All she wants for Christmas

Are her two [bottom] front teeth.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, she has her first two teeth.  Now, this means a few things:

A) the reason that the Scheider household has not been sleeping has become very clear
B) her consistent warm forehead for the last week now makes sense
C) it's time to seriously consider weaning from breastfeeding

Now, much to my surprise, I actually enjoy nursing baby E (for those of you who knew me pre-pregnancy, remember how I was not very excited about this?) and am kind of disappointed that this happened so soon. There's definitely a difference in the comfort level between no baby teeth to (BAM!) two teeth chomping at the bit.  Looks like I'm going to be pumping for the most part, since I'm still producing like a cow - stocking a nuclear bomb shelter for nutrients and food supply.  You should see my freezer.

She's growing up so fast! I wish she'd stay still for a picture of the two little gems on her mandible, but alas, we have a squirmy baby.  Once the teeth start growing a bit more than the surface, I will try and post a picture.  Until then, Happy Holidays - we here at the Scheider house have oodles to be thankful for.

Dear Daddy-

Thank you for my ridiculously large, above average sized, but normally shaped head.

Love,
Elliott

4 Months Old...and a McDreamy in her future.

I can't believe that baby girl is four months old today!  Well, today we went to the doctor (our new doctor, Dr. Frand) and he gave us some updates:

Baby Elliott (who at first, he thought was a boy) weighs 14lbs, 7.5oz, which puts her in the 50-70th percentile (Mama's milk is good to her).  She is 25 3/4 inches long, which puts her in the 95th percentile (tall parents...) and her head is 41 3/4cm (16.4 inches) which puts her in the 75-90th percentile (re: Daddy's head).  Speaking of her head.  Today, I heard the word that no other Mother would want to hear.  "Neurosurgeon." Now, I know this was meant to be an uplifting post, but I'm kind of having a hard time with keeping it optimistic.  Despite the image that popped into my head (it was that of McDreamy), I knew that the question that I asked regarding the ridges in her occipital bone had sparked something in the pediatrician's brain.  Now being the physical therapist that I am, I had been keeping a delicate eye out for plagiocephaly and torticollis (neither of which she has...as of right now).  So, the doctor thinks that going to the neurosurgeon will do one of two things.  It will either give us peace of mind knowing that she has a ginormous head or she will give us a diagnosis of either Lambdoid Craniosynostosis or Plagiocephaly (which would be the better option of the two).  Big words aside, it could mean that her occipital bone suture (Lambdoid) may have closed prematurely and they may have to go in and drill some burr holes and make it all better so her brain can grow and develop like any other kiddo.  Or that she gets to be one of those cool kids with a helmet for the first year of her life.

Oh, and by the way, I am mildly disappointed that her McDreamy is a she.  Maybe I need to find a new Doctor.

So, lets all hope for the best, say a little prayer and know that she'll be okay eventually.  Or maybe she's okay right now and we're just being cautious.  Either way, she's a sweet little four month old girl.

See, I told you.  Sweet Baby Girl.

Fall Frenzy

So, what do you get when you have a giant pile of leaves, a baby, and a camera?

3 Months Old

Dear Sweet Baby Girl-

My goodness, I can't believe that 3 whole months have gone by since you have made your grand entrance into this wonderful world.  You have warmed our hearts and enlightened our minds and reminded Daddy and I about the innocence of a child.  You've made our lives important and meaningful in a sense you can't even imagine until you have a child of your own.  You've made us better people and you've made us want to be even better.  You are our world.

You're growing like a weed (in fact, you got up 3 times last night to feed - aside from your previous 11 hours of consistent sleep for the last few weeks) and your eyes are turning a delicate shade of blue.  Your smile lights up the room.  Your toes and fingers curl around ours, but you know that we are wrapped around yours.  You've almost rolled over onto your belly.  You make everything okay with your laughter and silly faces.  You don't get very grumpy often, but when you do, you are like a little banshee.  But we secretly love that little banshee noise and when we pick you up and you nuzzle next to us, we are quick to forgive you for waking us up and it makes us know that you love us.

You're the sweetest thing that could have ever graced us in this lifetime.

Love you,
Mommy...and Daddy too

Happy 3 Months, Elliott!

Three

Three is a great number.  It's the number of people in my family (excluding doggies),  Baby E has now been on three plane rides since she has been born and we have three weeks until a big move.  For some people, they don't even go on three plane rides in their life time.  Yes, three.  Why three you ask?  One of the plane flights was a one-way ticket to our new home, Denver, Colorado.  Yes, we have moved.  It's pretty nice to have weather that is half the temperature of that in the last place that you lived (it's a blustery 57 degrees outside, where as in Phoenix, it was 114).

Currently we are living with Scott's parents in their basement (insert jealous glares here) and waiting to close on a house.  We did have a house before we came, but things fell through and now, we have just accepted a counteroffer on a different house (one we both like better, so it worked out).

So, three weeks until we move into our new house.  I will post some pictures of our new adventures when I get a chance as my house basement room is in shambles.

Dear Lady in 3C:

Yes, you unfortunately are the one that is "stuck" with the baby on the plane, despite being catty-corner behind me.  I'd like to point out the obvious fact that there are 4 toddlers between the ages of 1 and 3 that are already screaming on the plane.  You have to point out to me that I have brought an infant on the plane.  Thank you for making me self conscious about it.  I hope the toddler behinds you screams in your ear and pulls your hair, forcing you to apologize to the innocent baby in my sling.  I also appreciate the advice that you gave me to "stick a pacifier in her mouth to quiet her down" upon the initial descent into the Milwaukee area.  I'd like to stick a pacifier in your mouth to quiet you down.  XoXo, Shari and Elliott

Yes, I was that jerk, the jerk that brought a baby (yes, a 5 week old baby) on a plane.  Baby E had her first official long distance adventure.  Really, it was an adventure for me.  It was a gift to my Mother for her 60th birthday.  The adventure started as I attempted to use a public restroom with baby E in her sling (I used the My Baby Nest, which was awesome) - this turned out OK, seeing as though I hadn't yet been in an airplane bathroom, which is 1/4 of the size of the one I got to use on the ground.  Needless to say, I have a new appreciation for public restrooms.

So, how do you prepare to take a baby on the plane?  I had done some research that advised me to bring a bottle and feed her as we started to take off and as we started to land.  Now, for a baby that has not flown before, I would assume that there is some degree of overstimulation within the environment.   So, I had packed two bottles with cold breastmilk and I was ready to go.  With baby E, she does not like cold bottles, in fact, she hates them.  I choose to ignore this fact and I paid the price.  As we were taking off, I started to feed her and she went bananas.  So, I quickly hustled the bottle away and whipped out a fresh nipple.  After she realized that there was indeed too much stuff going on, she threw up.  Everywhere.  There were three and a half hours left on this flight.  I burped her and she promptly returned to feeding and she was quiet the remainder of inflight.  Now we get to my thank you letter above.  You can imagine the degree of fumes that are coming out of my ears as I experienced 3C's comments first hand.  I simply minded my P's and Q's and ignored her comments and for the record, I was already armed with pacifier in hand.

Note to self and lesson learned: Feed 1 hour prior to boarding and use a pacifier with cabin pressure changes.  Oh, and try to have the seat next to you empty.


Well, needless to say that Grandma was surprised and my entire family got to meet little baby E.  We even got to take a four generation picture since baby E was officially a girl.  All in all, it was an amazing trip.  I'm glad to be home, but it's good to know that you can always go home, even if it's just for five short days.

5 Weeks

Oh my stars, I can't believe my little girl is 5 weeks old today.  She's growing like a weed!  She's already about 10lbs (on my scale - which lies all the time, so accuracy is not guaranteed) and 24 inches long.  She's already 2 feet tall.  My goodness.

So, things are going well, Operation: Keep Ellie Awake All Day is slowly getting underway.  My problem is - I love watching her sleep, and I love watching her sleep on me.  She's so adorable, I know that I am impartial since it's my child...but seriously...adorable.  Things to help keep her awake include:

Her squishy elephant
Anything that makes noise
Her reflection in the mirror
Dad singing
Toddlers and Tiaras
Doggie kisses
Mom yelling at the dogs

Things that put her to sleep:

The SOOTHIE pacifier (which she only takes if she's nearly full and fussy and there's no other solution - she refuses any other brand)
Uncle Joe's Blanket
Keeping up with the Kardashians (puts me to sleep too)
Rocking in the chair
Her Carseat

She sleeps for about 1-2 hour naps during the day (we try this at least) and then 5-6 hour stretches still with our routine (woohoo!).  I can't tell how the doggies feel about her yet, she just kinda lies there and Sarge will be the curious one and Tank wants nothing to do with her (however, when I got up to get some cereal this morning, I returned to the couch to find them both lying next to her).  Either way, they are overall handling the adjustment pretty well, except for their significantly louder barking.  She's a sound sleeper and she could sleep through a Mack truck coming through the living room wall if she's in this position:

Now if only I can get her to do it for 7 hours straight...I told you, adorable.

Sleep Deprivation

When Baby E arrived, I doubted everyone that told me and warned me about sleep deprivation.  I said, I refuse for that to be us and my child will sleep through the night.  End. Of. Story.

Well, that's not the end of the story.  Not by far.  If you remember me posting about 3 weeks ago how Elliott slept through the night for 6 hours, that has since gone away.  We had a rough patch where she was waking up and feeding nearly every hour, on the hour, demanding (with this blood curdling cry) that she be fed.  She's just like her Mom.  My life gave new meaning to the words "Sleep Deprivation."  The words had new definitions in my dictionary that were sure to include things such as "you will run into walls when walking," "you will try and breastfeed your husband," "you will stand up and realize that she's not even crying," "you will put a diaper on your dog," and my favorite "you will breakdown, crying and not know what to do at 2:45am."

About week 2 1/2, I started to look for a solution.  You may think to yourself - "Really?!? a solution to a crying newborn?  This chick is delusional."  Yep, a solution.  So started my quest to find a fix to not getting ANY sleep.  This past Sunday, I think I found one.

No, it's not replacing milk for wine, vodka or spirits.

Elliott and I started a routine.  Step 1: wear out Elliott, keep her awake for as much of the day as I can.  Step 2: Around her 8 or 9pm feeding, I take her into the bedroom, lay her down (while she is crying....yes, I'm a terrible parent), get ready for bed myself, turn down all the lights so there is just a glimmer coming from the closet and feed her until she could suckle no more.  I imagine that God will forgive her for being so gluttonous.  I cuddle with her for 30 minutes to make sure she doesn't aspirate and lay her down in her bassinet.

She sleeps for 5 hours straight.

See above paragraph, repeat.  Another 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep for the last 4 days...each.  From 9pm-2am, 5 glorious hours of glorious, beautiful sleep.

Ahhhh.

Birth Announcement

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Things I Know

Time sure flies, there's no doubt about that.  Now, baby Elliott is nearing her 3rd week in this world, and I am absolutely amazed.  I can't believe she is getting so big and so personable.  She looks at me now, and her Daddy with utter amusement, smiling here and there, not to mention she smiles when she poops and you're holding her.  I've been lucky enough to catch some of the smiles on camera and lucky enough to not catch any poop on my clothes.  I have, however, been peed on and thrown up on, both of which are likely not stopping anytime soon.  I can only hope that Scott gets to experience this as some point.

I took my chance at taking newborn photos by myself - would I do it again, yes...I suppose I would, considering I think they turned out pretty darn good.  Note to self, if you want pictures of your newborn outside, don't have a baby in Arizona in July.  Here's one of my favorite shots (after which she peed all over the blanket):

I have some super awesome editing software that makes the photo look semi-professional, it's all a matter of catching the right smile.  I think I may look into a photography class sometime in the near future to occupy my time as a stay at home mom.  If you like what you see - check out www.paintthemoon.net/blog to see how you can get your own.

There are some things that I've noticed about baby E in her first few weeks of life:

-She hates her pacifier, except when there's nothing else to do but hold her and try and keep her calm, even then, she spits it out.  This is a good thing, since I hate pacifiers too.

-Her witching hour(s) last about 2 hours total and usually occurs at or around 10pm.  After which, she sleeps about 4-5 hours.  The witching hour(s) is(are) not a myth.  It does exist.

-She has her Daddy's feet.

-And his tree trunk legs.

-She has my lips.

-She is a perfect mix of the both of us, she has a very calm temperament and she is one of the easiest babies to take care of.

-She is growing like a weed and is an eating machine.

-She loves Mom's milk and she's getting plenty of it.  I should have named her Chunk, she does a pretty darn good Truffle Shuffle after she eats.

-She now weighs well over 8lbs and has grown over an inch since she was born.

Things that I've noticed about myself:

-I can function on 2 hours of sleep.

-I can produce enough milk to feed a cow, and my Mom should have named me Bessie.

-I hope that she has Daddy's eyes, since I melt each time I look into his, it would be better to see them on her too.

-I'm sad that Elliott won't be my little girl for very much longer.

-My heart melts every time she grabs my hand.

-We have one sweet baby girl.

Week 1

Wow.

Those three little letters sum up the slew of emotions that I've had over the last 8 days.  Really, these last 8 days have gone by so fast and I don't even know where time has gone.  Baby Elliott Mae Scheider was born last Friday, July 8th at 12:34pm, weighing in 1 week early at a whopping 8lbs, 20inches.  Needless to say, Maternal Instinct won out in the end.  Even to the minute of delivery, when my Doctor asked as she was pulling her out "Dad, what did you say?" and he replied eagerly "BOY!" and then she asked me and said "Mom, what did you say?" and I replied sternly, "GIRL."  She then said, "Well, Mom wins."  That's when Scott and I lost it.  I saw the tears well up in his eyes and I thought that the Doctor was lying to me.  I simply said "Really?" and Scott simply said,  "She's perfect."  And our lives changed forever.

I should have listened to my friend's advice regarding recovery from a C-section.  Take. It. Slow. (Thanks, Robyn), but alas, I did not and hindered my recovery a few days by working myself and my body into pure exhaustion.  But, oh well.  Needless to say, I am now off a clear liquid diet, keeping down my meals, eating a nice, balanced diet so I can provide for the little one (which could be a whole other blog entry in itself!).  I won't go into the details of the delivery, or the narcotics that were needed the first 4 days.  In the end, Scott and I were blessed with a perfect little bundle.

She sleeps about 4-5 hours at a time (I know, right?) and is growing like a weed.  I can't wait to work up the energy to take some pictures to share with you....but for now, I will leave you with this one.  It's my favorite so far.

Enjoy the new blog and the adventures of the first few weeks/months/years!

5 Hours

I can't believe the day is here (for the most part I don't think this little one has turned) and in 5 hours, I'll be in surgery to give birth to the true Wonder of this blog.  Whether it's a boy or a girl, I'll love it either way and I will keep the promise that I gave on day 1 that I will love it unconditionally for the rest of it's life, no matter what happens.  For those of you who continuously ask me if I'm excited, I think I can finally answer yes to this question.  I'm excited to see the little munchkin for the first time and hear it sigh as it rests on my chest after leaving my womb.  I'm excited to nuzzle it, I'm excited to see it's baby blue eyes and I'm excited to see Scott melt when he holds them for the first time.  I'm excited to put a face and a name to the cause for my pelvic pain, hourly trips to the bathroom, cheeseburger cravings, and rib pain.  I'm excited to be a Mom and to start a new chapter in our blog.  I hope you continue to read as our lives expand and I experience Motherhood for the first time.

I guess it wouldn't be fair if I didn't end this part of our blog journey, especially since Scott has determined that I've officially swayed the pool for it to be a girl.  But, he's wrong.  I'm just saving the last few for him so now, he can relish in the fact that the old hags think that I'm having a boy.  So - at the baby shower, we did quite a few OWTs, I just haven't posted them to throw off Scott.  All but one of them said we'r e having a boy.  I've already explained about the napkin and the key, so I'll list the other ones so there are no "discrepancies" in the blog.  So, here goes -

If you tie a string to Mom's wedding ring and place it over her belly and you see it go head to toe in a  line, you're having a GIRL and if you see it go hip to hip, you are having a BOY.   This one went to the GIRL.

If you place 2 pillows on chairs, one with a fork and one with a spoon underneath it and you have Mom sit on one of the pillows.  If Mom sits on the pillow with the Spoon, she is having a BOY and if she sits on the pillow with the Fork, she is having a GIRL.  My Mom always said the baby would have a silver spoon up it's you know what and she was right...his one went to the BOY.

If you shake salt in Mom's hair, according to Romanian folklore, you will see Mom start to itch.  If she itches her nose, it's a BOY and if she itches her lip, it's a GIRL.  I went straight for the nose.  BOY.

GIRL - 19
BOY - 19

I'll throw in a tie breaker.  Since we didn't open presents at the shower and we waited until we came home, only a few people saw this one happen.  I'm a pretty impatient person, so when it comes to opening gifts, I just can't wait - which is the tell tale sign that I'm having a BOY.  If the Mom takes her time, it's a GIRL.  So, no tie here...

GIRL - 19
BOY - 20

Popular vote - BOY

GIRL - 19
BOY - 21

Maternal instinct - GIRL

GIRL - 20
BOY - 21

Thanks to all who had a part in this blog and have enjoyed reading so far...I've enjoyed sharing this part of my life and this wonder with you all and I can't believe the day is finally here.  Lots of love and thank you for all of your prayers and support.  Scott and I appreciate it and we are so blessed that you will all be a part of little baby Scheider's life.

7 Days

I'm better now.  I'm officially off duty at the hospital since the MD and I don't want to go into premature labor and have early rupture of all the goodness that's going to explode out next friday...in one week.  We'd like to prevent any chance of an emergency C-section if at all possible.  However, I'm still teaching and some of my friends think I'm crazy, but...it keeps my mind off of how our lives are going to change in 7 days.  It's amazing, people keep asking me..."aren't you hot?"  "Aren't you ready?"  "Aren't you glad that you aren't going to be pregnant for the rest of the summer?"  I simply reply - "yes, I'm hot, aren't you, it's 117 degrees outside." "No, I'm prepared - I don't think you can ever be ready for something like this." and finally, "yes."  I can't say that I want my pregnancy to be over at this point, I think that despite how uncomfortable it is to have a 7lb baby swinging from your ribcage on a minutely basis, I'm going to miss it.  I'm going to miss the comfort of knowing that this little one is safe inside my belly and nothing can harm it, even if I'm overheating to a core temperature of 150degrees.  I'm going to miss the hiccups and the monumental movements that make me shutter and wake in the middle of the night.  I may even miss the hourly trips to the bathroom.  Probably not.  I don't think I'm ready for this, but what's even sweeter to know, is that I don't think that the world is ready for the next Scheider.  Watch out world, it's on the way and it's a mere 7 days away.

7 days from now, I will be packing a bag and going to the hospital.  7 days from now, I will be holding my husband's hand while the doctor tries to get that stubborn little baby out, butt first.  7 days from now, I will be holding my future.  It's a pretty radical thought if you ask me.  But ask me again in 6 days...and we'll see how excited I am...or nervous for this life changing event.

I can't wait to snuggle the little one though and melt when I look into their eyes.

38 Weeks

I'm exhausted.  I'm in pain.  This morning, Scott and I got up at 4am (yes, 4am) to go to the hospital.  Now, this visit was scheduled, not a surprise.  Since last week, the baby had not turned back around on its own so we went in to the hospital to have some ECV (External Cepahlic Versions) done ... aka... WWF.  Needless to say, at the quote of a very good friend of ours, the baby is going to be exiting into the world with a championship belt in its hands.  Now for those of you who don't know what this is or how it's done, feel free to Youtube it - now remember, there are different videos out there and per Scott's report, It looked like the Doctor was picking up my uterus and trying to turn it around in my abdomen, like she was Heismanning it like a football.  What I felt (thank goodness I was sedated to a point), was the doctor reaching into my bowels and picking out my different organs to sell on the black market - and she was just moving the baby out of the way to get to them, it wasn't painful, just very awkward and uncomfortable.  Since the baby is so high on my ribcage and my abdomen is so tiny, the baby moved maybe 3 hours on a clock, from 11 -> 2.  She wanted it to move from 11 -> 6 so it could go head down and I could try for a vaginal birth.  No such luck.  Upon 20 minutes (the longest our Doctor said she's ever done these movements), she gave up.  The baby was NOT going to move and it was plenty comfortable laying in my abdomen as if it were laying on the outside of my belly, prone.  Stubborn little child, I wonder where it gets that from...

Now, the doctor gave us the option of returning at 39 weeks to have the ECV movements done again and I politely declined.  If I'm supposed to have this baby vaginally, it will turn in the next 10 days and if not, it will be born into this world, kicking and screaming from my lower abdomen.  Something tells me that the Doctor will win this fight and Scott and I will be parents next Friday, July 8th, 2011.

I'm going to go back to sleep now so I can try and get some rest to go to work tomorrow.  I'm sorry that there is no OWT for you and you'll hear from me sometime next week pre-Ceasarian.  Thanks for all the well wishes and positive thoughts!  10 days!

37 Weeks

37 weeks, yes, 3 weeks left.  Or, maybe 2.  Today, Scott and I went to see Dr. Sodoma on our second weekly visit to see if the baby is ready to go...and it's not.  I'm not dilated, I'm not effaced, in fact, I'm breech.  I'm not breech, but the baby is sitting on my bladder and cervix with its rump.  Dr. Sodoma was none too pleased with the "violent" turn the baby took at some point in my uterus.  Apparently, it likes Hotel Scheider too much to want to come out, so it flipped and basically gave us a big protest.  Stubborn like their Mother.  So, where do we go from here?  Well, next week, we have to see if the baby turns itself around and I have to keep a close monitor on how much the baby moves.  Seeing as though the Dr. states that it takes a pretty significant amount of energy to move a full 180, she's anticipating that I'll have to be admitted sometime after the 4th (probably on the 5th) have some maneuvers done under sedation to get my muscles to relax and if she can't turn the baby or it goes into distress - out it comes at 39 weeks via Caesarian.  I guess we will wait until next week to see what happens.  My thought is that the baby just likes the sound of Mom's heartbeat.

So, I owe you an OWT - this one has to do with the shower as well.  Since I've had both my baby showers, the book states that if you get more Green clothing, it's a BOY and if you get more Yellow clothing, it's a GIRL.  I got far more green items (probably since there aren't a whole lot of yellow animals besides ducks - I will give this one to the BOY.

Girl - 18
Boy - 17

36 Weeks

I'm getting lazy.  Super lazy.  I'll just put it that way.  In fact, as I sit here writing to you, my husband asked me "did you do your blog this week?" I replied, "No, I'm lazy, and I'm doing it right now."  See, even he notices how lazy I've gotten.  Work has become a workout for me since I'm still lifting in the hospital and I really haven't gotten any restrictions (yes, I'm crazy and still working 9-10 hour hard days) and nice evening walks around the complex have become my routine when my husband can pull me off the couch.  Still, I'm only up 30 lbs and don't have the room in my stomach to try and gain more.  I don't have the room in my lungs to take a deep breath when I freak out about what's about to hit us.  I do however, get a lovely melody strummed along my xylophone of a ribcage when Baby Scheider feels the need to play a little tune to get itself to sleep (which BTW is the weirdest feeling I've ever felt).

I'm now on weekly OB visits and this week my OB advised me that she will not be around for the actual due date, so I'd better go early.  I was thinking - trust me lady - I'll do my best.  When I was in her office, her MA, who shall remain nameless due to my opinion of her gave me an old Mexican wives tale (OMWT).  She said to me, "Shari, you look pointy."  I said, "well thank you, what is that supposed to mean?"  She said "You're having a BOY."

I'll take the crazy MA's opinion and give the boys the point for the week.  Only a few weeks left until Baby Scheider arrives!

Girl - 18
Boy - 16

35 Weeks

I can count the number of weeks left on one hand or one very swollen foot.  It's gosh darn ridiculous.  I'll just put it out there that my hands and toes have completely turned into sausages and are none too attractive despite the pretty pedicure and manicure that I had done last week.  Thankfully, I visited an Orthotic clinic with some old colleagues and they hooked me up with some lovely compression stockings - watch out Bea Arthur.

So, this past weekend, I had the joy of hosting some of my very dear, dear friends here in Phoenix and they were so gracious to throw me a baby shower.  Now, I must confess - I've only been to one baby shower in my life, and it happened to be my own.  Just so you all know, I am in the process of sending thank you's (well, writing them out) and they should be in the mail shortly.  If I were seriously motivated and had full range of motion in my hands, I'd try and make them myself, but since I can't barely make a fist, pre-fab cards it is.  It makes me sad since I love card making, but it will have to do.  I had a truly wonderful time and I can't thank my friends and family enough for such a wonderful weekend.  I miss them already and can't believe that the next time they see me, my life will have completely changed.

At the baby shower, my wonderful co-host, Stephanie, came up with the brilliant idea to perform some of the OWTs to help me out with my blog.  For those of you that were there, you saw them in person, but I'll be recapping them, two at a time for the next three or four weeks and then thanks to Mindy (who recently had little baby Benjamin and is flourishing in motherhood) - I have a special blog treat for the last 10 or so days of the blog.

So, the first of the two tales, Stephanie had me pick up a flat tissue off of the table.  The OWT states that if the Mother grabs the edge of the tissue, she will have a GIRL and if she grabs one of the corners, she will have a BOY.  Well, I grabbed it right on the nearest corner, which means that I will be having a BOY.

The second of the two, Stephanie made me pick up a key, which I grabbed by the base as any normal person would do so (honestly, who grabs by the teeth?).  The OWT states that if the Mother grabs it by the teeth, she will have a GIRL and if she grabs it by the base, she will have a BOY.

They're gaining on us...

Girl - 18
Boy - 15

Thanks again for a wonderful time on Saturday, to all that came.  We can't wait for you all to see Baby Scheider!

34 Weeks

Hello, Hello!  No, this is not our baby in the picture.  This past weekend, we went to Denver to go and see our family and our lovely new little niece.  Let me tell you - little Macy Rae is such a peanut.  Weighing in at a whopping 7lbs, 2oz, she's hardly the size of my foot!  The moment I saw Scott hold our fragile little niece, my heart melted.  I don't think I could tell him this to his face, seeing as though I'm an emotional disaster right now, so in case he's reading this....I'll spare you all my tears.

*pause*

Lori and Addison let me take some pictures of them and here's two of my favorites.   I particularly like that the 2nd shot of her in the birdbath took about 100 shots to get, since she was awake the entire time we were taking these pictures.  I'm glad I have a camera equipped with continuous shooting.  She is so precious - well, so is the whole dang family.  Congrats and we can't wait to join the parents' club!

I owe you a wives' tale.  Today, I started my last semester teaching before the baby comes and one of my students said "show me your hands."  I looked at him awkwardly, as I think that he's going to slap them, but I show him my hands palms UP.  He states "It's a girl."

Now, for those of you who don't know my students, I need the research to back up some of the things that they say...so I checked my book.  Sure enough, and Dooley can verify, I showed my hands palm side up, which means that I am going to be having a GIRL.

Girl - 18
Boy -  13

33 Weeks

So, for the last week, I think Scott has been very eager for this baby to pop.  On Thursday, the 2nd of the 3 Scheider babies popped out and we are the only ones left.  Sad Christmas, I know, but this little turkey is not quite done baking.  Although...the turkey temperature meter (aka - my belly button) has popped and I'm starting to feel some contractions.  By the way - if the Braxton Hicks contractions are anything like the real ones, sign me up for the epidural - I know this sounds wussy...I'm just preparing myself for the worst.  Some of them feel like my belly tightening up and some of them feel like the baby has equipped their hand with a Freddy Kruger glove and is stabbing me from the inside out.  Creepy thought, I know.

So, for this week's OWT, we are going to take a look at music.  The OWT originated centuries ago in Vienna and has to do with music.  Typically, I listen to a lot of Country music and one of my favorite guilty pleasures is singing at the top of my lungs in the car, looking (and sounding) like a fool to anyone around me.  Now, Supposedly, a baby GIRL "dances" when she hears music and a baby BOY will keep still and just listen.  Now, when a good song comes on and I simply can't resist, the baby starts kicking like crazy and doing flips and dances choreographed by Carrie Underwood.  Yes, this could have second meaning - such as I'm a terrible singer and the baby is trying to get me to shut the freek up, but I'll pretend it's because my voice (and good ol' Country) is music to our baby's ears.  GIRL.

Girl - 17
Boy - 13

32 Weeks

A lot of things happened this week - Scott's sister, Lori, gave birth to a b-e-a-u-tiful baby girl, despite her confidence that she was having a boy, not to mention mostly ALL of the OWTs that I have posted have lead her to believe the same.  She named our new little niece Macy Rae, and we can't wait to meet her in a few weeks.  It hit us this week that we still have 8 long and grueling weeks to go now that Lori has had her baby.  Well, it hit me.  Scott's just the impatient one, whereas I am the uncomfortable one.  The baby has taken a liking to my ribcage, nuzzling up to ribs 9-12 and is now practicing for the 2028 Olympics Gymnastics team.

I've been waiting to do some of the more physical characteristic OWT until now due to the fact that I really haven't been experiencing a whole lot of change, except for the basketball that has taken up residence in my lower abdomen.  

Today's OWT checks on the face weight of the Mother.  No, I did not happen to weigh my face, but Scott was the judge of this one.  Now, I keep the book hidden for the most part so he does not know the outcome of the OWTs.  I don't think he knows what to say to get his way (since he's 60/40 boy vs. girl).

Italians say that if the Mother gains weight in her face, she can expect a GIRL and if she still has her slender profile, she can expect a BOY.  Scott states that my face hasn't changed and claims that it is a slender profile, so we will give this one to the BOY.

Girl - 16

Boy - 13

31 Weeks

Holy Baloney - for those of you that keep up with this blog, if you've noticed...we've moved down to single digits.  I can't believe it - well, I can believe it since my belly is now 30cm and there's 10 more to go (probably 9 now since my Dr's appointment was on Monday) and I'm up a good 30 pounds.  Yes, 30 pounds and in pre-baby world, I would think that's a lot, but it's all relative.  I guess it's ok since people that don't know me are surprised to see that I'm pregnant when I turn around to the side.

So, yesterday, Scott and I went to go and take some maternity pictures...by ourselves.  Not an easy task when the eye for the camera has a basketball attached to her lower abdomen and there's a lot of stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down, rollover, fall backwards on my butt...  I also took a stab at editing them myself (with a little help from www.painthemoon.net/blog).  I wouldn't say that we're fantastic photographers, but we didn't do so bad.

So, for this OWT - it talks about the baby's kicks.  If the baby's tiny little feet go flying to the left more often than that right, then the Mother can expect a GIRL.  If the baby kick to the right, then the mother can expect a BOY.  Well, this baby kicks to the left...all the time...even when I'm sleeping.  We will give this OWT to the GIRL.

Girl - 16
Boy - 12

I'll leave you with some shots from yesterday.  There may be a few more to come, I'll take a look to see what kinds of miracle editing I can come up with!  It's amazing that so many pictures can be taken and you only like a few!

Happy Mother's Day

30 Weeks

So, this weekend, we had the pleasure of hanging out with some dear friends of ours.  One of which is an adorable 2 1/2 year-old, who happens to be our best friend....and as an added bonus, we also had the pleasure of having our parenting skills tested and learning a valuable lesson.  Now, with that being said, we had a great night since we ended it at the Sugar Bowl (one of my favorite sundae spots) and calm puppies for not just the night, but the whole weekend.  So, what happened you ask?  Well, we met up with our friends for dinner last night during which our sweet little munchkin friend completely rebelled eating her dinner.  Now - from the beginning of the meal, after Scott and the munchkin practiced gymnastics in the booth, all she seemed to want was ice cream, so her not eating is not really a *new* thing, and it's pretty typical when ice cream is on the agenda, but it's when we got her to take about 2 bites of her food and she said "my tummy hurts."  Now, when a child says their tummy hurts and they continuously protest eating anything but ice cream, you as a parent probably know that all they want is ice cream.  But, after the 2nd bite of food, she no longer wanted the ice cream (despite our attempts at reverse psychology - "eat your dinner and you can have all the ice cream you want")...which raised a red flag.  A big, unsuspecting, red flag.  It was at that time that our little friend stood up and proceeded to (without warning) conduct a symphony of upchuck all over the dinner booth.  Quickly, the three adults at the table frantically look at each other in disbelief while our sweet little friend is just standing there continuing her performance.  Upon completion, she starts crying, as she is covered in you-know-what.  Her Dad sets her off to to the edge of the booth as he tries to remove himself from the you-know-what that is surrounding him, Scott runs to go get some wet rags and I try to calm the little lady down.  I wipe off her feet, then proceed with her to the ladies room, where I sit her in the sink and give her a bath, with her clothes on, in the bathroom of the CPK, which she found quite amusing...as she was laughing the entire time between her tears.  People in the bathroom were looking at me like I was insane.  Which - I really didn't care about, I just needed to rid the little one of the gunk between her toes and what seemed to be in every corner of her shirt and skin.  It was a successful bath, and needless to say, our little friend seemed to be content.

Now, what's the lesson?  There's a few.

1.  Don't let your husband (or any person for that matter) begin the dinner with gymnastics coaching in the booth before you eat.

2.  When kids don't want ice cream, it means there's something wrong.

3.  Bath time can be fun.

4.  Bring a change of clothes (or 2) with you when ever leaving the house.  And some clean shoes.

So, with the highs and the lows of the weekend...Here's the OWT.  A high baby is a GIRL, or so it's recorded in the realm of folklore and if it's a low baby, it's a BOY.  Now, after 30 weeks of hearing "you're really high!" I'll document this one with 10 weeks to go as being a GIRL.

Girl - 15
Boy - 12

30 weeks!

29 Weeks

It's amazing how your life changes the moment you get pregnant.  Your heartburn kicks in and gets worse from there on out.  Your irritability starts and gets worse from there on out.  You gain weight and that gets worse from there on out.  Your body changes and gets more different each day from there on out.  Your sense of normalcy changes and changes each day from there on out.  You lose your mind and keep losing your mind from there on out.  But then, you come home to people and puppies that love you and they continue to love you despite all of the above and continue to do so from that moment on.  It's pretty amazing.

Things this week - I passed my 1 hour glucose test (remember that crap I had to drink last week?) which means that I'm a very low risk for GD.  Not that that's a big shock, but I'm just glad that I don't have to do a fasting one since this girl and fasting don't mix.  I have to eat about every 2 hours to prevent an ugly green monster from appearing.  

So, this week, we can talk about food and cravings...they say that if you are craving salty things, you can expect a BOY and if you're craving sweet things, you can expect a GIRL.  This is a very weird OWT for me since I was never one really for sweets, but I've never craved cheeseburgers and pastrami sandwiches as much as I do now, so I'm going to go with a BOY on this one...the only reason I'm not saying GIRL is due to the fact that I only need one bite of something sweet to satisfy that craving as opposed to a double cheeseburger, after which completing, I practically eat the wrapper.

I'll just leave it at that.

Girl - 14

Boy - 12

28 Weeks

It's good to be home.  I was in Dallas for the good part of last week, so it was difficult writing a blog without a computer.  A few things that I've come to notice is that when traveling, I am quite a bit more irritable.  Let's just say that for the most part, I was not a happy camper and if I had the choice, I'd probably never fly Frontier Airlines again.  BUT, since I now have a $200 credit, I guess I have to give it another shot.

So things this week.  I'll bullet them for you

1.  It's gone from the question of "Are you pregnant?" or "Have you gained weight?" to "When are you due?"  Now, for those of you who don't see me on a regular basis - it has gotten 100% obvious that I have something growing in my belly that has 10 fingers and 10 toes and a human genome.

2.  The baby has earned a new nickname.  I was in Dallas with some Docs this past week and I was sitting in a session and my belly started to move.  You know when you are driving and your window is wide open and you run your hand up and down through the wind like a sine-wave?  Well, when you're sitting in a room with a bunch of medical people and they can actually see your belly - they start to talk.  One of them said "it looks like the lock-ness monster in your belly!"  Hereby knighting the baby "Nessie" for the duration of the pregnancy.

3.  The baby used to be called Popper - if you didn't know - and the above nickname is of relief to me as every time someone says "Popper" I think of the lead singer from Blues Traveler, swooning and sweating in my belly, hiding behind my uterus singing the song "Run Around."

4.  No, number 3 is not a pretty picture.

5.  I've upgraded to biweekly doctor appointments

6.  I was brought back to my childhood today when I had to do my Glucose Tolerance test and had to drink a bottle of old-school Triaminic and sit and wait and have my blood drawn.  Stay tuned for the pending results...I know, I can hardly take the suspense myself.  I also had to get my Rh shot today, since I'm a negative person.  O Negative.

7.  My uterus has turned into one of these:

I wish there was a blog about trips to the bathroom.  So, if you know of one, please let me know.  

This week, I'll do another one about sleeping.  Since that's all I want to do lately and the Germans say that a GIRL will make you want to sleep more than you did before.  But a BOY won't make you so sleepy.  Also, since I always want to sleep on my Right side, they also say that a GIRL is favored.  

Girl - 14

Boy - 11

27 Weeks

I'm going to be an Aunt again in 4 weeks, and a Mom in 13.  It's a pretty scary thought (about the Mom thing - the Spoiling Auntie thing - I have under control).  Scott is pretty stoked too, since it's his Sister who is having the baby and he gets a Scheider/Pope nie-phew in 4 weeks...not just mooching off of my sweet girls from my brother...whom he does love very much.  They call him Uncle Moonman because he goes to the Moon and back to get cheese (I think).  It's odd, but it works.  A nice little tangent for you on a Monday.

As I wake up each Saturday and Sunday morning, I find Uncle Moonman my Darling Husband, piddling around the house looking for something to do (our house is not that big, but there's always projects).  This weekend, it was cleaning the glass windows inside AND outside of the condo, and later on Saturday, he was demanding that I  come up with something else that he can do (primarily hang stuff up in the nursery...many little projects that I am slowly completing, one little owl at a time).  I finally had to tell him to leave the nursery alone until I figure out what I am going to do and we get our ginormous chair in place - so I can have it all come together at once and not have to take everything down and rehang it.  He gave me a frown but I'm sure he'll understand when he sees what I have in store.  I then told him to build me a California Closet this weekend when I'm gone in Dallas - we'll see how ambitious he really is...

So, this blog is for him, again (I have a few more and BTW, he's lost 10/14lbs of baby-weight that he's gained in support of our pregnancy).

This OWT is entitled the "Handyman" and states that a lot of household projects come packed into the pregnancy package.  If he's getting more projects done around the house, there's a BOY in our future.  If Dad's lazy not getting much done around the house these days, we can expect a GIRL.  Well, from the looks of my pristine windows, I'll give this one to the BOY.

Girl - 12
Boy - 11

I have a handyman for rent - all proceeds go to Baby Scheider's College fund.  Call for details :)

26 Weeks

Today is a very bittersweet day for me to be blogging.  Bitter in the fact that the beginning of this month would have been the month that I give birth to our first baby.  You never forget things like that - it's pretty amazing that even though I'm still carrying a tiny little wonder, the life of another was cut too short.  Sweet in the fact that the beginning of this month marks the beginning of my third trimester, which is still bittersweet, since I only have three months left with my little ballerina (mind you, ballerinas can be boys or girls) swirling and turning in my belly.  I just hope and pray that things work out for all of us.

This week, we had some visitors come and bum around town with us - we got to go to a hockey game, miniature golfing, to a comedy show - you name it and we probably did it.  We had a really fun weekend.  But, now a days, really fun weekends and nights past midnight make for a very tired and exhausted Mother-to-Be.  So, it's only appropriate that this week's blog has to do with sleeping (what I am planning on doing shortly after I post).

This OWT comes from New England, where it is rumored that if a Mother sleeps in a bed with the pillow to the North, she will have a BOY.  A GIRL is on the way if the reverse is the case and Mom's pillow points to the South.  Now, most people who read this blog (about 50%) won't be able to complete this OWT without rearranging their room (it says nothing about East vs West) - but luckily, my bedroom is totally applicable.  My pillow faces South (without rearranging my bedroom furniture) and this OWT leads me to believe that we are having a GIRL.

Girl - 12
Boy - 10

Sweet dreams to you all, until next week.

25 Weeks

A sick Mom makes for a short blog today.  So, today, while I slept on the couch with an extremely sore throat, a suspected fever, and two shiny dachshunds, the darling husband put together all of the nursery furniture.  This took him approximately 4 hours, record time for him.  I'm slowly but surely coming together with a decorating plan.  But, here is what I have so far.  I couldn't wait to put the linens on the crib, since they have been sitting in the closet for the last month or so.  You will also see in the corner my DIY forest lamp which cost about 34 dollars with the new lamp shade and craft supplies.

On the other side of this wall will be a dresser (kind of a boring picture) and a PBK chair that is on its way in cranberry red.  A little token to make the room "pop."  We've got some new curtains that will be going up soon (when we get the chair cover) and I'm working on some wall decorations (well, I have the supplies, the work was put on hiatus today with my cold).

Ok, so a simple OWT for the week, since my brain hurts and I'm having a hard time focusing on my computer.  This week, I made a chicken and Scott saved the wishbone.  OWT states that if Mom pulls the bigger half, it's a GIRL and if Dad pulls the bigger half it's a BOY.  Well, despite being sick, my brute strength defeated the mighty Scott and this OWT states that we are having a GIRL.  Here's to hoping I feel better!

Girl - 11
Boy - 10

24 Weeks

Ahhh, the nursery planning has started.  We have the spare bedroom all cleared out and my husband has painted over the sage green portion of the room.   We went searching high and low for different goodies to add a little bit of character and the nursery is quickly turning into a DIY project.  We finally invested in our Pottery Barn Kids chair that Scott is in love with (goodbye tax return) and found some pretty eclectic stuff to give us some ideas.  First project: make your own lamps.  Stay tuned to the blog for outcomes...or tears.  I don't have a whole lot to say today, which is rare for me, my husband got me a prenatal massage and a preggo pillow on Friday to help me sleep better (such a sweet man) and then last night, we went out with some friends of ours to dinner and some bars to sing watch people sing karaoke.  It's amazing how many stares you get at 1am when you're in a bar, in heels, with a big belly.

So, the OWT for today (I have 2).  I've been chatting quite a bit with Lori (my sister-in-law) and she's been telling me how out of breath she is lately and comparatively, I'm not really experiencing a whole lot of shortness of breath.  However, I just seem to breathe a little heavier.  In the handy-dandy OWT book, the book states that if Mom notices that breathing is more difficult since pregnancy, a BOY is on the way.  If Mom is breathing free and clear, a GIRL is growing in her belly.  Since I'm not huffing and puffing, I'll call this one a GIRL.

Now, this OWT is not in the book per-say, but I have heard of it before.  Kids have an uncanny ability to predict the sex of the baby in an expectant Mother's belly.  Last night, we hung out with Corinne, a fabulous 2 1/2 year old who put her hand on my belly and when asked if it's a girl or a boy, she said GIRL without any hesitation.

Boy - 10
Girl - 10

A Reality Check

You know, to be honest with you, this whole pregnancy hasn’t really felt real up until this past Sunday.  I’ve been growing - attributing it to the cheeseburgers and caramel pecan sundaes that I’ve been indulging in - my pants have not been fitting without a rubber band – also attributed to the cheeseburgers and caramel pecan sundaes - my shirts have been stretching and I’m beginning to look more and more like the small basketball in my stomach is starting to expand into a Zepplin.  I’m the heaviest I’ve been in my entire life, weighing in at a whopping 157lbs this week, up 22 from my initial 135lbs.  It’s absolutely petrifying.  And now, 24 weeks in, I feel as though I finally have something to show for it, a protruding belly and now, an adorable memory that my engineering husband has engrained in my brain that I am sure not to forget. 

Sunday afternoon, after a long day of day drinking (for Scott) and Cubbies Spring Training in the sun (thank goodness for frozen lemonade), we lay on the couch, snuggling, despite the awful scent of residual hops on my husband’s breath. And then, there it was…not only did I feel the young Chuck Norris kick, but I saw it.  For the first time, I felt implanted in the movie Alien, just waiting for this creepy little head to pop out of my belly, screetching at the top of their lungs.  No such thing happened, but I saw it again and said to Scott, “look, there it is” ever so gently as to not disturb their delicate ballet practice.  Then, he saw it and stated, “How did you do that?”  Then there was a pause.  A long pause.  Now, granted, my husband had a few drinks, BUT, with his engineering brain, I would hope he’d be able to put two and two together or at least remember what was going on in my belly.  I said “really?  You think that I’d be able to telepathically move my child’s foot and protrude it through my belly?”  “Well, I don’t know.” I simply looked at him, smiled and chuckled. 

My sweet husband.

23 Weeks

So, I guess that each time you read this, I have just completed the week that I'm writing about.  As I continue to look at different websites, I get a lot of confusing information about how many weeks I am.  But - I think I have figured it out.  According to gerber.com (great resources) I'm in my 24th week of development, which means that I have made it through 23 weeks, right (according to thebump.com)?  I think that's right.  It's all too complicated to figure out before 10am.  I'm quite sad that today is Daylight Savings Time, which means that I'm an hour further away from all of my friends to the East of me.

So, I am still having crazy, crazy dreams (even about the TV show "Sister Wives" - yipes!) and my cheeseburger cravings, but overall - I'm feeling pretty okay.  The only thing is - I pretty much want to sleep all day long.  It's crazy - I went to a wedding (congrats Marissa and Ryan) last night and I was so tired, I didn't even stay for cake.  I know, I know, a crime in itself, but honestly - sleep weighs higher in my book than cake.  Besides, I'll head to the market today and pick up a piece for dessert.  Nom Nom.  One piece of Red Velvet?  Yes, please.

Speaking of food, this blog is for the boys.  Lori, my lovely, 7 1/2 month pregnant sister-in-law, said that she was talking with her future husband and he was looking in the mirror and said "I. Am. Chub. By."  Which I thought was hilarious until I talked to my husband, who stated "You being pregnant = Me gaining 14 lbs.  I'm going on a diet."  So, now, I am stuck in the middle of a South Beach frenzy in the Scheider household, but at least it's a healthy diet that I can add some individual carbs into.  So, here's the OWT for today.

OWT states that sometimes fathers gain weight too, with pregnancy.  Nothing new in that, but what does it mean when Dad gets heavier as Mom's pregnancy advances?  Well, it means that a BOY is on the way.  If the Dad does not gain any weight, a GIRL is on the way.  So, looks like at this time, we will be having a BOY, as will Lori and Addison.

I'm going to get back to my biscuits and gravy - as my husband is eating his strict South Beach eggs and turkey bacon.

Boy - 10
Girl - 8

22 Weeks

So this week, Scott and I decided to take a "babymoon" to the wonderful, blustery cold, city of Chicago.  I'll post some pictures, one of which you're bound to get a kick out of.  There are lots of different things that I decided:

1.  I still love cheeseburgers (Kopp's up in MKE last night was pretty spectacular).
2.  Chicago Hot-Dogs are a close running for my second favorite food right now, sans the peppers d/t the limited availability of Tums.
3.  Deep dish pizza from Giordano's is still pretty amazing, whether it's hot or cold, AND it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.
4.  The baby loves Science (you'll see a picture soon of this).
5.  My husband is still the sweetest man ever.
6.  Garrett popcorn (particularly the pecan-carmel) is also pretty spectacular.

With that being said, I owe you a wives' tale today, despite the fact that I have 2 very exhausted dachshunds sleeping on my lap and I can barely keep my eyes open from exhaustion (we also spent 3 days with our favorite nieces who tuckered us out).  So, this one is for my Mom.  I really hope she doesn't get upset that I noticed this...

The Grandmother's influence is a "Gray" area for this one.  If the Maternal Grandmother has gray hair, natural or dyed, the Mother will deliver a BOY and if the Maternal Grandmother has another hair color (other than gray), the Mother will deliver a GIRL.

Seeing as though I just visited with my lovely Mother this morning and noticed that she's a day or two overdue for a dye-job, we'll just say that I'm going to deliver a BOY and leave it at that.  I had a pretty wonderful time and it was hard to say goodbye to my family, particularly my brother since the next time he sees me, I'll have a little one of my own.

Girl - 8
Boy - 9

21 Weeks

So by now, if you read this blog on a regular basis, you've may have noticed that we have skipped a week.  Before today, I was waiting eagerly to jump to the halfway point and now, I'm a week past it.  This week, Scott and I had our ultrasound, where we learned that our new due date is a week earlier than what we expected.  Now, it's July 9th and no, we did NOT find out the sex of the baby and we're just not telling you - neither of us really know (despite the desperate attempts to look on my part).  Time is creeping closer each day and I find myself daydreaming about the moment that I will first hold the little one.  Already, I can't imagine life not being pregnant and I will assume, that I won't be able to remember what life was like before the little one got here.  Right now, I'll just enjoy the kicks and turns that subtly wake me up in the middle of the night and hope that he or she comes out with the patience of my darling husband and my witty sense of humor (but if they get that from my husband - I guess it will be alright).  I also changed the background of the blog to initiate the theme of the nursery, which will be owls.  Hoot Hoot!

So, on to the ultrasound.  We got all of our measurements and shocker - the baby has a ginormous head.  Now, this may be a surprise, but really, have you seen the man that I married?  Let me just say that I'm hoping for a Caesarian just looking at his noggin.  I couldn't imaging squeezing that through my you-know-what.  The baby measured at 21 weeks and the head, 22 weeks.  Yikes.  You'll see below.  You can see more pictures on my Facebook page, linked to Scott's, if you're interested.

So this week, we will do a few OWTs about me.  Technically, the are mostly all about me since I'm the one carrying the Bambino(a), but maybe next week I'll do some for Scott (yes, Dad specific ones).  Speaking of Scott, God Bless him for dealing with the crazy monster he now shares a bed with.  I'm definitely more emotional than before and I am having one heck of a time finding clothes that actually fit me.  I had to breakdown and buy some maternity jeans today, one pair of which, I own in non-maternity fashion.  Is that bad?  I'll gladly take any opinions or suggestions regarding finding good clothes that I will still be able to wear after the fact that I'll be pushing out a watermelon in about 4 months time.  And if you can, try to stray from those God-awful maternity stores that will put me in horrendous patterns and a different decade than the current.  Now, back from the tangent.

OWT #1 - French tale tellers look to the Mom's legs for their clue.  It's true that legs can put on weight during pregnancy.  If the Mother's legs are starting to look like tree trunks, it's a sure sign of a BOY.  And if the Mother's legs are just as trim as before she was pregnant, parents should look for a GIRL at delivery time.  Well, considering that my jeans still fit me (with respect to the waist) but they are getting tight throughout the legs (it could be due to the fact that I regularly lift legs and run still) - I'll claim this one to a BOY.  For the record, my thighs still do not touch.

OWT #2 - This one is probably one of my favorites - it's called the "Back-end Blues" OWT.  If the Mother notices that she is having increased weight gain in her rear, aka - more Junk-in-the-trunk, she can count on a GIRL being delivered.  If there's not any weight gain in the back, then a BOY is on it's way.  Well, considering that when I bought my maternity jeans today, I remained a size 27 (hooray!), I will admit that this one will also go to the BOY.

Girl - 8
Boy - 8

Week 19

So this week, the cravings of cheeseburgers and french fries continue and I continuously look for new and exciting places to go, but somehow, this baby will always bring me back to the same place at least once per week - In and Out Burger.  Double Double, animal style with no lettuce or tomato and easy on the sauce, please.  At least I know what I am having for lunch today - sure sounds good.  I'm also having a lovely craving for Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards, for which my husband has, at least 3 times, left home in the late hours of the night to go and find.  At least some of my jeans still fit and I'm eating a relatively healthy breakfast and lunch, so when these cravings occur - I'm pretty balanced....or I can just keep telling myself this and maybe someday, I'll believe it.  I do also find myself going through 2 very large containers of Cottage Cheese on a weekly basis.  I should have bought stock in dairy companies before getting pregnant.

So, It has been very difficult to convince my husband that I am not picking and choosing the OWTs that I want to ensure that they tell you that we are having a girl.  So, since he is an engineer, I thought we would do the PURE science OWT that he can physically see and confirm whether he thinks its a boy or a girl.  I don't know if you have heard of this one, but if you are pregnant, consider yourself warned.  This is the WORST smelling OWT yet, all of the others have been pretty calm so far.  I'm sure that at some point, I'll have to breakdown and eat a clove of garlic, but that probably won't compare to the awful stench that was in a red solo cup this morning.

For this familiar American test, add one tablespoon of crystal Drano (which is VERY hard to find, I found it at ACE hardware) to a small amount of your first-of-the-morning urine, and wait a bit to see what happens.

If the mixture turns a bluish yellow color, it signals a BOY and if the mixture changes a greenish brown, you can count of a baby GIRL.

I had my darling husband look at the cup and he confirmed that it was indeed greenish brown and that signals that we are going to be having a GIRL.

Now, back to the ones I can skew my way...

Girl - 8
Boy - 6

P.S. A pic for you...as you've requested!

Turkey Sandwich

So, I have to write about this.  For all of you ladies (or gentlemen) that have been pregnant (or had a pregnant wife), you know that pregnant ladies can have some serious insomnia leading to some seriously whacked out dreams.  No joke.  Being pregnant is great and all, but i'll give this little treat up in a heartbeat.  I don't think I've had a good night sleep in about 15 weeks.  Ok, so onto the random Monday post.

Last night (I swear to you that I didn't eat anything before I went to bed - as my Mom always said this will give you bad dreams) I dreamt 2 things of interest.

1.  This is my second dream that I'm having a boy

2.  I'm just going to tell you the dream.

So, Scott and I were back in Racine, Wisconsin in the 3rd house I ever lived in growing up.  It probably was one of my favorite homes - the Stuart Road house.  We were upstairs in my bedroom, yes, my bedroom from when I was 12-17 years old and I was smack-dab in the middle of birthing our child.  Thankfully, my subconscious neglected to add the parts of blood, guts, and placenta and graced us with a wonderful 2 YEAR OLD child who was not only vocal with an impressive vocabulary, but potty trained (the dream gets better).  The baby boy, who was a mere 3 feet tall, was clean as a whistle and a spitting image of his father and repeatedly said "dadda, dadda, dadda!"  When asked who I was, the baby stated "momma!" (all going as expected) and then...I asked him what his name was and he said "I don't know, you haven't given me one yet" and I said, "well what do you want to be called?"  He replied "Brian*, Brendan*, Brandon*, Jennifer* or.....Turkey Sandwich."

I said, "Turkey Sandwich?  Really?  Okay - if you insist."  Then I proceeded to look out the window where I saw this amazing tornado, grabbed my child, pushing over my elderly Grandmother down the stairs (with whom I lived with during those 5 years) and headed to the basement with my husband for safety.  Needless to say, this was one hell of a dream.

I called Grandma today, and she seemed fine, so it was no premonition of her of any sort.

Per my RN friend at work, who happens to be Korean, she says that an OKWT (Old Korean Wives' Tale) states that if you have good, sweet dreams, you are having a GIRL, and if you have scary nightmares, you are having a BOY.

I'll give this one to the BOY without any question.  Weird = bad to me.

Girl - 7
Boy - 6

Maybe it means I'm having a boy.  Or as my Mom states, dreams mean the opposite, and maybe I am having a girl.  I'll leave it to fate.  Perhaps right now, it's up in the tornado with the rest of the munchkins enjoying Oz (aka, Hotel Uterus) before it comes to reality.

*names have been changed to protect confidentiality of future baby names.

Week 18

Another Sunday morning blog comes around and I realize that we are nearing the halfway mark.  This week is really all about wonder.  Since I've been feeling the baby move quite a bit more (even Scott got to feel it this week), I start to wonder about the little one inside my belly.  I wonder what he or she is going to be when they grow up (probably either a gymnast or a soccer player based on the movement), what they are going to look like (will they have my husband's bright blue eyes, or a delicate shade of turquoise like mine - and for sure it's going to come out with red hair, I just know it), what are we going to name them - since the name will stick with them for their entire life, or at least until they turn 18.  I wonder why the baby starts doing flips every time I eat a cheeseburger and fries, since that has become my staple restaurant food of choice (I've had 3 this week!).  I wonder if there is anything we can do to change an outcome that always has a possibility to be challenging (what if there's something wrong with them, they have 7 arms and 4 eyes) and I realize, there's not a thing I can do about it.  And then I wonder, what does God have in store for us?

I'll leave it a mystery for the next 22 weeks and we will embrace whatever comes out with open arms.

So this week, we'll take a look at my hands and the OWTs.  There are 2.

OWT #1 - Looking closely at my hands, I have to determine whether they are rough or smooth.  Now, being that it's the dead of winter, you would think this is an OWT that truly is going to have an advantage in the cold and blustery months.  But - I live in the desert and my hands should not change all that much with the changing of the seasons (i.e. from 60 to 80 degrees).  I've notice that my knuckles are dry and cracking (even with a little bleeding), despite the manicure I treated myself to yesterday) and that indicates that I will be delivering a BOY.

OWT #2- Looking even closer at my hands, I also have to determine whether or not my nails are growing faster.  To be honest, they appear as though they are stronger, but they are not necessarily growing faster (I have to cut them about every 7 days still - which is NOT any new occurrence).  This indicates that I will be delivering a GIRL.

Girl - 7
Boy - 5

Week 17

Ah, another Sunday morning blog.  I remember the Sundays when all I wanted to do was sleep because I was out too late the night before.  Boy, that sure is changing fast!  In bed by 9pm on a Saturday night and up by 8am.  Unfortunately - I'm not sleeping all that well through those glorious 11 hours of possible sleep and every time I wake up, my heart is pounding.  I must be having some crazy preggo dreams!

So, something happened *I think* this week.   I felt the baby kick for the first time, or what I thought was a kick.  It felt like something someone lightly pushing against the inside of my belly.  I don't feel a flutter or butterflies, but just a little bit of light pressure.  I don't feel it very often, but when I do, it makes me smile.  Scott says he wishes that he could feel it, but I told him that soon enough he'll be able to not only feel it, but see it.  We're also looking for a nickname for the little onion this week.  On thebump.com, every week, it gives the parents to be a fruit or vegetable that is near the size of the fetus.  Well, this week we have an onion (I did look for a second opinion on babycenter.com, and they said it was a turnip - not much better).  Good thing is, we have an onion - I like onions, but not when it comes to describing our baby.  Bad thing is, it's an onion.  Seriously?  Maybe we'll name her Vidalia.

I have been waiting 2 weeks for this week's OWT.  Scott has, however, told me that I am "rigging" the OWTs to say that we are having a girl, but some of these are hard to fake.

It's all about hair!  We have 2 involving hair this week.  The first OWT, everyone has heard of.  The Mother is supposed to stay at the mirror and brush her hair for a bit.  If her hair is getting more shiny and full bodied day by day, Swedish folklore states that the Mother is having a BOY.  If her hair is getting thinner and stringier with each day, the Mother is having a GIRL.  I am seeing absolutely NO change in how my hair is (i.e. it's still as stringy and dull as a Raggity-Ann doll) which means I am having a GIRL.

The second OWT took me about 10 days until caving.  So, here it is.  If the Mother's leg hair is growing faster now than before, she is having a BOY.  If the Mother's leg hair growth is the same as before or less, she can expect a GIRL.  Well, since I was able to go 10 days without shaving and not even noticing a stub, I'm going to chalk it up to the little GIRL growing in my belly.

Boy - 4
Girl - 6

She'll be an Aaron Rodgers fan for sure!  Go PACK Go!