A Stint & Two Showers

Amniotic Fluid Level: 19-22.5

We had our Library Baby Shower Friday afternoon. Our cake spelled out Baby Daniel in building blocks and lots of our coworkers attended and generously spoiled us with great gifts!

Friday night, the whole crew came in town to visit for the weekend - Mom got in Friday afternoon in time for the Library shower; Justin's mom got in about 6:30 p.m. and my Dad, stepmom and brothers got in around 7:30 p.m. It was a real joy having everyone here - not to mention good practice for D Day - and we all had a great time.

Saturday, while all the girls were shopping the boys managed to pick up two pieces of the nursery furniture - the crib and the bottom of the hutch. That evening, we had our Lubbock Baby Shower where our cake was a mountain lake scene with elk and evergreens and we played a really cute game where we had to think of adult animal names based on animal baby names (i.e., a baby joey is an adult kangaroo). My Dad won but I came in a real close second (thanks to all he taught me)!

By Sunday morning, Justin, Dad and my little brothers had Baby Daniel's crib assembled - it was really sweet having all of them build it together. Justin also built a little "outhouse" to go in the nursery so that we can hide all of our network cabling and switch.

We visited First Baptist Child Development Center this week - we liked the security and the space in the classrooms but we're not too certain about the curriculum.

At our second childbirth education class, we watched another explicit video on coping with labor pain - which I cried through again - and learned two new breathing and relaxation techniques. I again asked for the epidural sign-up list.

Cabin Fever

Fundus Height: 32 cm
Amniotic Fluid Level: 25

Justin bought the wood for the nursery cabin and kept himself busy all day Saturday building it from scratch. Come Sunday, he was putting the finishing touches on the structure - lamp posts included! - and installed a new overhead light to match the room's theme. Check out Baby Daniel's Nursery Cabin - we're in the hungting lodge now!

Earlier this week we attended our first night of childbirth education class. We watched a very explicit video on natural childbirth and I cried through the entire thing because it looked so traumatizing. I obviously won't be able to handle the au naturel approach to meeting our son. I asked for the epidural sign-up list as soon as class was over. We also learned our first breathing and relaxation techniques which was fabulous for getting my mind off that horrific video.

This week, Justin was finally able to feel Baby D's hiccups - he was amazed at how clearly he could feel 'em. I told him try concentrating on something or sleeping while those are going off inside you!

We're still going back and forth on the name. We even flipped a coin - Paxton won - but Justin said I cheated somehow. Looks like we'll be waiting 'til we actually meet the little tyke to decide on his name for sure.

Pregnancy Sympathy Gone Too Far

Amniotic Fluid Level: 22-23

It's not uncommon for husbands to feel the same kinds of aches and pains that their wives feel during pregnancy. Some husbands feel nauseated, some get back aches and some even put on weight.

Not my husband. He skips all the relatively easy-to-relieve symptoms and jumps right in to labor.

Tuesday night at 8, Justin began having severe lower back pain. He paced all through the house, panting, beating his head on the wall and on the verge of crying for two hours before I was able to talk him in to going to the ER. The area he complained of pain, and how the pain kept coming and going, made me think he had a kidney stone.

By 10 p.m., we were at University Medical Center's ER. They got him right in for a CAT Scan and confirmed that yes, indeed, he had kidney stones. Two to be exact and he'd already passed them both through his kidney and had them on their way to his bladder. For the last two hours or so, he'd been experiencing the equivalent of labor pains without an epidural!

Unfortunately, we weren't registered to the ER until about an hour later and once we were moved to an ER room, he had to wait another 15 minutes or so, pacing and banging his head on their walls in severe pain, until they finally gave him some morphine around midnight.

There I sat and he slept for the next three-and-a-half hours until a room opened and he was admitted to the hospital. At 4:45 a.m., we were calling it a night and I curled up next to him in his hospital bed.

The next day, they flushed him with fluids trying to get the stones to move down into his bladder but determined with an X-ray that they were lodged in the narrow part of his ureter. It's no wonder - one of the stones was 6mm which is the cut-off size that people can pass on their own. Justin's Mom, Jene, got to the hospital by 1:30 p.m. and by 5 p.m., he was going in to surgery so that they could laser the stones by taking a scope up through his bladder and into his ureter. He was back to his room by 8 p.m. and we were home by 10 p.m.

We slept 'til 3 p.m. the next day. I had a nonstress test but Grandma Jene went with me so that Justin wouldn't feel like he had to. She and I got to see Baby Daniel open his eyes and hiccup and she even got to hear his heartbeat!

Friday, Justin wanted to make the push to Meridian so that we could attend my youngest brother's graduation (congrats, Roo!) and so that we wouldn't have to cancel our second baby shower. I gave him 'til Abilene to get his pain under control or we were going to turn around. I drove all but an hour of the way and couldn't believe we made it, but we did.

Our "metroplex family and friends" shower was a huge success and a real treat. We were able to see and visit with friends we hadn't seen in a very long time and we got lots of stuff from our registries and even some handmade special touches! My grandmother, Great Mema, surprised me with a glider and ottoman for the nursery!

So, after all the drama and pain, Justin actually began feeling better as the weekend went on. I, however, began to suffer from swelling feet. I HATE how fat my feet look and especially how jiggly gross they feel when I walk. I keep telling myself I'm fortunate - I could've had to experience swollen ankles and feet as early as the second trimester.

Put a Name to a Face!

Fundus Height: 31 cm

Wow this week was super busy and incredibly eventful - our first shower, our fourth anniversary, our first picture of Baby Daniel's fully formed sweet face, our first nonstress test (scary!), a party and a completed Lucy Guest Room!

Our very first baby shower was in Doak Conference Center on the Texas Tech Campus with our colleagues and friends from the Division of Student Affairs. The hostesses (Amanda Moreno, Amy Richarte, Janis Haney and Tiffany Enderson) did such a lovely job on getting it all together. We had the cutest cupcake cake and the most creative receiving blanket and teddy bear decorations!

Our appointment with Dr. Owen went well - everything is still right on track. However, our ultrasound appointment with Dr. Atkinson was a different story. Everything was going along smoothly: cervix wasn't dilated and looked good - check; placenta was healthy and its placement was good - check; Baby D's heartrate was good and his weight was on track (he was just 3 oz. shy of 4 lbs.; they're guestimating he'll weigh 7 lbs. at birth) - check.

We were squealing with delight and amazement at being able to see his adorable face - he looks to have full, chubby cheeks; a cute, little, round nose; and pouty little lips. We were also laughing in astonishment at his little boy ways...already! Justin wanted a second confirmation that Baby Daniel is indeed a little boy so the tech said, "I'll prove it to you."

She angled to get a shot of his parts and busted out laughing saying, "Oh
yes, you've got a typical little boy here." We had a crystal clear shot of his scrotum but couldn't see his other business because, well, the little tyke had his fingers wrapped around it.

Wow, little boys. Ladies, we have clear-cut evidence that little boys are touching their business from the womb to the tomb. Justin Daniel, you're going to have to talk to your son!

There we were, smiling, laughing and beaming with excitement and pride when the tech said something didn't quite measure up. Well, actually, it measured up too much. Turns out, my amniotic fluid level was a smidgen too high. While it's normal for the fluid to peak around this time in pregnancy,

they went ahead and moved me directly from the ultrasound room into a nonstress test room to gauge Baby Daniel's heartrate with his movement and to see if I was having contractions.

When the fluid level gets too high, the uterus thinks it's time (because it can only hold so much) and can go in to pre-term labor. Even though Baby D would be fine if he came now, we'd like him to be able to hang out a little longer.

The nonstress testing involves a couple belts that hold monitors to my belly - one to monitor the baby's heartrate and one to monitor contractions - and about 20 minutes of just sitting there.

During this first test, Baby Daniel's movement and heartrate looked great, but sure enough, during the last 30 seconds I had a small contraction.

I felt it when it happened - just like the Braxton contractions I'd been feeling for a few weeks now - nothing major and no pain. However, to stay on top of the fluid levels and the frequency of contractions, Drs. Atkinson and Owen decided to schedule me for a weekly ultrasound and nonstress test.

I have to admit that it was pretty scary the way they moved me right into the testing but I understand they're taking preventative measures.

It's much better to stay on top of the fluid levels and the contractions in order to take preventative measures to keep my body relaxed and not thinking about labor before we get down the road of full contractions where there's no turning back.

I feel fine and Baby D seems to be doing fine so we'll just keep trucking along. Hey - I'm not going to complain about getting to see him weekly in our ultrasounds!

Somehow, around all the excitement, Justin finished the Lucy Room painting by getting the Pink Flutter glaze on, doing the dragging technique for the pinstriped look and painting the shelf and trim in Acoustic White. Voila! Time to decorate! :)

With all we had going on during the week, we didn't have time to formally celebrate our fourth anniversary. We both were totally fine with this since we had so many other things to do - there was plenty of excitement as it was.

Mom got in Friday afternoon for our long Memorial Day weekend visit! We spent the entire day Saturday setting up the Lucy collection on the new shelf. Trust me - this was a feat for the two most symmetrical people in the world - we went way outside our boxes but got every piece of the collection up!

We had to take a timeout from decorating Sunday morning for my Pretty in PJs and Mary Kay Party that I held over brunch. After the girls left, we finished with the Lucy Room decorations by hanging the signs on the wall.

It's truly a breathtaking room - Justin nearly outdid himself on the shelf and the painting and Mom and I made the collection look better than it ever has before!

After seeing everything in place, I've decided not to do the irridescent hearts and polka dots on the wall. The room is absolutely perfect right now and I think adding this element will be overkill.

30 Weeks & Countin' Kicks

To round off an already nice, round 30 weeks, Justin checked off the floating Lucy Room shelf - construction completed with the installation of the moulding and sanding down! - and also managed to get all three coats of Pink Ribbon on the walls.

His goal is to have the room painted, the desk and bed moved in and the computer set up by next weekend so that Mom and I can work on decorating while she's here for the long Memorial Day weekend.

While he was busy constructing and painting, I tried to steer clear of the paint fumes by keeping myself busy buying the Lucy Room's new nightstand and bedding. :)

I found a modern, white nightstand to go with my new desk and I'm doing a simple, solid red bedspread and dust ruffle for the daybed
with pink, cheetah sheets.

Won't our guy friends just love staying in the new Lucy guest room!

We made an impromptu trip to Target where I found curtains for the Lucy Room (a white polka dot sheer to go behind another sheer that fades from white to pink) and Justin even stumbled across a lamp, pillow and night light that will go perfect with the hunting lodge theme for Baby Daniel's nursery!

A couple weeks ago, I had to begin counting Baby D's kicks or movements - a standard log that all pregnant women keep from the 28 week on. Twice a day, I have to count at least 10 kicks or movements within an hour's time.

I can tell when I'm on the move too much because he's slower to reach 10, but so far, on average, he reaches his goal within 15 minutes.

If he doesn't have at least 10 movements within a couple hours, that's when we call the baby doctor.

As he grows bigger, his movement will naturally slow down because he won't have as much room to stretch, kick and punch. I have to admit, I don't look forward to the worry that those days will bring as he's pretty active now and seems to always have been as far as I can remember being able to feel him.

Day Cares, Registries & Mother's Day!

Height of Fundus: 29 cm

This week, Justin managed to complete the core construction and installation of the Lucy Room's floating shelf. All that's left is the moulding but even now it's exactly what I envisioned and is going to be just perfect for the Lucy collection. He is so incredibly handy and talented when it comes to construction and remodeling projects like these - he simply ceases to amaze me.

We had an appointment with Dr. Owen and everything is right on track. We also

toured the Child Development and Research Center (CDRC) on the Texas Tech Campus - man what I'd give to have Baby Daniel there when it's time for me to go back to work.

It is truly the ultimate in daycare. Alas, we're on the year-long-average-wait waiting list and are keeping our fingers crossed that something comes open sooner than later. In the meantime, we'll check out some of Lubbock's other daycare facilities.

We added a "fun" registry to our list - My Cup of Tea. This is a local store that actually

provided the inspiration for the hunting lodge theme we're doing in Baby D's nursery.

This registry was lots of fun, not near as stressful as the other registries, because it has more cutesy, decorative items than the functional items on our Target and Babies 'R' Us registries. ;)

All the registering must've spurred Justin's shopping bug because

he came home with his first purchase for his baby son - a Nalgene bottle with a sippy lid!

Now Baby D will have a bottle like his dad - it's super cute!

Mother's Day rolled around and I was so very surprised, and touched, to receive a Mother's Day card from Just. I didn't think it was appropriate to celebrate Mother's Day just yet but his card and the thoughtful texts, e-mails and calls from our family and friends really stirred the mommy-to-be in me.

A Lesson from the Baby Boy & Contractions Called Braxton

This week has been another week of "firsts" for me and Baby Daniel. Just when I thought we'd overcome the nausea and vomiting, Baby D taught me a lesson I won't soon forget.

It all began with lunch at one of my and Justin's favorite local spots - Sazon. I had my regular - chicken fajita nachos with all the fixins' including black beans and rice...yummy! We sat down to eat and

I noticed that my regular was more spicy than usual, but, not being able to abandon my favorite meal from this place, I kept eating and chugging the Sprite.

As soon as I made it back to my office, Baby D let me know just how much he did not appreciate that spicy food. I lost every bit of it and got incredibly hot...so hot, I couldn't cool down.

By the time I got Justin out of his meeting with some frantic text messaging,

I was so weak I didn't know if I'd make it out of the building.

Thankfully, I did, but Baby Daniel seemed super pissed.

He was pushing out, hard, on my belly with anything and everything he had.

When we got home, I vomited a couple more times but finally cooled off underneath the hi-speed spinning ceiling fan. I managed to eat some dry toast and then slept like a log for three hours.

When I woke up, I realized that was the first of many lessons learned I would experience with our baby boy.

The other development of the week was my first sensation of contractions. Now don't panic - according to my pregnancy book these

contractions, called Braxton Hicks Contractions, are perfectly normal at this point in the pregnancy and it's simply my body's way of practicing for labor.

I felt 'em a couple times during the week, mainly at night as we were watching TV, and all they feel like is a tightening sensation in my stomach. No pain like cramps or gas cause, but definitely a balling up feeling. From here out, I just have to pay attention that they're not persistent or intense and continue business as usual.

Saturday we drove out to Lake Alan Henry with our friends, the Haneys, and had a trucknic (can you believe that there are no picnic tables out there?). It was nice driving around in nature and being by the water again. I couldn't help but get excited about all the lake activities I experienced as a kid that we'll get to share with Baby D. :)

Sunday Justin made lots of headway on the Lucy Room shelf while I swapped out my winter and summer wardrobes. Maybe after he finishes with his Lucy and nursery construction projects he'll add on to our closet for me!

Making Room for...Lucy?

Tuesday of this week, Justin began cutting and installing the first shelf for the "new" Lucy Room. He's building a floating shelf from scratch that will line the upper perimeter of the room's three walls...like a crown. :)

We went back and forth on the type of shelf we were going to install - floating or bracket - and whether or not we were going to buy shelves or if Justin was going to build them himself.

Of course, I think the appeal of buying new toys - uh, I mean tools - had a lot to do with his decision.

No matter though - I'm so thrilled that Justin is willing to put such time, hard work, skill and craftmanship into my very own custom-made shelves for the Lucy Room.

We also decided on the Lucy paint colors and faux technique.

The colors are, naturally, Pink Flutter and Pink Ribbon. We're going to do a technique called dragging to give a pinstriped looked on all the walls and then we're going to use translucent, irridescent glaze to paint hearts and polka dots scattered here and there and every which direction.

Mom came in this weekend and we did a little belated birthday shopping. We purchased my new desk for the Lucy Room and also ordered the nursery furniture! My new desk and chair are super neat and I'm so excited about getting everything in both rooms set up and decorated.