16 Weeks/4 Month Check-up

I love leaving that place in a good mood with great news!! We had a wonderful 4 month check-up today. The baby's heart rate was 155. Dr. Cousins said my weight gain was right on target!! (boy was that good to hear!) She also measured my uterus and it is right where it is supposed to be too! She actually showed me how to feel the top of my uterus on my belly. It was pretty cool. She made Drew do it too. He is not a big fan of pressing on my belly (or when other people do it) but once he felt it he thought it was neat too. It is about an inch under my belly button now and she said that by next time we are there it will be at my belly button. We go back in two weeks for the big ultrasound.


Dr. Cousins referred me to a headache specialist today. She says that at this stage there should be no reason for my head to be hurting like this day and night. This is supposed to be the honeymoon stage of pregnancy and I really feel like I would be that happy-go-lucky pregnant chick if it weren't for these stupid headaches. So, I go on June 4th to see what's up. I was under the impression that all I could do for it is to take Tylenol but I learned today that they can put me on something to control these suckers that is safe for pregnant women. Thank the Lord! I don't know how much longer I could pretend to be feeling great! Poor Drew surely knows that is not the case! I must add how AMAZING my husband is! He is the most patient, understanding soul I know! He can tolerate me like no one else. I am so grateful to have him in my life! I love you!


I think I forgot to tell you that we rented a heartbeat doppler. I know that sounds crazy but it sure is reassuring to hear that sound everyday! If I had to wait 4 weeks between hearing that I would be a mess! We also listen to it the morning of our doctors visits which makes us not so nervous each time we go in. I am so happy to say that we are thrilled to go to the Doctor these days rather then terrified like we were last December. I am going to try and get a good recording with my camera and upload it for you all to hear next week. I am going to send it back once I can feel the baby moving all the time bc I will no longer need the reassurance that things are ok in there.

Love to all,
Laine

Chunkey Monkey

So here is the first belly pic. Its a comin....and a goin! It has been coming and going for the last few weeks. It just depends on how much I'm eating and if I'm able to use the bathroom that WEEK....seriously!! Constipation is NOT my friend. Anyway, I am expanding in all directions. My Doctor, Dr. Cousins (or "Cuzz" as Drew calls her to her face these days!) says it is just fine. I was pregnant for 2 1/2 months, then depressed for 2 months and now I have been pregnant for going on 4 months so it's expected that I have gained a lil more weight in the first 16 weeks then most women do. Not to mention that I was not eating at all right before the wedding! So I'm just going to enjoy this time, embrace my new curves and work like hell to get them off after the baby comes. Sorry I didn't look cute for the pic. We had been around the house all night doing housework and I wasn't about to put on make-up and a cute outfit for the camera. That rarely happens these days! :) We are off to the beach for Memorial weekend! yay!



Happy 21st Birthday Brother!!! I love you!!

Love to all,

Laine

Picture Updates

Here are some picture updates for everyone.....

This is "THE" rocking chair I have been so excited about! Mommy found it at a consignment store here in town and thought I would love it. I had been looking at the ones in Pottery Barn but they were way too expensive. We got this one for only $80!!!! It ended up costing us a bit more though because when we got it, it was covered in 1974 blue roses fabric. So we had to get it recovered. It was a sight to see that's for sure! We went to Printers Alley and found fabric that is adorable and definitely girl/boy friendly. It comes in a set of three matching fabrics so I used two on the chair and the crib bumper will be made out of the third. (I'm actually trying something different rather then a bumper because they now say that bumpers can cause suffocation and all this other bologna...but you will have to wait for those pics) Anyway, the crib skirt is going to be made out of the same fabric as the skirt of the chair. Yay!

Here is part of the nursery. The stool was given to me by my grandmother Nancy. I had it recovered in the same fabric as the crib & rocking chair skirt. The little bedside table was my Gran's that is actually part of the bedroom set I had growing up. It has been all around the family and I'm glad to be able to use it for my lil one too. We got lucky on the carpet.....guess where that is from????!!!! ha! We bought the crib early because it was sold out online and they only had one left in the store. ta-da! We sure are getting there. It's early to have this much done already but there is tons more to do so I know I won't get bored anytime soon.

The changing table is another item we got from family. My uncle Hunter was finnished with it so it was passed on to us as well. I found the baskets that matched my fabrics perfectly so they were a must have!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the chandleier that we got to go in the nursery. We have to bribe Katie's husband Jess to come hang it for us one evening. Nothing a little Miller Lite and a good steak on the grill shouldn't take care of!!! :)

And last but not least.....my new Mommy Mobile!!!



xoxo,
Laine

"Crazy Dreams" is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!!

All the things I have been reading (my 18 baby books and the 80 different baby websites I am signed up on) have been saying that I will be having some crazy baby dreams. Lets just say "crazy" doesn't touch it! From giving birth to the Jolly Green Giant to my husband leaving me...lets just say I am OVER waking up in the middle of the night sweating, crying & freaking out.

A few weeks ago I dreamt that my sister and I were in some hotel room somewhere and I was using the bathroom. While on the toilet I delivered a small plastic jolly green giant toy! I started screaming for her to come in there and she tells me I cant just leave it in the toilet so she scoops it out! She tried to hand it to me and I wouldn't take it saying, "that's not MY baby!!" So then I wake up sweating with my heart beating out of my chest.

Last night it was that Drew was divorcing me! He didn't want anything to do with me, he didn't want to ever see the baby, he didn't want to visit the dogs, he gave me the house, etc. He left me standing on the front porch, 8 months pregnant, crying like a 2 year old for their Mommy when being dropped off at daycare (hands straight out in front of me and everything) . I woke up in a panic shaking Drew asking if he were divorcing me! He thought I was crazy! In the dream he had gotten fed up with me being bitchy and gaining so much weight....so needless to say I am going to make every effort to start being sweet and I even went to the grocery store for lunch to buy a bunch of fruit and other healthy goodies for the refrigerator here at the office. I also plan on walking the dogs when I get home. :) What a wake-up call! I know Drew loves me just the way that I am (he tells me everyday that I'm beautiful) but I think that I need to be a bit more health conscious for me and the baby right now. Up until now I have been eating whatever, whenever but lord knows I don't want a 10 pounder so I need to get with it!

I FOUND MY CAMERA! So I will be taking pictures of the nursery tonight and posting tomorrow. I guess I should start my bump shots now too. I am trying my hardest to embrace these new curves (and stretch marks that I ALREADY HAVE) but its not the easiest thing to do. I feel like I could literally stand in front of the mirror and watch myself grow. You will see what I mean when I post a picture of myself. eeeek!

Lots of Love,
Laine

OH.....And a BIG welcome to the world shout out to Mila Lima Hill!!! She was born on May 10th, 2009, weighting 8lbs 10oz, measuring 20.5 in at 9:31am to my friends Luana & Richmond Hill. Luana is the one responsible for me now being a "blogger". You can click on the link to her blog (Le Hills) on the right hand side of my page to check out pictures of the precious Mila. Congrats Luana!!

Big Weekend....

We had a very exciting weekend and an exciting start to our week....

Friday night we went over to our friends Jeff & Maya's house for dinner. Maya was scheduled for a c section on Monday so we went over for one last get-together before their big arrival. It was Maya, Jeff, Winton, Michelle, Drew and myself. (3 pregnant girls and 3 fathers-to-be) After dinner was cleaned up we were all sitting around making each other laugh....HARD! All of the sudden Maya, mid laugh, sits straight up with wide eyes and a frozen face. Her husband Jeff jokingly says, "What, did your water break?" Maya replies, "uhhh huh!!!" :) So quickly we all help her out with some towels and such and Jeff calls the Doctor. In a nut shell, the guys helped load the suitcases in the car, Michelle and I straighten up the kitchen, make sure the dog has water, locked up the house and we all hit the road to the hospital! They did a c section when we got to the hospital and a short while later Jeff comes around the corner carrying his BEAUTIFUL baby boy!! It was awesome! We watched while they weighed and measured Crawford in the nursery right in front of the window. He was honestly the most beautiful newborn I have ever seen. I know partly because he was a c section baby and didn't have to work too hard to come out (no cone head or scrunched up face) but DANG he was perfect! Michelle and I shed a few tears watching the whole thing....what do you expect from two pregnant girls watching this miracle unfold!? I must say it was a great run-through for Michelle, Winton, Drew and me on how it will all go down in late June and mid November. Here is a picture of Crawford Vaughn Allen. Born 5/2 @ 1:18am 7lbs 6ozs 21 1/4 inches.

Also in the news...Drew and I decided to start trying to sell my car early last week thinking it would take us a while. We put it on craigslist and auto trader. The next day a hit from craigslist turned into me not having a car by the end of the week! It sold crazy fast! Saturday we drove all the way to Charlotte to look at a Nissan Murano. Lets just say it was the WORST car buying experience EVER. If you want the whole long, drawn out story you will have to ask me in person. I do a great impression on the car salesman spitting the biggest loogey ever right in front of Drew and me! And that's not even the 1/2 of it! It's about a 20 minute story with lots of dramatization involved. The point I'm trying to make is never buy a car from East Charlotte Nissan! With that said, Drew and I decided to try and find a car for sale by owner since I am boycotting all weasel car salesmen! AND THAT WE DID!!! I found a great deal on a used Lexus RX330 from a young pregnant couple in High Point. She is only 5 feet tall and needed a smaller car to get in and out of with a baby where as I feel the exact opposite. I need a bigger car to lug a stroller in and out of, etc. It is in immaculate condition and we could not be more excited! I will have to post pictures when I find my camera. Oh yeah, I have misplaced my camera! I am borderline freaking out about it. Hopefully I will find it soon.

.

Last but not least....We bought a crib a few weeks ago because they were out of stock online and only had one left in the store. We left it in the box until we were officially in the second trimester. (officially because some people say 12 weeks, some say 13 weeks) Now that I am done with week 13 we thought it would be fun to break that sucker out. We put it together two nights ago and last night Mom came by to help me arrange everything. I couldn't get all the furniture arranged to my satisfaction the night before and Mom walks in and has it perfect in 30 seconds. I don't know what I would do without her! So as for furniture its all there! Once again, I will post pics when I find my camera. Next time I blog I will tell you all about my rocker. I am so proud of it. But I need pictures to do it justice. :)

Love to all,

Laine