Still the best toy...

Potty Time?

Guess Not!

Tim put Brooke on the potty during one of her diaperless escapades. She was not thrilled. It didn't last long because the last thing we wanted to do was make her afraid of the potty.

34 Weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
How your life's changing:By this week, fatigue has probably set in again, though maybe not with the same coma-like intensity of your first trimester. Your tiredness is perfectly understandable, given the physical strain you're under and the restless nights of frequent pee breaks and tossing and turning, while trying to get comfortable. Now's the time to slow down and save up your energy for labor day (and beyond). If you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, causing a temporary drop in your blood pressure when you get up that can make you feel dizzy.

Thanksgiving in September

All Promedica employees get a free turkey as their "Christmas Bonus". Whoa, big spenders. Anyway, Tim and I both still had ours in the freezer from last year and thought we should get one out and cook it. We had all the trimmings minus a pumpkin pie. Yum! I attempted to make gravy but had a jar of gravy just in case. My gravy looked more like oatmeal so we went with the jar stuff. Brooke's favorite? Cranberries, big surprise. We now have leftovers for the entire weekend.

CHEESE

All in one day

Brooke and I made a trip to Columbus to meet two of the new babies and visit with my friends. Brooke did AMAZING in the car. The DVD player always helps.

The first stop was to meet Blake. He is such a cute little guy. He just loves to coo and make those cute little baby noises. His smile is priceless! Casey and Mike have a wonderful little guy.

Here he is taking a little snooze.

Brooke could have cared less about me holding a baby. She was more concerned with playing with their toys.

Look Mom, I still fit!

Next we were off to see Maxton. That is once I made my way through traffic, 3 fire trucks, 4 police cars, 2 ambulances, and a huge construction truck on fire! Maxton seemed so tiny when I held him. Although, to Laci and Matt he is growing like a weed. They just get big so fast. He is such a little cuddler. After all the mahem on the road I completly forgot to get a picture of the little guy. Once again, Laci and Matt have a wonderful little guy.

So the list: Jamie, Laci, Matt, Maxton, Casey, Mike, and Blake. All in one day!

It was great to see everyone and I wish we lived closer so we could get together often with the kiddos and visit. I miss you all!

Can't get enough of her toys...

Can't sleep?

Mark this one down, I can't sleep. I finally gave in and got out of bed and started on the laundry. I woke up while Tim was getting ready and just kept making lists in my head of what needs to be done. I couldn't take it anymore and got out of bed. I know all you morning people are thinking whats the big deal, you should be out of bed. If you have ever lived with me before, you know that I am not up early unless my alarm clock forces me to be. My alarm clock has now changed to Brooke's voice repeating, "mom, mom, mom". Tim was quite surprised to see me up so early. I must say, it is nice to be up before her and getting a few things done. Nice enough to repeat day after day? Doubt it.

Count me in!

ABC's urging its viewers to conserve gas by staying indoors the week of Sept. 21 -- it's "National Stay at Home Week."
Like I need an excuse to sit on the couch and watch all the premiers. TiVo is set up and ready to go. It is great we get plenty of time to get Brooke down for her 8:30 bedtime and start the shows with no commercials. I will be on the couch if you need me. :)

33 Weeks

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood..
How your life's changing:As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course.You may be feeling some achiness and even numbness in your fingers, wrists, and hands. Like many other tissues in your body, those in your wrist can retain fluid, which can increase pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist. Nerves that run through this "tunnel" may end up pinched, creating numbness; tingling, shooting or burning pain; or a dull ache. Try wearing a splint to stabilize your wrist or propping your arm up with a pillow when you sleep. If your work requires repetitive hand movements (at a keyboard or on an assembly line, for instance), remember to stretch your hands when you take breaks — which should be frequently.

Hopefully we (Tim) can get to work on the nursery shortly. There isn't much I can do until everything is cleaned out and the room is painted. The dresser came in on Saturday so we plan to pick that up some time this week.
I jinxed myself with the position of the baby. Back to using my bladder as a trampoline and a punching bag. Guess thats what I get for the energy surge that caused me to vacuum every inch of carpet in the house and I mean every inch moving any furniture I could that was in the way. I love my Dyson!
My patients are actually feeling sympathy for me and are able to do way more for themselves when they see me compared to the off going shift. I had one really cute 67 year old lady ask me for her glasses at 2:30 am. I knew why she was asking for them as she squinted at my protruding belly. Once her glasses were on she laughed and started speaking polish to me. When I asked her what she was saying she stated, "You are in no shape to help an old fat lady like me, you should be at home". These comments go on all night long with almost all my patients. I joked that I was going to come back to work with a pillow under my scrubs forever.

Happy 4th Anniversary to Us! Yesterday was our 4th Anniversary and we were able to go out to dinner, ALONE! It was fantastic. We went to the Elephant Bar. There were no bibs, highchairs, picking food up off the floor that Brooke sent flying, or sippy cups. Plenty of uninterrupted conversation, ahhh. Thanks for babysitting Grandma!

32 Week Dr. appointment

After waiting an hour for the second time in row I was called back for my 5 minute appointment. As usual, everything looks good, baby is good, feeling good, keep doing what you are doing. Nothing new. He wasn't exactly sure how she is positioned but he is pretty certain she is now head down. The movements have changed from being really low to higher up in the last week which would make sense. No more using the bladder as a trampoline, whoohoo. He also did the speech on how much easier the 2nd labor usually is and that there won't be 2 1/2 hours of pushing. I quote, "you sneeze right and she will shoot right out". Yeah right, I will believe that when it happens and I told him I was holding him to his word. I'll stick with, imagine the worst and it won't seem as bad approach. Back in 2 weeks first thing in the morning so they can't get behind.

Dazed Dog

Caution: Lots of butt talk to follow.

Nala has Pug in her so that little tail of hers is always curled up and you get a shot of her bottom at all times.

Yesterday morning I woke to find what looked like a mass growing out the right side of it. I called the vet and they had her in at 1:40

By the time we left the "mass" was leaking a bloody tan drainage. Gross, I know! The Dr. took one look at her and said he would have to take her back to the exam room. I could hear the howling and crying only to see the Dr. appear again to say he was going to have to sedate her, it was just too bad to do with her awake. I consented and he said I could return in about an hour or so. The poor little thing had to get her behind shaved and cleaned out. Turns out she had 1 gland that ruptured and 2 more that were infected. He sent us home with a nice bill, and antibiotic, and some pain medication. Bonus, they clipped her nails while she was under. She couldn't keep her eyes open all night and her rear end looks so painful. Poor Nala, feel better soon!

Read any good books lately?

And her ever so popular, "cheese" pose.

Just like old times...

Remember the days when you could just set Brooke anywhere and not have to worry about her rolling off the furniture? She rarely napped in her crib until she was at least 3 months old. I am pretty sure it has been a long time since I have let her nap on the couch. After playing all day with Grandma and refusing to nap for her, she was out cold the moment my car was down their street. I picked her up out of her car seat and carried her in the house with the dogs jumping all over me. I laid her on the couch certain that she would wake up. As it neared 8 I decided to see about putting her to bed for the night. I changed the girl and she hardly woke up until the cold wipe hit her bottom. After reading her favorite stories, off to slumber she went. No fight left in her.

New Kicks

My mom took Brooke out shopping last week for some new shoes. She was getting tired of putting her sandals back on after every car trip, ride in the stroller, cart, really anywhere she can get her hands on them. Her and my dad were determined to find shoes with laces. As soon as my mom caught a glimpse of these little snazzy shoes she knew she had found a shoe I would like to wear myself. A winner for sure in a size 6!

32 Weeks

How your baby's growing:By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Hair? Please, Brooke just now has hair. :)

Take a seat...

Brooke Vision

After all the recent nap time and bedtime mishaps I couldn't take it anymore. Brooke has figured out the tape trick. Since the pacifier has been gone it takes her a little longer to fall asleep some days. She plays with her aquarium and I picture her talking to her teddy bear in between giving him kisses. Today was hopefully the last time I have to clean up any "masterpieces". All those times when I wonder what she is doing or if I should try and sneak a peak are over. I like to call it our Brooke vision. We watched her as she fell asleep tonight and can now take a peak at her anytime. I can remember looking at monitors and thinking this thing was crazy when I was registering for Brooke. I thought they were only for the neurotic parents. I am now a neurotic parent that wants my child to sleep and can make sure she isn't doing anything horrible only talking herself to sleep and giving her teddy bear kisses.

Fun with Animals

More to come!

PROGRESS

The initiative to get some things done has kicked into gear. We decided on the bedding and the furniture. The poor baby won't even get new furniture. Brooke is getting new furniture instead. We didn't want another changing table dresser and couldn't find anything we like that would match. Solution? Brooke gets a new set of furniture for her room and the baby gets more hand me downs. The room is slowly being emptied out so we can start prepping for the nursery. We are in need of some decorating inspiration. We don't want to end up with 2 pink rooms.




The dresser and crib set up as a toddler bed.

We have narrowed the name list. As many of you know that is a huge accomplishment for us. We have 2 names picked out and are sticking with using my middle name. What are the names you ask? Let you imagination go wild, the only clue you will get is it will start with an L or a V. It took this long that I just can't deal with the comments on which one everyone likes more or doesn't like at all. It is all up to Tim this time around. I like them both and nothing is standing out as the winner so he gets his turn to decide.

My mom was over and put her organization skills to work helping clean out and throw out tons of stuff. Thanks for all the help. I am sure we are going to need it again.

31 Weeks

How your baby's growing:This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Die hard fan

Dad, what time does Michigan play?

How could I forget our little Michigan fan. She was ready to go for opening day when Michigan faced Utah.
It was a painful loss for the new coach and young team.
Utah 23, Michigan 25
No matter what it is always a good game and Brooke will remain faithful to her team wearing her jersey proud.

Sudoku Anyone?

Bye Bye Binky

Brooke and her pacifiers have parted. It was something Tim and I wanted to do long before the arrival of the new baby. I didn't want to be trying to get Brooke to stop using one while giving one to the baby.
I have never been a fan of the things and never wanted to use one to begin with. Sleepless nights sometimes lead us to reality. I would pluck the thing from her mouth with almost every picture. It was hard to track this one down. Taken when she was just over a month old.
So far so good. We went cold turkey on the poor little thing. There have been a few nights where she has woken up looking for one and sometimes naps take a little longer to drift off and end short.
I was expecting her to scream out and it would be torture for all of us. I considered hiding them from myself so when I was desperate to sleep a little longer at 6am I wouldn't be fumbling looking for one and give in to get a couple more hours of sleep.
What a big girl she had become. Way to go Brooke!