Furniture and Balance Born Childbirth

We finally made some decisions about furniture. We have decided to do somewhat of an antique feel for the nursery. All the furniture is antique black, below are some pics (but they are in white)...

We have also decided on a fabric for the glider, it is a sage baby toile - so cute - we are really excited about it! We're going to order it this weekend so it comes just after Christmas (which I can't wait to decorate for)!

In other news, we have been attending a birthing class called "Balance Born Childbirth." The first three classes focused on pregnancy, breastfeeding and bringing home baby - the last five classes are all about labor, what to expect, pain management, etc. We have decided to try for a completely natural birth - so we need all the pain management tips we can get! Overall the class is good, we really like the teacher and most of the parents are all about natural child birthing/raising, so it is nice to hear what other people are doing and planning on doing. I will enter my third trimester in 2 days - wish is crazy! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by, but I am starting to get anxious to actually meet our little boy. I have a feeling I will be ready before my actual due date, but we will see! We will post new belly pics soon. We had to buy a new computer (the old one finally died); last night I went to load new pics and we realized the card reader doesn't fit - just another thing to add to our long list of purchases recently! :)

100 Days...

As I logged on to update the blog, I noticed that we only have 100 days to go before we meet our little one (although I am still convinced he will come early!). I can't believe how quickly my first pregnancy has flown by! We have so much left to do before Mini-Beast comes home! We have picked out furniture (90% sure), but we can't decide on a nursery theme and bedding.

We have also been spending a lot of time researching baby products and choosing things we would like for our baby. After creating registries at Target, Babies'R'Us and Pottery Barn Kids, we decided that doing an online registry would be a more complete list (and better prices) of what we would like. We are registered on Amazon.com, you can view our registry HERE. If you have any suggestions or comments about products, please let us know!

Finally, the name decision - we have made no progress! It is such a big decision and we want to choose the perfect name that means something special to us but still sounds somewhat normal. We have several baby name books and hopefully we will have something before we head to the hospital!

Little Boy!!

We found out last month that Mini-Beast is a boy! We are so excited (Bradley is more relieved than excited)! We already have a good little set of clothes going - he is going to be very stylish (and for the most part - eco friendly). We have not chosen a name, and I have a feeling we will head to the hospital with no idea what we call our little one - but we are working on it. We have three baby name books and take them with us every time we go out to eat.

During the ultrasound we also learned that everything looks normal, Mini-Beast is healthy! Currently, he is breech and facing my back, so we are hoping he does a few flips before he gets too big. Below are a few pictures from our recent ultrasound.

His little profile...

Baby feet...

His little boy parts...

Holy Crap I'm Pregnant!

I started this blog so I could keep family members and friends updated about the pregnancy - but I haven't been that good about posting - sorry! Hopefully the last four months I will post much more often!

We have been busy having lots of fun lately! We recently got back from a 12 day trip to California. It was amazing! We went for Travis and Harmony's wedding - which was beautiful! The first couple days in CA we spent time with the Weber family at their home. They are so sweet - we felt like honorary members of the family! On our first night, as I was getting ready for bed, I looked in the mirror (it was one of those full closet door mirrors) and thought "holy crap I am pregnant!" I felt like my stomach popped on the plane because when I boarded in Louisiana I didn't have that stomach! Bradley had fun poking at it and admiring my new look. He is getting more and more excited as the days pass - it is so cute! The below picture (behind the Pepperdine Chapel) is not my favorite - it was early in the morning and I was squinting - but it does adequately show my expanding belly!


We spent the next day hanging out in Santa Monica on 3rd Street. I forgot how busy California is - but is was great! Bradley's mission of the day was to ask people about their stroller experiences. On more than one occasion we would say, "where's Bradley?" After searching for a minute, we would always find him engaged in deep conversation with some woman with her baby. His "market research" led to another purchasing decision. We are getting a BOB Revolution. This stroller has great reviews, acts as a jogger and has real suspension, which is a necessity on New Orleans roads.

I also got to spend a day hanging out with Christi! So good to catch up! We also spent time sailing in California - it was amazing! Bradley and I would love to take up sailing! Travis has a license and belongs to a club, so you can just check boats out - it was a blast. We saw one dolphin and got pretty close to a sea lion. After all the fun, we had wedding duties - which were also fun because we got to spend time with Travis and Harmony! We moved Harmony from her Pasadena apartment to Travis' place in Malibu. I should say the boys moved Harmony - I could only help with packing! :) We also made programs and got all the wedding stuff ready. On the day of the wedding, Bradley did all the groomsmen stuff, while I helped decorate and coordinate all the wedding to-do's. Harmony and Travis had asked me to be the coordinator, which I thought would just entail telling people when to walk down the aisle - it was a bit more complicated - but I had a blast. At the reception, I got to sit next to Tim and Jan Willis. It was so much fun to catch up with them - and we found out Dr. Willis is coming to New Orleans in Nov. for the SBL conference, so he is coming over to our place for dinner! Overall the wedding was great - but exhausting! The happy couple...

On our last day in California, we were able to meet John, Sarah, Matthew and Abby for some fun at Sea World. It was so good to see them - I wish we lived closer to them because we also have such a good time hanging out! Abby is getting so big - she is even eating solids! Mathew is becoming such a good little talker! We were sitting in front of an aquarium and he asked me what the baby in my belly's name was - it was super cute! Sarah had told him earlier that day I was having a baby. I told him we didn't have a name yet. I asked him if he thought the baby was a girl or a boy, he responded, "babies are girls." Sea World was great - but another very long tiring day! As we were saying good bye to everyone, Matthew said, "let me know when that baby comes out and what it's name is." He and Abby are going to be such cute cousins! Here are a few pictures of the Sea World fun...

Our First Scare

This past Monday we experienced our first pregnancy scare. I woke up with a weird pain in my chest. It was not a sharp pain, just a weird achy feeling near (what felt like) my heart. I continued getting ready for work, trying to ignore the pain. As the morning continued I became more and more aware of the pain. As a result, I began getting nervous and worked up about the situation, so I decided to call my doctor's office just to make sure this was a normal feeling. When I called and explained the situation, the nurse put me on hold and called my doctor on her cell, when she came back she said I needed to go immediately to the ER, my doctor would call ahead. At this point I got really upset. I had a bit of a panic attack, making the pain worse and I couldn't catch my breath. Bradley did his best to keep me calm and reassure me it was nothing as we drove to the hospital. When we got the ER, they took me right back and did an EKG and blood oxygen test - both came back normal. The ER doctor, which was very sweet (he could tell I was really nervous), explained that he thought I might have chest inflammation from a previous cold, but they couldn't do anything to confirm or treat it without hurting the baby. He also explained some other rare, more serious possibilities, but said I should be fine unless it persists for a couple days or gets worse. They also checked the baby's heat beat (which I think they did just to make me feel better) - which was also good. SO - I am fine! :) The pain went away yesterday and we still have no idea what it was! All the body changes and new experiences are so stressful - it's hard to know which are normal and which are not!

Updates

Last week we had our doctor's appointment. Minus waiting - for a long, long, long time - everything went well. Here are a few highlights... I have been feeling bad, because I gave in and ate chocolate - nutella actually, i was all worried that I had eaten too much and decided that I would confess to the doctor and make sure everything was okay. As we were waiting in the front room with other expectant mothers, one came in drinking a can of coke and the other smelling of cigarettes, maybe the chocolate isn't that bad I thought. When I mentioned it to my doctor she laughed and said I was fine. Apparently, I need to be eating more anyways, I have lost 6 pounds since my last appointment - which is hard to believe with my growing gut. The doctor says that is normal in the first trimester and that I will gain it all back soon. We got to here the heartbeat, it was so loud! The doctor says it is strong and everything sounds good. I was kind of sad we couldn't listen longer. Finally, we found out that we can't find out the sex of the baby until 22 weeks. We are waiting until then because we have a history of heart disease in the family, and want to make sure the baby's heart is fully developed and functioning normally. The doctor told me to let go of my need to know the sex, she said sometimes the baby doesn't cooperate and you won't be able to find out - she obviously doesn't know me that well! :) I think it would be fun to be surprised by the sex, but I want to be all prepared and have everything ready for a little girl or a little boy. I guess we will see if the baby let's me!

On another note, I got the okay to fly to California in September for the Hill-Weber wedding (YEAY)! I will be about 4.5 months pregnant for the trip. I am a little worried about potty breaks - I have to pee a lot! What if I have to go when we are taking off or landing? Does anyone have any tips about flying pregnant?

Baby Bump or Beer Gut?

Today I broke down and bought my first maternity pants. I am in that awkward stage where I don't look pregnant, I just look like I have a beer gut. I feel like wearing a shirt that says, "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant!" Apparently this feeling is normal; I googled this phrase and found this shirt. My pants are uncomfortable, but all my skirts still fit pretty well, I am hoping they last through most of my pregnancy.

Other updates, I think I have made it though the morning sickness phase. I have been feeling great the last few days! Which is wonderful, but sometimes I get worried because I don't feel pregnant. I am looking forward to having a defined bump, just to know for sure something is going on in there.