Baby Dog

Something strange has gotten into our puppy dog, Jack.  We seem to think that he is preparing us for parenthood.  He has started waking up every few hours throughout the night to "go to the bathroom".  He has never done this before, not even as a puppy.  He wakes up at 2:30 am, sometimes again at 4:30 am, and I usually let him out right before I leave for work at 6:30 am.

In addition, he has become extra lovey dovey during our cuddle time.  We know this is going to be a big transition for all of us, so we will be sure to block out some "Mommy and Jack" time and "Daddy and Jack" time to ease the change.  We know he is going to be a fantastic friend to our little girl.  He is going to love her so much, especially when she starts throwing cheerios off her high chair...

Nevertheless, it's very weird to already be getting up in the middle of the night taking care of our four-legged first born.  Dogs definitely do have a sixth sense.  Does he know something that we don't!?

Jack - we certainly appreciate you "preparing" us for what is to come, but we were thinking about how nice it would be to revel in a full night's sleep for the last few weeks/months since it will be years before we can do that again...Your thoughts are welcome.

Meanwhile, look who has made himself at home...

The Camp Out Has Ended

Remember back, oh, seven weeks ago when we sold our couch and bought another but were given 8-10 weeks for delivery of said new one?!

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are happy to inform you that our new couch was delivered today, via delivery truck, a week earlier than expected, and we couldn't be happier with the outcome:

We love it!

Our "camp out" has officially ended.  We are back to living a civilized, modern life...for now!

Jungle Boogie!

This past weekend my wonderful Mom, sister, and best friend Tamara threw me and our little bambino (aka "Little E") a jungle themed baby shower at my Aunt's house.  That's right.  I packed up all 1.5 of us and hopped on a flight to Maryland to celebrate.  My doctor technically said no travelling after August 22, but I think it'll be fine to push it into late August or early September.  If our little girl decides to make her debut this early, we've got other things to worry about besides not being in our home state.

Anyway, WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!  There was tons of good food: two quiches, fruit salad, a salmon ball, cupcakes, punch, and more!  The decoration was adorable: lots of colors and animals and cute girly things!  And the company was simply divine!  It was so nice to see everyone and celebrate such a special occasion!  (We all can't wait to meet you, sweet girl!)

We played two very fun games: the Rice Bowl game and the Guess the Belly Size game!  I was first up at the Rice Bowl game.  In this game you had 30 seconds to fish out as many safety pins as possible from a bowl of uncooked rice while you were blindfolded or did your due diligence to keep your eyes closed.  (For those of you that think, "oh, I woulda had that in the bag"...think again.  It is not as easy as it sounds.)  I pulled out a whopping goose egg.  (Not a real goose egg.  There weren't other surprises in the bowl, but a big, fat zero.)  Joanne was the winner with FIVE safety pins found in 30 seconds!!

For the Guess the Belly Size game, everyone stretched a pink streamer to a length that they thought would be the circumference of me and Little E combined - my tummy, that is.  My Mom won this game with a very, very close estimate of this wide load, and Tamara's Mom came in at a very close second!  Mom's just know best, don't they?!

After we played the games, we opened up presents, ate some cupcakes, had some fruit slices, and enjoyed the afternoon.  We received so many wonderful items for our little girl!  She is one lucky little lady, well, we both are, and she is going to be added to a family of the.most.amazing.women.  I can't wait to tell her about everyone.

OH, and last but certainly not least, everyone left with a little favor: a bun in the oven.  It was a cinnamon bun candle in a little homemade cardstock oven with a note on the back that said "Brian & Erin's "bun"dle of joy!"  Adorable!

Thank you to everyone who made this day possible.  You all mean the world to me and I am grateful to have each and everyone of you as part of my life!

It's a jungle in here!!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silverbells and cockleshells

And pretty maids all in a row.

Brian and E, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With cilantro and tomatoes

And zucchinis all in a row!

Aside from the cucumber, our stash of homegrown veggies
is increasing tremendously, and they are delish!

Losing It

Guys, I am seriously losing it.  My brain just does not function like it used to.  What is this kid doing to me - taking all my smarts?!  I feel like I can't remember things at all.  At work I've caught myself emailing someone twice about the same subject AND forgetting all together to email someone when I thoroughly convinced myself that I had... I am seriously beginning to doubt my mental capabilities - decision making, time management, scheduling, writing in full sentences - the whole shebang.

Today, for example, I drove to work.  (Thank goodness I'm still ok with mindless tasks...for now.)  When I got to work I checked my calendar to get an update on some upcoming events.

Bright and clear on today's date said "Appointment - Dr. Gaiser - 8:30 am".

I sat there, looked at my calendar again, looked at today's date on my computer, contemplated how likely it would be that I would have written the appointment on the wrong day, decided it was pretty unlikely because I wrote these appointments when I was still sane, and realized that I did indeed have an appointment this morning.  (It's really a good thing that I decided to look at my calendar, today, at that moment...)

I could have sworn that my appointment was tomorrow at 8:00 am.  That's when I told my manager it was, that's when I told Brian it was, but it wasn't.  It was definitely this morning.

Fortunately, I work 7 am to 4 pm, so when all of this went down I still had time to do about 30 minutes of work before I had to drive back toward home to hit the doctor's office at the hospital.  What really got me was the fact that I missed my one and only opportunity to sleep in this week.  When I say that I am really bummed that I'm not sleeping in tomorrow that is an extreme understatement.  I mean, I am really bummed.  It was what I was looking forward to the most this work week.

Nevertheless, I made it to my appointment with time to spare.  And, since it was relatively routine, there isn't a ton to report.  I have gained one pound which puts us at 10.5 on the positive side and our little girl's heart was beating wonderfully at 142 bpm.  My tummy measured at 31 cm and at our next appointment our doctor said that she would start checking where the baby is positioned to make sure she is not breached.  We are getting very close, folks!  We head back to the doctor in two weeks.  I've checked and rechecked that appointment...and set a reminder in my outlook. 

With a baby on the way, a sunroom nearly done, decisions to be made, and unknowns to think about, I have got to keep it together.  Somehow I will, right?!  Can any Mommies out there vouch that my sanity will return??

(PS: For the record about losing it, there have been multiple times where I've forgotten that I am actually pregnant.  That is, until I see myself in a mirror and am surprised at the belly I am sporting.  Oh, that's right.  There's a baby in there...  I wonder if my brain cells will recreate once we have our little girl.  I know hers are forming now, but will I get mine back?!  I sure hope so, or we are all in trouble.)

Two Pillows and a Blanket

We started our childbirth classes today!  I know that we've said this a million times in the last few posts, but we cannot believe that we are nearing the end of August.  We are just shocked at how fast the time has flown!  We have these classes on Monday nights for the next five weeks with the exception of Labor Day.  Our class for that week will be on Tuesday and we will also receive a tour of the delivery rooms and post delivery rooms at the hospital.  (I forgot what the post delivery rooms are called...)

Tonight's class focused on the introduction to labor and what really goes down with your body when all is said and done and it's D-day.  Becoming informed will reduce some of the "unknowns" that we have reservations on.  (See the previous post.  Remember those?!)  These classes will also allow us to understand the laboring process, learn some breathing techniques and meet some people that are due right around the time that we are.

We are very excited to see what the next four classes have to offer!

Our first childbirth class.  We were instructed to bring two
pillows and a blanket...and a snack!

Carpet Diem

We have been steadily preparing the nursery for our sweet girl, and today we just received our 8 x 10 ivory rug!  We are extremely happy with the purchase as well.  The rug looks fantastic with the dark furniture and the colors that we will be adding to the room are really going to pop!  Plus, this rug will provide many, many years of lounging on the floor book reading, learning, playing, talking, and hanging with Jack!

Before: No rug.

Quality control.

Jack wonders what in tarnation Brian is doing with that rug as
he brings it upstairs.

And then he supervises the opening of the rug.

And tests the loungin' factor with the nearest thing to chew
which happened to be my flip flop.  Lovely.

It passes the lounge test.

Together we test the play/meditation factor. 
And they also both pass the test!

I grew up with carpet in my bedroom - in the majority of my parent's house, come to think of it.  I think carpet adds such a nice, warm touch to a bedroom.  The rug is cozy and comfy and waiting patiently for the soft touch of little hands and toes!  We couldn't be happier with the progress of our baby girl's room! 

In addition, we hit thirty weeks today!!  That means, in just over or under ten weeks, we will be meeting our daughter.  Our daughter!  That is so incredible!  We just can't believe that we are nearing our due date so quickly.  It is still very exciting and a little terrifying at the same time.  All of the unknowns are what make the situation "terrifying" - how will we know it's "time"?  What will labor feel like?  What will it be like?  How long will it take to adjust to choppy sleep?  How will we manage our time?  Etc.  You know - the things that you just don't know about because you've just never done them before.

Please don't get me wrong though.  While we have our reservations about the "unknown", we are also very optimistic and very much looking forward to the future with our family.  We know there will be adjustments, life is ever changing.  We will do our best to prepare ourselves for the change and roll with the punches on the items that we aren't prepared for!  Bring it on, Life!

So, we just received our new rug for our little girl's room, we are well on our way to a completed nursery, and we are more or less than ten weeks away from meeting our little bambino!  Today, more than ever, we should seize the day.

And, of course, seize the carpet too!

The Urban Era

Just under a year ago, Brian released his ninth licensed print!

Today, Brian's tenth licensed print just drizz-opped!  (Yes, I said "drizz-opped".)  I can definitely speak for him and me when I say we are very proud of his preserverance, enthusiasm, and dedication not only to photography but to the Buckeyes themselves. 

Check out the new print here:

Keep up the good work, Bri! 

Oh, and GO BUCKS!  (I can't forget them, of course!)

Fruit Friendly

I've noticed that one of the best things about being pregnant in the summer is the abundance of amazing fruits that are ripe and readily available at the grocery store!  Initially I could not get enough blueberries, now that I've had a taste of the wonderful summer fruits, I can't get enough of any of them...period!

Yesterday, Brian and I split the.most.delicious mango!  This morning, the fruits on the menu entail kiwis, nectarines, bananas, plums, and apricots!

Yum!

A coworker of mine recently pointed out that I am very "fruit friendly".  I usually have at least one piece of fruit, most of the time there are two, tucked away in my desk drawer that I can pop out at the hint of hunger.  At this rate, I'm going to have to keep a fruit bowl at my desk.  Seriously.  I just can't say no to the amazing variety of available fruits right now.

And neither can our little girl!

Jack in the Box

We received a massive box o' baby stuff from my Dad.  I'm not entirely sure why the box was so big.  But that didn't stop us from putting our oh-so-patient puppy inside of it.  (For the record, I got in with him too.)

That is not his happy face.

He is such a good sport!

Pump It Up

The iron, that is.

The results are in.  I am not presently developing gestational diabetes (fortunately), but apparently I haven't added enough iron to my diet to make up for the iron deficiency that I had earlier on.  My doctor has given me strict orders to start on the iron pills - 325 mg of ferrous sulfate, twice a day.

My GI tract is going to kill me.

(My doctor even said so.)

Glucola - Not Your Average Pop

There is one distinct difference in the lingo that you hear in the midwest versus the east coast - "pop" and "soda".  You see, on the east coast we say "soda".  Here in sunny, midwest Ohio, you say "pop" as a defining word to signify soda.  I'm still getting used to this...

Anyway, today has been a monumental day!  First, we had an appointment with our OB/GYN to check up on our little bambino.  She is growing...A LOT!  So much so that we are measuring "bigger" than where we actually are in the grand scheme of things, but it's nothing to be worried about.  Little bambino's grow at all sorts of different rates in the third trimester.  Perhaps our little girl is hitting her growth spurt!

Her heart rate was beating steadily at 150 bpm and my tummy measured at 30 cm!!!  In other words, my tummy grew 6 cm in one month!  I gained another 3.5 pounds which puts us 9.5 pounds ahead.  (Though I will say that it feels like a lot more than that.)

In other monumental news, we did our glucose test today.  I had to drink the bottle of glucola that the nurse gave me at my last appointment in the 10 minutes which was the specified time exactly 45 minutes before my appointment.  Precisely one hour later, my blood was taken to make sure that I'm not developing gestational diabetes or anything like that.  I was a little hesitant about the glucola.  It tasted like flat orange soda, but at 7:15 in the morning, flat orange soda pop is not of the top of my list of things that I would like to drink.  Either way, it all worked out and I drank what I needed to in the exact time that I needed to, so now we will simply wait for the results.

Let's see, what else was monumental today??  Oh, this is the first appointment that we had where we start seeing our doc every two weeks instead of once a month!  In October, we will see her once a week - just to keep a close eye on our bun in the oven!  We don't want her over-cooking (read: overstaying her welcome in my womb)!

In other monumental news, when we left our doctor's office this go round we were handed a 'Hospital Preadmission Form'.  We are supposed to go online and "pre-register" for our delivery!  That way, when our little girl decides it's time for her debut, the hospital will already be expecting us!  Mr. & Mrs. Hendricks, right this way!  Having to pre-register for our delivery makes this all seem very, very close.

We start our childbirth classes this month too.  (I told you it was monumental.)
 
My belly is bigger, my tummy skin is stretching, our little girl is growing, and we are that much closer to meeting her in person.  Incredible!

Simply incredible!

You Had Me At Woof!

Today we celebrated our two year wedding anniversary with a quaint dinner at Northstar Cafe and a lovely walk around the wildflowers and roses at Whetstone Park.  We took some of our wedding photos and part of our wedding video among said wildflowers, so it was a nice walk down memory lane!

Our wedding day amongst the wildflowers. - Aug. 6, 2010  ♥

There weren't quite as many yellow wildflowers as there were on our wedding day, but the log that we traipsed about on in our wedding video was still there and the evening was unseasonably cool and beautiful - just like our wedding day itself!

The two year traditional anniversary gift is cotton, so this year we decided to actually follow through with tradition.  Brian got me a Virginia Tech t-shirt - it's 100% cotton.  (Bless his heart for following directions to a 'T'.)  All of my VT t-shirts are a little snug around the mid-section at this point, so it was perfect!  I surprised Brian with twelve dates - one date per month for the next year.  (And, between you and me, I told him that the twine that I used to bind the dates together was made of 100% cotton.  I think he bought it.  Also between you and me, I am still finishing this gift.  You see, I have all the dates planned, I just haven't printed them all...  Fortunately, Brian is a good sport and is willing to wait for me to finish it!)  He will get to open one envelope on the first of each month starting this month and we will have a wonderful pre-planned date together!

(For those of you that were wondering, all twelve dates are kid-friendly (most of them are dog-friendly), so we are all set no matter when our little girl decides to grace us with her presence!)

That string could be cotton, right?!

We can't believe that we have been married for two years, that we have a little girl on the way, and that we are very quickly nearing her introduction into this world.  Time sure flies - especially when you are having fun!

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Us!

PS: Inside Brian's card was the statement, "You had me at woof!"  It was the perfect card - hence the post title!  And, for the record, you had me at woof too, Jack.  XOXO to all of my boys - Bun included!

Morning Cuddles

One of my absolute favorite things about the weekend is waking up to a cuddly puppy dog and husband.  You see, on normal weekdays, I wake up before either of these two have even thought about exiting their slumber.  On the weekends, I typically still wake up before Brian but it's mainly because I've got a puppy dog snuggling as close as possible to me!  And I love every minute of it!

I'm an early bird by nature, so it's nice to get a good start to the weekend day.  It's even nicer to wake up to our puppy!  I think he knows when it's the weekend too because he is all smiles!

Who would say no to a morning
massage?!

Since Jack is still sporting his not-so morning cuddle friendly cone, we have been taking it off when we know we can keep an eye on him.  You can tell he feels like a free dog when that cone comes off!!  He has been healing wonderfully and we will be able to take him to the vet this week to have his staple removed.  At least we hope that is the case!

All of our morning cuddles make me so exciting about growing our family.  Pretty soon we will have another person joining in our cuddle time, and that will be such a fun tradition!

Our Perfect Little Star

We have wonderful news: my placenta has started to make her move and is no longer covering my cervix!  This means that we do NOT have to have a scheduled C-section (at this point) and can safely go into natural labor should the time come!  That is certainly not to say that we won't have to have a C-section because you never really know what will happen until delivery time, but we have ruled out having to have a C-section because my placenta would rather "keep Baby in" than "let Baby out"!  :)  Well done, placenta!

It is still low, but it has moved.  I believe the maternal fetal doctor said that the minimum movement necessary was 2 cm and we were at 2.2 cm...or something along those lines.  BUT, it has moved and we are progressing like we should be!

Alright, enough with the medical nonsense and on to the good stuff: OUR BABY GIRL!!!

Our little girl was the perfect little star today!  She blinked, she swallowed, she showed us her beautiful little face, hands, and fingers, and we even got to see her up close and personal in a 3-D image!!

We are already in love!

The other wonderful news is we were lucky enough to capture all of the things that we saw at our ultrasound on videos, so you can see them too, if you want - just click here!

She was measuring in at 2 lbs. 14 oz., give or take a few, and looked absolutely precious relaxing in the womb like a good girl!  (We are so proud of our little one!  Can't you tell?!)  Everything else appeared normal as well - she is getting enough nutrients, there is enough amniotic fluid, she still has space to roll and play, and she is growing like a weed in there!

We're having a baby and we have officially entered the third trimester!  The thought just makes us smile!  Before we know it, we'll be holding our little girl in our arms, and that will be a moment that neither of us will ever, ever forget.

End of the Second Trimester

Folks, I don't know where the time has gone, but we have officially gotten through the very last day of our second trimester!  That is, there is only one more trimester left!!!  (1/3 for you math whizzes.)  How insane is that?!  Tomorrow officially begins the third trimester!  We are nearing home for sure!

Here is a quick recap of the going ons of our pregnancy at this point:

Physically
1. Nausea - slim to none, unless I haven't eaten in a while.

2. Tiredness - I have regained energy, for sure, but it is definitely not what it used to be...for sure.

3. Headaches - I've become used to the fact that they come with the territory.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

4. Digestion - I don't have a GI tract.  It is officially confirmed.

5. Bladder Control - I do, however, feel as though my bladder is back to semi-normal.  I don't have to get up in the middle of the night as much and I am able to go for longer periods of time before the urge strikes.  When the urge does strike, though, I need a bathroom quickly.  I suppose we've made some progress in this arena!

6. Bump Status - folks, it's official.  There is a noticeable, undeniable bump - and it is our little girl!  We have definitely made some progress on this front!!

Week 28 bump!

Cravings
No more to date.  I still love a little splash of grenadine in a glass of Sprite when I need a bubbly fix, and I can't really say no to the occasional ice cream sandwich, but I couldn't say no to them before we conceived so I don't think anything has really changed there!

Weight Gain
There is no more "loss" in this equation.  We are currently six on the positive side and my doc said that I should gain approximately one pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy which will put us somewhere around 22 total pounds.  Obviously, we will keep our progress up to date.  Our next appointment with our doctor is Wednesday, August 8, so we will have more of a status update then!

Miscellaneous
(Yes, this is a new category.  I felt as though there are a couple of things going on that I've not yet mentioned.  I suppose they could probably both fit under the 'Physical' category, but since I've answered the same questions throughout our pregnancy I figured I would just make a new category.  And, yes, there is a method to my madness.)

1. Congestion - apparently being congested throughout your pregnancy is pretty common.  I can definitely say there have been way more bats in the caves since we became pregnant and I typically feel more congested than usual.  I've noticed this for a few months now, but I guess I never really attributed it to our little bambino.

2. Tail Bone Trouble - I have absolutely no clue if this is baby related or not but I occasionally have a slight ache in my tail bone.  How crazy is that?!  The crazier thing is I felt this when we were barely pregnant - maybe six weeks along - and I have felt it sporadically since.  It is so weird!  It's almost like I fell on my bum recently and a certain movement causes pain in the tush area.  But I haven't fallen - not since Winter of 2010, at least - so I can only attribute it to the space in my abdomen that is becoming more and more valuable.

We have an appointment tomorrow to check out if my placenta has done the dance and started the move north.  We will get to see our sweet little girl on what could very possibly be our last ultrasound until D-day!!  Is that possible?!  We are only [more or less] three short months away from meeting and holding and cuddling and kissing our baby girl!  That, in itself, is just incredible!