Christmas Traditions..

For as long as I can remember, this Christmas calendar slowly counted down to the big day. When Beth, Adam, and I were little, we used to fight over who got to move the mouse one day closer to Santa coming. As you can see in the picture above, the mouse is ALMOST all the way there! I can't believe Christmas is this week!!!!!

This treasured piece of our childhoods has been on a three year rotation since we left home. Beth, who gets it next? Adam? I believe this is my last year to have it.. :(

I can't wait to start holiday traditions for our children. Next year will be so special! Lu will be almost 9 months old - maybe a smidge to small to really understand. I'm sure the tree will not be safe though!

27ish weeks

I wish I would have never said that I was "so big" at 14 weeks. THIS is what "so big" means: This pic is just 2 days shy of 27 weeks. She's been making herself known the last couple of days with very strong movements. It feels like she's arranging organs in there to make herself more comfortable.

Oh no... this could be addicting... hahaha

and another prediction:

wanna see what lu will look like????? ME TOO!

A lady on one of my message boards posted a link to this website where you can upload pictures of the parents and VOILA! You get a sneak peak! Here was Lu's prediction.... I always thought she'd have brown hair. ;)

pants.

My pants are way too tight today. I think I have outgrown this belly panel... :(

epidural or natural?

The question on whether or not to have an epidural has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks. Here are some pros and cons I have thought of: (these are all based on what I have read, so if there are any moms out there reading this, and think I've completely lost it - feel free to comment.)

Having a natural childbirth Pros:
-being able to experience EVERYTHING
-Lu not being "sluggish" upon delivery
-labor possibly not being slowed down by drugs

Having a natural childbirth Cons:
-having to experience EVERYTHING
-not being able to enjoy her birth because of the pain
-being a complete witch during the process (because of the pain)

Having an Epidural Pros:
-being relaxed enough to enjoy the experience
-being able to rest between contractions
-hello! pain free!!!

Having an Epidural Cons:
-Lu being drugged when she's born
-higher chance of delivery resulting in a c-section
-possible long term side effects (back pain, headaches, etc..)

I guess I won't know the what kind of pain I'm truly in for until I get there. I've been asked about my delivery choice by a couple people, and it just got me thinking about it.

Any Moms out there - How did you do it? Would you change it if you could?

snow, snow, snow

SICK! I hate the snow. I really do. Yesterday confirmed it. We had another snow storm that lastest all day and left us with another 7ish inches. Under the snow, there was a layer of gross, icky, slush that turned to ice overnight. This morning as I was waiting for the car to warm up, I told Lu repeatedly to NEVER move to a cold climate! Let's see if she listens. :)

The sun is out today, so that makes it a little better. It's still cold as heck, but at least it's not snowing. Maybe I'm just really ansty for this winter to be over. Afterall, as soon as it starts to get warm Lu will finally be here!

We've just started to actually SEE her movements. What a trip! Last night I fell asleep on the couch just watching her squirm under my skin. She would stop everytime I pressed on her, so I just sat back and enjoyed the show. She's a wiggler!!

Linda, thanks for the comment! I want to kiss her little nose too!!!!!! It's so cute in the ultrasound picture! March 26th can not come soon enough!

Hugs,
Mary and Lu

lu's schedule

I read in one of my pregnancy books that by now, the baby is waking and sleeping as they would after birth. This is a little concerning. So far, Lu has a very weird schedule.

She's usually awake and very active around 11pm, quiets down around 1am, and then is up again at 5am. Then! I won't hear from her at all until around noon! She definitely needs to switch these patterns or we're going to be in for some long nights. She has 15 weeks to figure this out.

Jon made some cookies last night. As I was standing over the oven inhaling the good fumes, Lu was pushing her butt or back or something straight out in front. It felt like she was trying to escape out of my belly button! She must love macadamia nut cookies already. :) They were really good!!

25 Week Picture

Hello All!

I can't believe we are 25 weeks into this process... only 15 or so more to go!!!!!!! Tonight we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Seattle Seahawks game. On one of my three trips to the restroom, a lady kindly told me that I looked "tiny for being 25 weeks." Personally, I think she was just trying to be nice and come up with conversation while we waited in line, but it was still a nice gesture. ;)

a very good visit!

Lu and I had her 24 week appointment tonight. We made the trek to Germantown to see Dr. D. It had been snowing all afternoon, but the roads weren't too bad.

The visit went so well! Because of the snow, I was one of the only patients she had tonight. I got some QUALITY time with my doctor. We listened for her heartbeat, but she was being a little stinker at first. She kept kicking/punching/or headbutting the doppler and the doctor could not get an accurate read. After she finally settled down, we found her heartrate to be 160. Everything is right on track for the end of March!!!

I have been having a weird numbing, tingling sensation on the upper right side of my belly for the past two weeks. I asked Dr. D about it tonight, and she said that it's a pretty common symptom. Apparently, my ribs are spreading and it's putting pressure on the nerves. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done for the discomfort except to give birth. I'm not willing to do that for another 15 weeks, so I guess I will have to deal with it. :) It was just reassuring to hear it's nothing major.

We only have two more monthly appointments and then we start going every two weeks! It seems like this pregnancy is flying by! She'll be here before we know it!!!

Love,
Mary and LuLu

It was a great weekend!

A big thank you to my mom for driving all the way to Milwaukee after work on Wednesday to spend the holiday with us! We put together one puzzle and got pretty far on the second. I wish we would have had more time! We also got some much needed time together after not seeing each other since August. It was sad to watch her pull away on Sunday...

We got HAMMERED with snow with snow last night. Jon and I watched transformers blow last night around our neighborhood. We woke up to about 5 inches of heavy, wet snow. Jon was a dear and scooped and salted the walkways while I got ready. UGH.. I am sooooo not ready for winter!

Stay warm everyone!!
Love,
Mary and Lu