Nana is here!

What a super fun weekend! Nana arrived on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with us for the Tampa baby shower, hosted by Megan Sullivan. The shower was so fun! It was so nice to see everyone! Baby Diff is going to be so incredibly spoiled, he or she received so many nice things! It was a very fun filled day. Sunday Chad, my mom, and I went to lunch at Crabby's in Clearwater Beach and then spent the rest of the day at Walmart, Target, and Babies R Us using our 10% off registry completion coupon. We now are fully ready for Baby Diff to come! Well, I shouldn't say fully ready, we have everything, but nothing is washed and everything is still in boxes, but we have it if we need it! There is even a path to get to the crib, although there is no crib sheet on there and the mattress is still in plastic, but we are getting there!

Checking off the "to do" list

Chad and I had a very eventful baby weekend! We are almost done with our showers, we have one more this weekend, and we were just piling everything in the baby's room. So on Friday we decided we needed to be able to walk in there! Chad helped organize things and cleaned out the closet a bit for baby stuff. We made a pile of things we have to exchange, but we are waiting until after our shower on Saturday.

Then yesterday we attended our baptism class at St. Mary's and even figured out a good time for the baptism to occur so Baby Diff's godparents, Uncle Billy and Aunt Megan, could make it! The church won't baptize a baby during Lent, so I was having a hard time figuring out the logistics to have the baby baptized and have the godparents in attendance, not to mention his or her grandparents. So, after getting Billy, Megan, and our schedules together we figured the best way for everyone to attend was to have it in Charlotte, NC on April 21st. It was very important to Chad and I that both godparents be at the ceremony, so that meant traveling! Elaine and Perry are able to come to Charlotte that weekend as well, we aren't sure about Stewart. We should be getting the okay from St. Thomas this week or next so we can go through with travel arrangements.

Yesterday evening Chad and I went on the St. Joesph's hospital tour. We learned all sorts of information and checked out the entire place. Some of the fear of the unknown has gone away! The nurse who took us on the tour told us exactly how our stay would go and walked us through a typical delivery. So, hopefully there will be little surprises when Baby Diff makes his or her appearance! The key things I passed on to our future visitors were visiting hours were from 7 AM to 9 PM, the hospital has Wi-Fi everywhere, and you can use your cell phones.

Thursday we meet with Dr. Wilde, the baby's soon-to-be pediatrician and we will also be dropping off the deposit for the daycare place as well. We are just cruising along on this "Baby To-Do" list!

Turn baby, turn!

Today was my doctor visit with Dr. Bray. She is super sweet and explains everything really well. She told me what to expect and look for in the next few weeks, since this was my 34 week check-up, this was the last of the normal routine in and out check-ups. Next time I go I will have an internal exam and a strep B test, she explained everything and answered some questions. She joked about my pregnancy diet, I'm still the same weight and it's awesome! Dr. Bray had some issues locating the baby's heart beat today, it probably didn't help that Baby Diff was kicking the machine off of my belly! Normally the heartbeat is found around my belly button or lower, but today she found it higher almost near my ribs. She said this is an indication that the baby might be in the breech position. The baby has time to turn and go head down still, but at my 36 week appointment if they aren't sure of the baby's placement they will do an ultrasound and we will figure it out from there. There are methods they can try to turn the baby if he or she stays in the breech position, it doesn't necessarily mean I will have a C-section (worst case scenario). So, keep your fingers crossed that the baby decides to figure it out and go head down! My next appointment is Friday, Feb 3rd with Dr. Young, Chad might actually be able to make this one!

Starting to pay for baby, this is really happening!

Today was my bi-monthly check up (that's right, every 2 weeks now!) with Mary Jane Dobson, the nurse practitioner. She was very sweet, very southern. She asked how the baby's new year and Christmas was, and that made me laugh. I still have not gained any weight, the nurse laughed and congratulated me for it. The baby is growing and the heartbeat is strong, 143 beats per minute. The 32 week appointment itself was really quick, the waiting took over a half hour, but everything is going great! My next appointment is at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, January 17th with Dr. Bray.

I paid for the baby's possible circumcision today, $350. If the baby is a girl they will refund the money in the form of a check, but they like to have the money up front just in case. She also told me they will submit the claim to my insurance and if they cover any of the $350 they will send me the difference in a check as well, so that would be nice!

Happy New Year!

It's the year of the baby! Happy New Year! This Friday (the 6th) I will be 8 months pregnant! I really can't believe it. Our Christmas break in Cleveland was fantastic! The car rides were not bad, especially since I limited my drinking. Everyone was pretty worried about my frequent bathroom breaks, but the baby and I did pretty well! Our first baby shower was Wednesday, December 28th at Aunt Cheryl's house. Our baby is so loved already! We had a wonderful shower and we received so many nice things! I was shocked that it all fit in the van we rented. Chad and I were able to get most of it back to Florida with us, my parents are bringing some of the smaller stuff with them to Boca in 2 weeks when I see them for my Boca baby shower.

I thought I was getting bigger in the belly and I know the baby is getting bigger because I'm starting to get just a little uncomfortable. However, when I came back to work everyone was filled with compliments that I really don't look like I'm showing at all. Some friends and family in Cleveland told me I look skinnier! (So maybe I haven't gained any of my 20 pound loss back yet!)

This pregnancy is really moving right along! I can't believe my due date is less than 2 months away! March 2nd does not seem as far away as it did in July. Now with the baby's room filled with all sorts of fun goodies, it makes it so much more real! I can't wait to meet Baby Girl (we still can't come up with a girl name, Chad likes Abigail and I like Nora) OR Landon Joseph!