was long, but once things began, they progressed quickly.  Unfortunately, she had some major issues after the delivery and it was an incredibly stressful and scary time for my parents, who were in the birthing room with her the whole time.  But Tina and Eva are happy and healthy now and while it will take her a bit longer to recover, I have no doubt she'll be 100% in a few weeks!  Go Tina!!!!  We are headed to Charleston this weekend to meet Eva and spend some quality time with Tina.

As far as Wren goes, she's been happy and aside from giving a few crazy-hard kicks (I was bruised from one of them!), she's been doing great.  I've still had a few braxton-hicks contractions, but these go hand-in-hand with the amount of water I drink so I know the cause and I know the cure.  And... the ankle swelling has decreased!  So I'm definitely attributing it to the hot weather I got to experience in Charleston and am hoping that the heat and the swelling stays away for a good long while.  (please. please. please.) 

Evan, Oakes, and I participated in a 10k walk on Saturday and while I only completed half of it (let's be honest, this was a good amount for me and with how often I have to use the restroom, I'm surprised I made it that far!), we had a great time and the fall weather was gorgeous.  I have a field trip tomorrow which will also involve a lot of walking so I'm hoping that I feel just as good as I did at the 10k.

We went to Evan's school's Fall Festival this past Friday and ran into a bunch of his too-cute room moms who let me know that they are going to plan a baby shower for him and his students.  This meant that we have to register for some stuff, which is easier said than done.  I hopped on Target's website the other night and started a registry, but I think I'll actually have to go in there and zap items with the gun as the website is a pain in the rear to navigate.  So yes, we've got a registry started finally, but it's nothing to go and visit just yet. 

I also cleaned up Wren's room quite a bit on Sunday while Oakes went to play at my cousin's house.  The dresser is mostly organized and aside from some of the goods we have to go buy at Ikea, the room is more or less getting there.  Evan spent Sunday morning working on the frame for the artwork we bought.  He got the wood cut and the finish on it, now he just has to cut off the original metal latches for hanging it and get it attached to the frame.  Yippee! :)  He's come down with something nasty (strep?) over the past few days so this project is on hold until next week, most likely.  I promise to post pics of the nursery once things find their place in there.

Alright, now for the anticipated belly shot and doctor's office update:

Blood Pressure: 124/72

Weight: +4 (total weight gain = +7 pounds)

Heartrate: 142bpm
* Got my flu shot today!

I've felt pretty miserable today, waking with almost a pulled muscle in the right side of my belly.  The doctor did a pelvic exam (no worries, the cervix is still closed and very thick) and said it was most likely round ligament pain.  Ouch... it's made me miserable today.  Next visit is in 2 weeks, though I forgot my calendar so I'll have to call and schedule an appointment tomorrow.

Two belly shots, both taken at 31 weeks, 2 days.  The shirt-up is to prove that it's not just a basketball under my shirt and to let you know this hugeness that Evan is witnessing each day.











24 Weeks

Lots of stuff going on around here lately!
1) Converted Oakes' crib to a toddler bed for him in preparation for Bebe.
2) Converted Oakes' crib back to a crib as Mommy and Daddy weren't getting any sleep.
3) School started for Mommy and Daddy, which is always rather exciting.
4) Daddy found out he only has to take his capstone classes to graduate this May (yippee!).
5) Mommy has her Teacher-of-the-Year interview this week.
6) Oakes has had a much better time at "school" lately with no reports of biting or pushing and no more tears in the mornings!  Yay, Oakes!
7) Still haven't decided on a name for Bebe.

We're slowly but surely trying to work on Bebe's room.  We sent my bed frame home with my parents to use in their house when Tina moves out as it's entirely too big to use in a nursery.  So now we'll need to go buy a standard metal frame and we should be good to go with getting the nursery in shape.  I'm still thinking about painting the room and not sure what color.  I've also realized we'll have to buy a crib (see #2 above) so that means a trip to Ikea which also means that I can get a few other items I've had on my radar: duvet cover for double bed in Bebe's room, curtains for Bebe's room, etc.  Evan doesn't know this yet, so um, surprise!  I have been busy painting the blanket chest from the guest room white for Bebe's nursery.  I figure we'll use it for blankets for now and then when the kids get older, it can be a toy box for them. 

I went for my 24 week appointment today and all is good.  Took the glucose test: I didn't think it was all that bad with Oakes but I literally gagged drinking it this time.  That junk is n-a-s-t-y.  I really hope I passed (will find out later this week) so that I don't have to do it again.  For some reason though (and honestly, I don't know why), I'm feeling like I may not pass it.  Again, I have no real reasons to think this, but I just have a gut feeling that I'll be stuck doing the 3-hour glucose test.  And that just sounds like an awful way to spend a day.  Anyway, here are my other stats from the appointment:

Blood Pressure: 118/60 (still higher than normal, doctor didn't say anything though)
Weight: +2 (total weight gain = +2 pounds)
Heartrate: 156bpm

My plan by the next appointment (Monday, Sept. 19th) is to register with Mission Hospital as Dr. Cuellar reminded me today that I'm 60% through the pregnancy right now.  Yowsa!  That really puts this whole pregnancy time schedule into perspective.  I'll be 70% through by the next appointment... craziness.  Guess I'd better start getting my act together! 

On a side note, I'm planning on going to a consignment sale this Saturday and picking up a few items for Bebe girl and some more maternity clothes for myself. 

20 Weeks

It's a GIRL! We had planned to keep it a secret, but I just couldn't bear to not share our good news.  So Evan called his family and I called mine, then we made the facebook post that makes everything official. 

Baby girl doesn't have a name yet, so we'll continue to call her Bebe. And Bebe was most uncooperative during the ultrasound.  She kept her legs crossed most of the time which made it almost like a treasure hunt, trying to find a good position to view her girlie parts.  She also wouldn't let the technician see her cord insertion point (not a big deal, but she wanted to make sure everything was okay with that as well).  Bebe is sitting breech and has a beautiful heart and brain and strong little legs and feet.  We didn't get a great shot of her face, but that's okay because we'll be staring at her soon enough.  She's measuring right on target at 20 weeks and her estimated weight it 1lb 11oz.

Oakes has been a little terror all day today (happy birthday, Daddy!) and was incredibly hyper in the doctor's office, but overall he was pretty well behaved during the ultrasound.  I still don't think he is too aware of what is going on though.  In the car on the way to the appointment, Evan asked him whether he wanted the baby to be a girl or a boy and he did say "girl" (in his own understandable language).  So he at least knew what to expect there. :)

Blood Pressure: 130/80 (a bit higher, but my nerves were all crazy with just finding out the gender)
Weight: +6 (total weight gain = 0 pounds)
Heartrate: 162bpm

We have our glucose test next month, and other than that things are smoothly sailing for us and Bebe!  Here is our required belly shot (it's getting bigggggerrrrr...):