The Overnight Bag(s) (s) (s)

As I was packing my overnight bag last night I felt like I was packing for a weeklong vacation for me, Tim and Katelyn. According to the literature I have read and the “must haves for overnight bag” lists I have found on the Internet, apparently one cannot survive the two-day hospital stay without the following:

• Robe
• 2 front-buttoning nightgowns
• Warm socks
• 4-5 pairs of underwear
• Bra
• Nursing Bra
• Nursing Pads
• Toiletries – shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, deodorant
• Hairbrush and hair ties
• Change for vending machine
• 2 Pillows – one for me and one for Tim
• Slippers
• Going home outfit for me
• Camera with extra batteries
• Important phone numbers
• Insurance card
• Water bottles
• Cell phone charger
• Spare blanket for Tim (apparently hospitals won’t provide them for spouses)
• Change of clothes for Tim
• Snacks for Tim – I thought that’s what the change was for?!!
• Portable DVD player
• Three diapers for KP
• Baby wipes
• Undershirt for KP
• Nightgown and socks for KP
• Receiving blanket
• Going home outfit for KP

All of my "necessities"

Items me and Tim can't live without!

Tim's overnight loot!

Katelyn's overnight stuff...how cute...and PINK!

And, since it was such a short list of “must haves” I thought I’d pack a few extra “necessities” for myself:

• Hair Dryer – Anyone who knows me knows I can’t go a day without it!!
• Flat iron – Ditto on the flat iron!
• Magazines – “O” Magazine, Us Weekly, Glamour, etc.
• A couple going home outfits to choose from…ya never know what I’ll feel like wearing the day we go home!
• Make-up – I don’t want to scare KP when she looks into my eyes for the very first time
• Sound Machine – Since there isn’t going to be much “background” noise…HA!

All three of our overnight necessities

After I gathered all the necessities, it was apparent that not one, not two, but THREE overnight bags would be required for my 2 night stay! Look out Huntsville Hospital, we’re movin' in!!!

Yep, Tim might have to make two trips :)

Of course, Tallie & Tucker want to come too!

Amazing little nostrils!!

So we went in for another ultrasound today – 33 weeks – and it was amazing! Our ultrasound technician was awesome! She explained everything she was doing and generally took her time with us and made sure we saw and understood what were looking at. Oh, and there’s the part where she played around with the 4D machine for a few minutes so she could get us a good shot of Katelyn’s face!!! Thank you ultrasound technician!!! We’re sorry we didn’t catch your name but you really made our day!

“Katelyn Pie”, or KP, as Tim and I call her, was fluttering all around and had her feet and hands in front of her face, but we saw her!! We really, truly saw her face!!!…Little eyes, a little nose with little nostrils and a little mouth! I don’t know about Tim because I was so enamored with actually seeing her face that I didn’t take my eyes off the screen to see how he reacted, but my eyes teared up when I saw those little nostrils!! It wasn’t the eyes or the nose that did me in…it was those darn nostrils! I mean I’ve known all along that a little human has been hitching a ride with me for the past 7.5 months, but for some reason seeing those adorable little nostrils really made it REAL! And we’re more excited than ever about meeting our little girl!!

KP is measuring “perfectly” according to the ultrasound tech and our doctor. She is measuring in at 33 weeks & 4 days, a few days ahead of schedule and weighs in at 5 pounds!! If everything goes as planned and we last the entire 40 weeks, they estimate her weight to be between 8 – 8.5 pounds. Babies usually gain ½ pound a week the last couple months of pregnancy. Her heartbeat is good and strong and she is actively moving around in her ever-shrinking home. The ultrasound technician also showed us where KP has some hair growing on her head, how cute!!!!

In other news, Tim has officially graduated with his Master’s from Auburn!! Wooooo-Hooooooo!! Way to go Timmy!! No more homework!!! His spare time these days is taken up by bouts of Guitar Hero, beer making, movie watching, and honey-do lists.

The All Nighter

Sleepless nights seem to be the norm with me these days. Katelyn is taking up so much room in my tummy that it's hard to get comfortable, no matter how many positions I try. I've tried the pillow between the legs trick, and it helps some, but it’s not what you would say “ideal”. Pre-pregnancy, I was always a stomach sleeper - Oh what a glorious way to sleep!! It's so comfy to lie on my tummy with my arms wrapped around my pillow or pulled into my chest - Oh, how I miss those days!!

But now, the doctors tell you not to sleep on your stomach (no worries there) your back or your right side. So the only option left is to sleep on your left side. If you are a sleep thrasher, like me, (thrashing throughout the night, stealing the covers and trying to find all the “cold spots” in the bed) it's really hard to stay in one position ALL night long, let alone an uncomfortable one. So I try my best to stay on my left side but I find myself switching back-and-forth, back-and-forth between the left and right side - sorry Katelyn if it's not comfy for you when I'm on my right side but Mommy will go crazy is she has to sleep on her left side the entire night...and no one wants a crazy Mommy, especially Daddy!

So for Mother’s Day this year, Tim gave me the most thoughtful gift ever…it’s called a Leachco All Nighter – Total Body Pillow…and it rocks…and I slept better the last two nights than I have in the past several months! It looks like a gigantic candy cane pillow and it cuddles around your body and hugs you in all the right places!! It was specifically designed by an RN for expectant mothers, but it can help anyone sleep! It’s HUGE, so I'm really glad we have a king size bed, especially since we share the bed with two adorable puppies. Oh, and they really enjoy the All Nighter also! Tucker props himself up on the “head pillow” portion of the body pillow and Tallie spoons between me, Katelyn and the pillow. As for Timmy, he sleeps better too since I don't sleep thrash all night long.

Here she is in all her glory...The All Nighter!

"Mommy & Daddy, Come to bed!!"

T & T waiting to cuddle up to the All Nighter :)

The Most Beautiful Baby Shower Ever!

This weekends shower needs to go down in history as the most well-thought out, detailed driven baby shower ever! The ladies who threw this beautiful masterpiece absolutely went above and beyond to get every detail perfect!! THANK YOU so much Janet, Janice, Angie, Burma, Jackie, Sharon and Taylor for putting such love and thought into our shower!!! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen and it makes me smile to just think about how "me" everything was! From the Hot pink tulips and lime green calla lilies that were beautifully arranged, to the hot pink and green baby pacifiers hanging from the chandelier, to the hot pink and green marshmallow stork, to the hot pink and green life-saver/jelly belly pacifiers, to the hot pink and green M&Ms with Katelyn's name on them, to the perfectly carved watermelon baby stroller, to the Butterfinger diaper hors d'oeuvre s, etc., etc., etc.!! I could go on and on, but instead lets check out their creative masterpieces!

The cutest table!

Yummmm, punch!

Here's the stork and the chandelier!

Just how did they get all those marshmallows to cooperate?!!

Another view of the chandelier...and you can see my Christening gown in the background!

Homemade cheese straws!

Watermelon baby stroller!

Butterfinger diapers :)

M&Ms and pacifiers: The M&Ms say "Katelyn McMicken"& "Dimpled Daughter"

Delicious!

This was the ribbon my little Granny hung in my mom's hospital room when I was born, 27 years ago!

Me and all the lovely hostesses!

Favors!

Life saver and jelly belly pacifiers

"Dimpled Daughter"& "Katelyn McMicken" M&Ms

"Thank you from Lindsey's little bun in the oven!" favor

Butterfinger diapers

I also have to thank all of our friends and family for making this shower such a special one! It was so good to see you all and share in the joy of our soon-to-be bundle of joy! Thank you so much for coming and for spoiling us rotten with all the gifts you gave us! It's very clear that the three of us are surrounded by people who love and support us very much!

Check out all the gifts!

Tim and the pups checking out all the new stuff!

Me and the pups surrounded by gifts :)

Exciting Times!

As we march onward into our 31st week things are definitely getting more exciting! Katelyn is somersaulting around and practicing tau kwon do on a regular basis. Tim and I both really enjoy feeling and watching her move. I do have to say though that sometimes she gets a little carried away and kind of freaks us out with all her movement…Especially the time she was “playing the drums” on mommy’s tummy or the other time she was swimming all over the place for what seemed like hours! That was a strange sensation, both to feel and to watch!!! But an active baby ensures us that she is building muscle and growing by leaps and bounds!

31 weeks pregnant - Can you believe I'm going to get even bigger???!!

The doctors are keeping me on a close watch these days because, for some reason, my blood pressure has been elevated the past several weeks. They did all kinds of lab work and stress tests last week that came back just fine (a stress test is when they hook a monitor up to my belly that measures the baby's heartbeat for about 20 minutes and makes sure she isn't experiencing any sort of stress - so far she hasn't!). But they still want me to come in twice a week for these stress tests until my blood pressure evens out. It will be kind of a pain, but you can never be too careful and we do get to hear Katelyn’s heart beating away!! It’s always fun and reassuring to hear the little pitter patter pitter patter! She has a very strong heartbeat, usually in the 150s.

As part of the “close watch” we had a third ultrasound on Tuesday so the doctor could measure Katelyn to ensure she was growing adequately...and, SHE IS!! The doc said she is “well nourished” weighing in at 3 pounds 14 ounces, about a week ahead of schedule, and we are on our way to having an 8-pounder!! OMG!!! That’s our girl!! We also asked the ultrasound technician to double check that she was indeed a little girl…she got a reeeeeeal good close up shot, so there is absolutely no doubt that Katelyn is a girl! You hear that Nana?!!! We’re not going to have to rearrange those cute hand painted letters to spell “Kyle” or “Nate”!

Here's Katelyn at 31 weeks (that's her little head on the right)

As the weeks pass by Tim and I are getting more and more excited and anxious about meeting our little girl! I think every morning Tim wakes up and says into my belly, “Goooooooood moooooooorning Katelyn, I can’t wait to meet you!” What will she look like? Will she get Tim’s beautiful two-toned blue eyes or dimples or will she get Lindsey’s “butt chin” and super blonde hair? Will she be mild mannered or wild and crazy? Will she get Tim’s dry sense of humor or Lindsey’s cooky goofy sense of humor? It’s fun to think about all the ways she could turn out!!

Butt chin or Dimples?...TBD!

In just a matter of weeks though we’ll know for sure if Katelyn's got a butt chin or dimples :)

Back to Class

We opted to take two all day Saturday childbirth classes instead of committing to an hour, once a week, for six weeks. They were long, six hour days but we actually did learn a thing or two. Here are a few of the highlights:

● We learned what to expect on the day of delivery - Tim apparently thought your water broke and you had the baby an hour or two later...soooo not the case!!

Childbirth is truly a miracle!

● We learned about pain control and the different methods of dealing with childbirth; epidural, spinal, breathing, walking, etc. By the way, Ah-hee-ah-hee and hee-hee-hee are not exactly what we're looking for! Bring on the epidural!

● We learned that neither one of us really wants to watch the childbirth...the five 1970's childbirth videos they showed us were enough real childbirth for the two of us. Do you know they offer the mother a HUGE mirror to place at the end of the bed so she can watch her child being born? Thanks, but no thanks!

● We learned that Tim and I are a perfect match! While the instructor was going over breathing and relaxation techniques (lights turned off, music playing, husband and wife cuddled up on the floor practicing breathing) Tim and I were probably the only two in the room with our eyes wide open wondering just how long this awkward "relaxation" session was going to last.

● Everyone got to manhandle a flexible Styrofoam pelvis, catheter, enema, spiral probe, sitz bath, an epidural, and last but definitely not least, a HUGE pair of granny panties complete with ice pack and gargancho-pad, just so we know what to expect the days after delivery.

● We did get to take a helpful tour of the hospital, which by the way, is a beautiful facility. We also got to check out the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) which hopefully we won't have to use.

Overall, we picked up a helpful tip or or two from the class, but the most helpful was probably the information about the medication and the hospital tour. We could have done without the five birth videos though. Maybe one would have been sufficient!

Puppy Love

Is it ok for us to be so worried about how Tallie and Tucker are going to feel when Katelyn finally arrives? It's hard to imagine that we could love something more than we love our little angel dogs!! They have been our children for the last 3-and-a-half years and have taught us so much about responsibility, unconditional love, and, above all else, patience!! They have, in their own little way, prepared us for parenthood!...and Katelyn thanks them :)

Tallie hoping she can come with us!

When we first got Tucker, we were so worried about Tallie and her little feelings and we honestly thought we couldn't possibly love anything as much as we loved her. But, she finally came around to the idea of having a brother (after about a week of ignoring him) and she is just fine! In fact, they are best buds now and we can't imagine our lives without either one of them.

Tucker when he was just a pup!

Best buds!

The babies desperately needing haircuts!

Fro-man!

Our hearts are strong and they grew with us and they are full of love for both of our dogs. If we can love our dogs this much, can you imagine the ever-growing love for Katelyn?!! It's going to be awesome! For the time-being though, it's so hard to look into the pups' little brown eyes and think that they are going to be second priority...it kind of makes us sad to think of it that way. But, they will be fine and adjust and when Katelyn starts eating solid food, they too will become best buds!

Waiting for us to come to bed!

Playing with all their friends!

Mommy and her little fluffballs!

Checkin' out the new crib :)

Drum Roll Please....

Today, at 28 weeks, we officially entered into the third trimester! Exciting you ask?...Yes! Terrifying to know that Katelyn will be here, in our arms, in our care, in our home, under our supervision, in less than three months?...Ab-so-freakin-lutely! Holy cow! Now's the time to cram everything thing we ever wanted to do (beach trip, late nights out on the town, camping, quick little weekend trips, sleeping in, even spontaneous trips to the grocery store) into these last three months before our little kiddo gets here, right? Oh, and finish reading the bazillion pregnancy, breastfeeding, what to expect and newborn books that have piled up on our nightstands over the past six months. Man, we've got a lot to accomplish in these last three months! Let's hope we're up for the challenge!

It really hit home that we are in the final stretch when our doctor said “Well guys, I'll see you in two weeks”...wait, what? What happened to the once a month gig we had going on? You know, where we come in every four weeks, step on the scale, pee in a cup, listen to the heartbeat, ask a few questions, schedule another appointment four weeks out and leave? I thought you only had to visit the doctor every two weeks when, you know, you're really big and fairly close to delivery...OMG! Ding, ding, ding...That's us!

My, my how time flies! Before we know it, our little girl will be here, in our home, then in preschool, then in elementary school, then high school...then, off to Auburn, when, by the way, she can start to date! We better sit back, relax and take in all that's happening around us now because in three months, our lives are going to be turned upside down in the most wonderful, exciting, fulfilling and exhausting way! And we wouldn't want it any other way!

6 months down, 3 to go!

So here we are, about to enter into the third trimester, and we're finally getting around to documenting this whole beautiful thing called pregnancy. Better late than never, right!? So for now, we'll try to fill you in on all the crucial (and not so crucial) details of the last six months...Here goes...

• In October, Lindsey took a pregnancy test alone…which, by the way, she promised she would never do, but she couldn’t possibly wait two more hours until Tim got home…and what was the big deal…it was going to be negative anyway, right! Wrong! Not one, but two pink lines showed up!!! OMG, yes, she was pregnant!!! After pacing around the bathroom in disbelief and excitement for a few minutes (and wondering just how she was going to explain to Tim why she took a test by herself) she called Tim on his cell phone and told him the exciting news (yea, yea, yea, she told him over the phone!). He rushed home, but not before stopping by the grocery store to purchase 3 packs of pregnancy tests, just to be sure, and a bottle of sparkling grape juice for celebration!

All signs point to "YES"!!!

We're PREGNANT!!!

• We completely shocked our parents in November when we told them they were going to be Grandparents! It was probably one of the most exciting and memorable moments of our lives!!

• We are pumped beyond words about becoming parents!

• Lindsey pretty much worked, ate and slept her way through the first trimester! Who knew being pregnant could be so tiring!

• We're due July 3, 2008, but hoping to have a late June baby...we're talking about being 8-9 months pregnant during the dog days of summer in the south...Yikes!

• We're having a little girl and Lindsey is trying real hard not to buy pink EVERYTHING...which is hard for her since her favorite color is HOT pink!!!!...That doesn't go for friends and family though...check out Katelyn's closet! How adorable are all those clothes?!!

Katelyn will be the best dressed kid on the block!

• We chose the name Katelyn (middle name TBD)

Lindsey, her mom (Nana) and her mother-in-law (Grandma) painted these to match her room!

• We've got most of the nursery put together

You see the comfiest rocker in the world! It rocks...har, har, har!


Tallie and Tucker have a hard time understanding why those toys hanging from the crib aren't for them!


We have two mobiles!!! One that's matchy-matchy and one that will sing Katelyn the Auburn fight song to sleep...peaceful, eh?! War Eagle!

And just so things aren't too perfect...enter, The Ugly Doll!! Isn't it great!!

• Lindsey got out of some major re-painting in the kitchen, because sadly, she couldn’t paint during her first trimester…what a shame!!!

We got a wild hair (before we got pregnant) that we wanted an ORANGE kitchen...bad idea!


Ohhh, it was so bad...so, so bad!!


Thankfully, Tim and Nana got it back to looking normal! Phew!

• Lindsey also got out of laying tile in the kitchen and master bathroom AND laying hardwood floors! Bad timing for home improvement projects, if you ask Tim! But, we decided that we wanted hard floors before Katelyn came so messes would be easier to clean up...we learned a lot from our little Angel dogs, Tallie and Tucker :)

We chose the far left dark wood. See all the carpet that's going to be replaced?!


And, after! Tim, with some help from Grandma (Tim's mom), did a great job!!


It looks so good! Well done!

• We've already had our two ultrasounds, which were amazing! Katelyn was ahead of the growing game when we had our 20 week ultrasound, so all is well! Let’s just hope for her momma’s sake she isn’t on her way to being a 10 pound newborn, like her daddy was!!

Here is Katelyn looking like a mushroom at 7 weeks...Lindsey was convinced she was a boy at this point!

And here she is at 20 weeks! She actually looks like a baby, not a mushroom!

• We registered a few weeks ago and Lindsey had a really embarrassing come-apart (crying uncontrollably for an hour!) in the biggest and most intimidating baby store in the entire world (Baby's R Us)...but her very supportive and understanding husband took control and made everything better!

• Lindsey's had a few come-aparts over the last several months about the whole weight gain thing that comes along with having a child! But she is learning to deal with it :)

15 weeks!

18 weeks!

23 weeks!

27 weeks!

• We signed up for Childbirth, Parenting and Breastfeeding classes, which begin on April 12th.

• We are learning that Tim is a very heavy sleeper and he has about three months to learn to NOT sleep through phone calls, whining dogs, thunderstorms, radio alarms, etc. in preparation of parenthood. Rest assured, Lindsey will “help” him wake if he needs the extra push!

• That about gets you up-to-date! We'll try our best to keep you informed of the latest and greatest!!