It's been a few weeks since I've blogged because I have been a very busy mommy.  Kaylee is three weeks old today.  I can't believe how fast time is already flying by.  I see her changing every day and can't seem to come up with a way to slow things down.  Our first couple days at home were pretty rough of course.  A tired mommy and baby plus late night feedings and recovering from delivery made us both a little stressed.  Dustin has been so much help and very patient with my constantly changing emotions.  We are all finally settling in and figuring things out.  We are so thankful for all the visitors and thoughtful gifts we have received.  Our family and friends have been such a huge help and their advice has been priceless.  We hope you all  have a wonderful holiday season and we'll see you soon!

Sweet Little Kaylee,

In three days (or something close to that hopefully) you will arrive in this world. I already know that you are special and I have not even met you yet. You are our first child, and we are so excited to see your beautiful face. Our brief peeks into your world are just not enough anymore, I am ready to hold you with only a blanket separating us and to see your beautiful smile.

We have already formed a bond. I have seen pictures, heard your heartbeat, and received many kicks to my ribs. And yet you are a mystery to me. I don’t know who you will look like, whether or not you will have your dads hair or my eyes. I don’t know what your personality will be like, what your favorite toy will be, or what you‘ll be when you grow up. And still I fall in love with you more each day. I love those little feet that are constantly dancing across my stomach. And that little butt that is sitting just under my ribs making it hard for me to breathe. I never imagined I could love you this much already. 

It has been such an amazing journey getting to know you these past nine months. At times I have felt that my body has been taken over and I have no control. I treasure the feeling of your movements and the blessing it is to have a tiny life grow inside of me. I am going to miss having you all to myself. When I am exhausted or achy, I remind myself why I feel this way and try to be thankful for every moment. You seem to think bed time is playtime and you get to really moving around when we are riding in the car. I already feel like you are a daddy’s girl. When he talks you usually respond. Of course you do that when the dog barks too. :)  I can’t wait to see your daddy holding you in his arms. I can’t wait to watch you sleep. I can’t wait to hear your noises and see you learn. I just can’t wait. 

Little one, I love you with all of my heart already. You are a blessing from God and you have so many friends and family waiting for your arrival. Our lives already revolve around you. Getting ready for you, cleaning and organizing for you, shopping for you! Although I am tired and wobbly, and ready to see the face that I can only imagine right now, I will patiently wait for you (for a few more days).

Love, 

Mommy

This is it!  The home stretch.  I feel that we have waited so long for this moment and at the same time that it has come so quickly.  The doctor plans to admit me to the hospital Wednesday night and induce Thursday morning.  I am so ready to meet this little one, but I can admit that now I am SCARED!  We are going to be responsible for this miniature person.  We are bringing her into this big, scary world and now we have to do our best to protect her.  I will keep you updated (or mom will for me)!!  Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers these past few months.  We are so blessed!

Last Friday's doctor appointment was pretty uneventful.  She checked my cervix and I am still at one cm.  I am getting anxious and ready for this part to be over with, but I know she needs to be in there a little longer.  I am pretty much a zombie these days.  Sleep is almost impossible due to frequent visits to the bathroom, a massive stomach, leg cramps, back aches…..you get the point.  Also I have a super protective husband that gets nervous when I don’t wake up often enough, so he wakes me up to make sure I’m alright.  This was cute the first couple times, now it is very annoying!  I love the man, but I NEED sleep!  I was counting on these last couple weeks to sleep before Kaylee starts keeping me awake all night.  We have a very busy week scheduled.  Between Dustin and I we have four doctors appointments, three birthday parties, one hair appointment, and our normal work schedule.  Hopefully she'll wait until next week to make her appearance! :)

We are finally finished with the nursery.  We have the dresser and closet loaded with tons of pink clothes!  We have cutesy things hanging and sitting around everywhere.  And she has two baskets of shoes ready for when her feet are big enough!  This little girl is SO spoiled.  

This morning was my 37 week checkup. My bp was 102/62 and Kaylee's heartbeat was very good still.  I love hearing from Dr. Litherland that my weight is EXCELLENT!  :)  I am dilated 1 centimeter and my cervix is soft.  That doesn't mean too much at this point except that my body is getting ready, yay!!!  They gave me my flu shot today as well.  I have never had one and am not looking forward to being sore later.  I have enough aches and pains already.  The end is in sight though.  I am officially considered full term now, so Kaylee can come any time. Although my body is ready and she is ready, my house is not.  We have never been such procrastinators!!  We can't seem to get anything finished.  I am so tired and Dustin is tired when he gets off work.  This weekend it is supposed to be rainy and yucky outside, so that means we have no excuse not to stay in and get Kaylee's nursery finished.  Wish us luck!! :)

I saw Dr. Litherland again today.  We are starting to spend quite a bit of time together.  It is very reassuring to hear that things are going alright.  I went in with quite a few questions today.  I think since I am getting so close to my due date, I am starting to worry more.  So here is what she told me…My BP is 106/68,  Kaylee's heartbeat was 160, she hasn't dropped yet, my cervix is still closed (TMI?), she isn't worried about the amount of amniotic fluid-it just makes taking measurements a little harder, my weight gain is still going great, and she estimates Kaylee's weight at 5.5lbs.

Kaylee is still super active.  I don’t know how she finds room in there to do somersaults, but she does.  I am getting so big that it is really hard to get comfortable.  I can stand for a bit and then have to sit down for awhile.  Then that starts to hurt, so I stand again.  I am starting to keep Dustin up at night as well.  I guess we are getting some training in for when she gets here.  I still have one fat foot that grosses everyone out-maybe I can work that into a halloween costume.  My hips are killing me and I am eating Tums like candy.  :) 

Dr. Litherland gave me the go ahead to go to St. Louis tomorrow.  I am excited to get out of Springfield one last time before she gets here, but sort of dreading the drive.  I hope I don’t drive Dustin and Charlie crazy with my pit stops!  I have all the essentials already packed to go though…Gummy Bears, Hot Tamales, Nacho Cheese Bugles, and Reese’s Pieces.  

We have the nursery so close to being finished.  We have to paint the dresser and get the rocking chair, but that is the last of the furniture.  I have the entire next week off, so I plan to finish some of the projects I have started, hang things on the wall of the nursery finally, and maybe get our hospital bags packed eventually.  We have the car seat in the car and the diaper bag ready.  Now we are just waiting patiently.  Only 4 weeks left!  We can't wait to meet this amazing little girl that has already changed our lives so much!  

For those that wanted to see a belly picture!

This is my last Friday before I become a mommy that I don't have a doctors appointment.  Starting next week I will go weekly until Kaylee arrives.  It is kind of scary and exciting at the same time.  I feel like time is starting to move a little slower now that we are nearing the end.  That could be because I am getting more uncomfortable.  It is getting harder for me to move around and I am starting to feel sickly again.  I had really hoped that I was past all that.  I also still have to one swollen, scary ankle.  We are surviving though.  I don't think I am driving Dustin too crazy, but he might have a different opinion on that one.  He is getting very overprotective and I keep having to remind him that he is not a doctor. : )  There's really nothing else to report.  I am getting bigger every day and Kaylee is still moving around like crazy.  So, in my non-medical opinion, things are going great!  I will let you know what the doctor says next week!!  Only 5 weeks left!  Now I'm going to go eat a cupcake! : )

Oops... In my last post, I bragged about not missing a Friday yet.  Well, things have been a little crazy lately and I forgot to blog last Friday.  I saw Dr. Litherland Friday morning.  Mom was able to come with me this week.  The doctor said I am still measuring small, but that could be because Kaylee is hiding behind my ribs (not very comfortable).  She said I do have a little too much amniotic fluid, but she isn't worried about it.  I plan to get more details about this at my next visit.  She did say that usually when you have too much fluid, you measure too big!  I guess I am just a unique patient.  As long as she isn't worried, I am going to try not to worry either (easier said than done of course).  Kaylee's heartbeat was good and strong, and she is extremely active.  I know it must be getting tight in there, because it is very uncomfortable out here.  I have been feeling kinda sickly lately and more tired than usual.  I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact that I can't get much sleep.  Only 38 days until my due date!!!!  That is insane!  I guess we better finish getting the room together soon!  We are very excited to meet her see that beautiful little face!!!  My next doctor appointment is scheduled in two weeks!!

So far I have managed to blog every Friday since I started, so here I am again.  This week I don't have an appointment with my doctor, but I did have an ultrasound to check Kaylee's size.  The ultrasound tech said that everything appeared normal to her.  Thank you all so much for the prayers!  Kaylee was very uncooperative and wouldn't let us get any good pictures.   This also made the tech unable to verify gender, so we are just hoping they got it right the first time.  : ) She is already head down, facing my back.  Now she just has to stay there and bake for a few more weeks.  I am starting to get VERY uncomfortable.  Sleep is getting really hard and it has made this week seem so long.  I can't imagine getting any bigger, haha!!  I also have one swollen ankle that is getting me made fun of.  The doctor said that it's is because Kaylee is always laying on my left side.  My next appointment is scheduled for Friday, October 1st!  Only 7 more weeks until the due date!

Our baby shower last weekend went great.   There are so many people that already love this little one and she is already being spoiled.  I have spent all week trying to figure out what to do with all of her stuff.    We still need a few more things, but it is all finally coming together!!  Here are a couple pictures of all the wonderful things we got from our amazing family and friends.  I will post more shower pictures when I get them.  Thanks again to everyone that came to the shower and for all of the wonderful gifts!!

Every year our family goes to the Fair Grove Heritage Reunion the last weekend in September.  I am so excited for a day with people I love and the chance to see friends I haven't seen in awhile.  This will also be Dustin and Kaylee's (sorta) first year going with us.  They are going more for the food than the crafts though. :)  The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so it's going to be a great day!    

I absolutely can't believe I am already in my eighth month!  This seems impossible to me.  It seems like yesterday that Dustin and I both knew we were pregnant, but neither of us had bought a test yet (I wanted to wait until the weekend because I knew it would take some getting used to).  :)  Finally Dustin drove to Walgreens and bought two (just to be sure).  I had always thought I would wait to tell everyone until I had it confirmed by a doctor and knew that everything was ok.  Not Dustin though!  He was up bright and early the next morning, ready to tell the world! :)  Now here we are, only 55 days to go and already SO in love with this little one.  She has wiggled and squirmed her way into our hearts and we haven't even seen her yet.  We are totally unprepared, but ready to have her here at the same time.  We have our big baby shower tomorrow, which will hopefully help us feel more prepared!  I am super excited to see all my friends and family.  Not so excited about being the center of attention (I attract a lot lately), but bring on the games, cupcakes, and 'oohing/awwing' haha!!

I had my 32 week check-up today.  My mother-in-law came with me, which was great because I am usually sitting there all by myself.  These visits are still quick and easy, but very important.  Dr. Litherland checks the heartbeat, which was good and strong!  And she measures my stomach, which didn't go so well today.  She said I am measuring 4cm too small, so they scheduled me for an ultrasound on Tuesday.  Pray that everything is ok and she is just a little girl!  Dr. Litherland will start doing full exams at 36 weeks!!!  That is like...SOON!  I just pray every second of every day that everything goes well and she is doing alright in there.  We are on the home stretch!!  Thanks for all the well wishes and nice compliments!!

I am lucky enough to not have a doctors appointment this week, so no waiting impatiently or letting someone take my blood.  But, the weeks that I don't get to see the doctor I actually miss it.  I miss hearing her little heartbeat and getting the reassurance from a professional that everything is going great.  I miss getting measured and yes, stepping on the scale.  Because I know that all these things mean I still have a healthy little girl in there and it brings me one week closer to seeing her beautiful face.  So this week I will weigh and measure myself, and maybe I will finally be able to pick up the heartbeat on our handheld fetal doppler. And I will try to patiently await my appointment next Friday!!  

I am definitely not trying to rush through this pregnancy.  I am even enjoying it for the most part.  I am beginning to realize that there are only 9 weeks left and I feel so unprepared.  I am sure that every first time parent has doubts about everything.  I am thankful to have so many wonderful friends and family that either have children already, or are experiencing this with me for the first time.  They have been a wealth of knowledge and so supportive.  And I am so lucky to have an amazing spouse that will do anything for me and puts up with me when I am feeling down.  I know that we will learn together and succeed together.  I am very blessed!

Another Friday, another trip to the doctors office.  She said I am still measuring a little smaller than I should be, but not enough to worry about.  And she said my weight is 'great', so to all the people that keep calling me HUGE - Ha!  Kaylee is still head down, but her feet are sticking out of my side most of the time :)  Definitely an interesting experience to go through.  She is moving around all the time now and keeping me up most nights.  Hopefully she figures out day from night soon, but I'm not counting on it!  Dustin and I are planning to finish painting the nursery this weekend (I will post pics next week)!!  And we are looking forward to my baby shower in two weeks!!  Lots of things going on in our lives right now, just trying to keep up.  Hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing Labor Day Weekend!!

I have been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now, but couldn't really imagine anyone really wanting to read about my boring little life.  But then I decided that I might as well.  Even if it only serves as a place for me to journal and get my thoughts out.  So here's my very first blog post...

I am currently waiting patiently in the doctors office.  After failing my one hour glucose test last week, they informed me that I needed to complete the three hour test.  So after starving myself for HOURS I am 45 minutes away from having this test completed.  Then its off to get a big ole juicy cheeseburger.  :)  I know this is probably not good for the baby or I, but we NEED food!  And just in case I fail again today, I want to get one last cheeseburger in before they tell me to start a diet.

Not the most excited first blog ever, but informative. :)  Maybe this will get better with practice, maybe not....