A Great Visit

Amniotic Fluid: NORMAL!!

Baby's Sex: BOY (just checked again to be sure!)
Baby's Size: 5lbs 4oz - 75th percentile
Head Size: Average!! (can you believe it?!)
Head Position: Down & prepped for delivery!

Cheeks: Cute & chubby! :)

Hair: He has some!
Heartbeat: Strong
Baby's Organs & Internal: Looking Good!
Estimated Due Date: still July 15th
Mommy's Weight Gain: 2 lbs (Perfection as the Dr. put it!) :)

Everything looked great/normal, and I go back a week from Monday, and then start going every week! He actually dropped from the 85th to the 75th percentile size-wise, which she said is perfectly normal and actually GREAT news for me as I get closer to having to get him outta me! We got to see some great shots of him... he even let us see his face this time, which looks plump and adorable. He looks like he's got full lips like both of us do and a fat little nose and chubby cheeks like me. It was definitely a fun doctor's appointment!

Struggling!!

So... as much as you all think we're just holding out on you as far as BabyW's name... we're actually still not sure ourselves! It's starting to drive me crazy. There are 3 name combinations that we are considering and I keep changing my mind on which I like best! I NEVER thought I'd wait until the day he was born to decide, but I'm starting to wonder if that's how it will end up...I really don't know if I can handle that!

Here's what's important to us in a name:

Meaningful
Timeless
Unique
Good Fit with "Wellington"

So that's all the clues I'm giving out... :)

6 weeks 6 days!

Today is ULTRASOUND day! :) I always look forward to these doctor's visits... they are doing this one because of the extra amniotic fluid I had about a month ago. Hopefully the midwife was right at my last visit and the fluid level has decreased to normal. I am so curious to see our little guy again... I'm especially curious to see how he is positioned! This morning he felt so high up in my ribs that I actually couldn't lean forward to eat my cereal at the table... I had to lean back, trying to stretch out my abdomen and just hold the bowl up to my face! :) My appointment is this afternoon, so if we get some good pictures of BabyW, I'll post them soon.

Now I'm off to fill out all this confusing paperwork for my FMLA and Short-Term Disability benefits...yuck! I hate paperwork!

Yay for Kris!

So Mike and I were definitely American Idol junkies... and though I never posted about our favorites... Kris Allen was definitely mine, and I was super excited when he won! I truly liked his style and his voice best out of all the contestants (besides the fact that he was a worship leader too) but this is a great video of him leading worship. I pray he will use his new fame for the glory of God.

All done!

Waddle or not, I managed to save $59.80 (spending only $18.12) at Harris Teeter, make my returns at Target, stop by Michaels to find thread (and run into Aunt Debbie & Isabella) and swing by my house to drop off the groceries and let Shelby out! I was proud of myself! :)

Kraft Salad Dressing - FREE
Kraft BBQ Sauce - FREE
Lawry's Marinade - FREE
Mentos Fruit Gum - FREE
Mentos Mint Gum - FREE
Reach Dental Floss - FREE
French's Large Yellow Mustard - FREE
McCormick Vanilla Extract - .14
McCormick Large Garlic Salt - .24
French's Fried Onions - .24
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce - .35
2 Dole Mandarin Oranges - .54 each
2 Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese - .63 each
Wishbone Balsalmic Spray Dressing - .64
Oscar Mayer Deli Creations Sandwich - .74
Degree Deodorant - .75
YoCrunch 4 pack - .75
Lean Pockets - .99
Heluva Good Colby Jack Cheese Block - 1.00
Duke's Squeeze Mayo - 1.00
Texas Toast Cheesesticks - 1.24
Pillsbury Pizza Crust - 1.29
Oscar Mayer Deli Meat - 1.74
Claussen Pickles - 1.75

(and for anyone who is counting... I had 3 items over the 20 item limit, but she just rang them up in a second transaction for me... sometimes I think the pregnant belly gets me a little special treatment... and that's fine by me!) And because getting free or super-cheap food is so gratifying... I think I'll stop by Farm Fresh (where they double $1.00 coupons on Wednesdays) and see how I fare there too!

Change of Plans

Well, I had planned to do other things during my lunch break today, but then I learned that Harris Teeter is offering Triple Coupons AGAIN...and I do have a bunch of coupons... so I guess that's where I'm heading instead! If anyone wants a "cheat sheet" for how to score the best deals...there is a shopping list here that makes it much easier (if you have been saving coupons).

And... if I didn't have to waddle slowly everywhere I go, I could probably manage to grocery shop & still do my Target returns and pick up some brown thread, but moving fast is not an option for me lately! LOL. Oh well!

Just for Fun!

I've created a BABY POOL where you can enter your guess for BabyW's stats: his name, weight, birthdate and more! Let's see who gets the closest!! The winner will get the satisfaction of knowing you were right...and of course, bragging rights!! Just click here to enter your guesses: Mike & Melissa's BABY POOL.

Yay! It's not Monday!

Hope you all had a great long-weekend. It sure was nice to have yesterday off! Mike's mom is finally home after 12 days in the hospital and is doing well. She'll have to take it easy for a while and will be seeing the oncologist in about 3 weeks to have some more tests and then discuss treatment options for after she's fully recovered from surgery (end of July). Thanks for all of your prayers, and we'd just ask that you continue to pray for her full recovery.

Suggestions??

Anyone have a digital camcorder that you just love and would recommend? We'd like to find something nice, maybe not the newest most expensive technology out there... but something that'll last us a long time... preferably in the $300 and under range... so maybe not HD. Any tips on things to look for?

Tons of Photos

Here are some pictures from May: The great Baby Shower that Amy, Jeanie & Justine threw me, Mother's Day at my parents' house & one of Shelby "graduating" from her Obedience Class.

A Baby Bump Report & A New Blog Look

I thought it would be fun to see the progression of how this baby bump is growing... wow, a lot changes from week to week! At this point, BabyW. is expected to gain around 1/2 lb. every week for the next 6 weeks as he packs on the baby fat and gets ready for life in the "real world."

It's been so fun to feel him the last couple of weeks, as now I feel knees and elbows, his bum, and often a foot or something in my ribs! I can tell he's definitely filling out his space in there and doesn't have as much room to move. He's still moving, but he feels cramped! I still have a hard time distinguishing whether it's a knee or an arm or what that I'm feeling, but it's still really cool. I have an ultrasound next Thursday, so hopefully we'll find that he is head-down already! I'm feeling confident that the extra fluid issue has resolved itself because he is so easy to feel now.

Our house is starting to feel ready for a baby - there are baby clothes and diapers and gear all over the place. As much as I want to get organized at least once more while I still can, I'm resolving to the fact that this chaos will likely be my reality for a while to come! As the weeks fly by, and it's almost June, I realize I better get crackin' on my to-do list! I have a book or two to read, a bag to pack, a carseat to install, baby-stuff to wash, a chair to reupholster, walls to decorate and maternity leave paperwork to fill out. And I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch!

Enough with the stress!

I could write a ton on just how rude and unreasonable our Board of Directors were last night, but as we're learning, it just isn't worth it. If we really wanted to pursue it legally, we would probably have a decent case, but we have to stop ourselves from just being angry and vengeful and look at what is really best for our family. It definitely stinks to know you aren't being treated fairly and that you've been the victim of someone else's deceit or mistake. But...our lives are not just subject to the whims of other people. We serve a God who is guiding us and protecting us and we have faith that if we will just continue to walk in the steps He leads us to, we will be right where He wants us.

So, we're taking a deep breath and trying not to let this get us down. We have so much to look forward to in the next couple of months and we want to just focus on enjoying that. Maybe we'll stay here longer than we thought, or maybe we'll end up still selling, but regardless, we can rest in knowing that we are right where we need to be for now. And one good thing did come out of our otherwise frustrating and unproductive meeting: we met a really nice couple with a 3 month old little girl who lives down the street. They are christians and were really sweet to be sure we had their number and could call them if we needed anything. :)

Moving on...

It's almost June, and we haven't sold our condo, so we're just shifting gears and moving on to Plan B. Tonight we'll be attending a homeowners meeting in hopes to get out of the rental restriction that is on our neighborhood but (long story) mistakenly wasn't disclosed when I purchased the condo 3 years ago. If that goes as we're hoping, we will probably look for renters sometime this Fall. While we would like to still eventually sell, it is actually a bit of a relief right now to just stay put. Our clutter-free, clean house has quickly transformed to a baby-gear infested mess... but I'm completely okay with it since it means that "BabyW" will be here soon! If anyone wants to come over sometime in the next few weeks and help me figure out how to organize all his stuff, I'd love the company!

Oh, and for those who have been checking in on me... the hours of pain I was having everyday... have gone away!! As of Friday, I've had hardly any pain at all. I occasionally get what I think is NORMAL round-ligament pain... it lasts just a couple minutes and only when I move weird or something... So I don't know, besides wearing a maternity support belt 24 hours a day, nothing has changed... so maybe BabyW. was just positioned in a really bad spot and he moved. Whatever, it's a huge praise. And it was just in time, I don't think I could have handled working all day and visiting at the hospital each night feeling like I did before.

Update

Mike's mom's surgery went great. We were there when the surgeon came out this afternoon and he said everything went really well. He removed the mass and he didn't see anything else that looked abnormal. He couldn't find anything in the liver to biopsy - said it felt normal... and he seemed pleased that the surgery went really well. We will still be waiting for the results of the lymph nodes he removed (probably a couple days) as that will be the best indicator of whether it has spread, but we are very relieved to hear such a positive report from the surgeon and know that God has heard our prayers.

Is he cute or what?

Justine did a slideshow at my baby shower this weekend of mine and Mike's baby pictures... and when I saw these of Mike... it definitely made me even more excited to see our little boy! If he looks just like his daddy, that'll be fine by me! Check him out as a little boy here.

Please Pray

Mike's mom goes in for surgery in about 20 minutes... so please pray for her. They will be removing the cancerous mass from her colon and checking the lymph nodes and liver to see if the cancer has spread. We are very hopeful and praying that God will heal her. She has so clearly had His peace all week and even as I spoke with her this morning, it is so evident that God is working in her life. She's already got quite a testimony to share...

A Bust

This week turned out to be a bit of a bust as far as being productive. My body has basically put on the brakes and made me take it easy after work everyday... so if it can't be done while laying on my side with a heating pad, it just didn't get done. If only it was work I had to skip out on and I could use my good hours to do the fun stuff instead... oh well...such is life.

Please be praying for Mike's mom this week. She is in the hospital as they try to determine where the bleeding in her GI Tract is coming from and they gave her a blood transfusion yesterday because her red blood cell count was extremely low. God has already been watching out for her, as she wouldn't have even known if she hadn't gone in for bloodwork for a routine doctor's appointment earlier this week. We're thankful she's in the best place she could be right now and that they'll be able to get to the bottom of this.

And pray for Mike too as he's been pulling extra duty taking care of both a pregnant wife and now his mom. He's a good sport. :)

Something Good, Something Surprising & a Mystery

I had another checkup today (31 weeks) and was really anxious to talk to the doctor (well actually it was the midwife I saw today) because of the intense pain I've had for 4-8 hours every single day since last Tuesday.

So the good news is this: my cervix is fully closed and shows no thinning yet, which means I'm not showing any visible signs of preterm labor. Very Very good news. They still sent off a sample to the lab to check one other type of preterm labor sign, and I'll find out those results tomorrow. Pray it comes back negative or else I'd get put on bedrest.

The surprising news: I measured right on target for 31 weeks (not big) and from just an external exam, the midwife said I shouldn't have much excess fluid because she could feel the baby easily (so can I). If I did have a lot of extra fluid, he would be floating around more in there and would be hard to feel from just touching my belly. He may not even be particularly big. Maybe this boy will stick in there to full-term!

The mystery (the most positive way I can word it): We still have no idea what is causing my pain to be so intense and so persistent. From an OB standpoint, the pregnancy looks great and other than round ligament pain, she doesn't see anything else pregnancy-wise that could be causing it. No infection, most likely no preterm labor... but this still leaves me with 9 weeks to go and some serious pain. I'm wearing a maternity support belt, drinking lots of water, taking tylenol, trying to rest when possible, warm baths... and yet when the pain hits... nothing seems to relieve it for several hours... it's ROUGH! I'm just going to have to take it one day at a time. I would MUCH rather this boy stay inside and grow and develop as long as possible, even if I have to find some way to deal with this for the next two months. So really, it was an answer to my prayer this morning. As much as I would love some relief for my own sake, I really don't want him to come early for his sake... and it is reassuring to know that some of the things I thought might be happening that would bring him early, aren't.

So that's my really long update. Now I just have to figure out how to "take it easy" when I have so much I need to do!

Happy Mother's Day (a day late!)

Well, I never got around to reupholstering the glider this weekend... but maybe it'll happen this week. No complaints though, it was a fun weekend. We enjoyed a perfect day with family at my parents' house yesterday for Mother's Day. The weather was beautiful and I think all 31 of us (10 moms!) had a great time. I'll try to post pictures soon.

We got to show the condo again, so now we have two potential buyers...I'm just hoping they'll move quickly if they are genuinely interested. I would imagine it'll be roughly a 45 day process from negotiations to closing, and we're only 50 days away from July now! Cutting it close!

One Project DONE!

Here's the before & after on our changing table! Just a few coats of white paint on the drawers and some new hardware...and we love it!

And so you can see how it looks with the crib...

















and one more shot with the 30 1/2 weeks pregnant mommy. :)

DIY: Nursery Furniture

1. This is the changing table that we found at a consignment shop last weekend. It's actually an old style from IKEA that is solid wood. I've already started my transformation on this, but there's still a little work left to do... so I'll post pictures when it's done. GOAL: goodbye country - hello modern.











2. And this is essentially what we have as far as a cheap glider & ottoman, which is also on my agenda for the weekend. Mike already painted the frame... so it's halfway done. Here's a sneak preview of what's to come.

Happy Friday!

I realized that I post quite a bit about my pregnancy woes... and I hope I don't come across as a complainer or ungrateful... I've been trying to keep this blog updated daily, and sometimes there's not too much else exciting going on! I am so thankful that God has blessed us with this baby, and while it's been a much tougher pregnancy than I expected, I know it will all be worth it when we finally get to see our son face-to-face! I know women who have just loved being pregnant, and others whose struggles were so tough I'm almost embarrassed to mention mine. It's a crazy journey but it's a pretty miraculous process, no matter how challenging it may be. I've definitely already gained a greater appreciation for my grandmother, who had 3 babies in just 28 months & my mom who had my sister and I only 19 months apart. Crazy ladies! :)

Anyway... all is well. Tylenol helps my pain significantly and it's really worst at work. My boss is on the hunt for a better chair for me, so maybe that will help. I had my breastfeeding class last night at the hospital. It was very informative and overwhelming :) but I'm glad I did it. I even managed to score a great deal while I was there. I had been planning to purchase a SlingEZee brand sling online after Suzanne highly recommended it. Well they are $60-75, but apparently well worth it. As I was browsing the hospital's selection of nursing gear, I found that they carried the same slings in every pattern I loved and they were only $45 with a 15% Mother's Day discount! So I got one for $38! Nothing like a good deal to make my night!

Well isn't this fun?

Round Ligament Pain... welcome to week 31. I thought for sure I must have a bladder infection because of the intense pain that started at 4 am yesterday and was constant until about 2 am this morning. 22 hours of feeling like I couldn't move. Sitting was super uncomfortable, getting up was worse, walking was painful and rolling over in bed - the worst. I must have gone pee at least 30 times, only to still feel like I needed to... the pressure in my lower pelvis was constant. So I stopped by the doc's office and they tested my urine... no infection. That's good news... but this still sucks! The nurse assured me it was the stretching of ligaments around my growing uterus and while definitely not fun, it was to be expected. Rest, drinking lots of water and Tylenol are my only options for relief. So I tried to stay still (after showing the house) and finally at about 10 pm, I decided I'd take some tylenol and go try to go to sleep. Well, I woke up at 2 am feeling so much better. And all morning, the pain was gone. What a relief... but then I went to lunch, and now I'm back in my office and I feel a replay coming on. I'm wearing a dress today, and there's definitely no lady-like position I can get myself in that is comfortable... so I'm thinking of shutting my office door and posting a note that says "enter at your own risk."

This little boy will be very lucky if he ever gets a brother or sister... at least one that's related by blood. LOL. And to top it off... I got back-to-back comments by my bosses this morning...

From across the hall... "Woah. Look at you. How much longer do you have? Good grief, we're going to need a shopping cart to push you around in here if you get much bigger." AND, as I'm asking about a project, she stops me mid-sentence to say, "Wow, I can't get past your belly, that's a big baby in there."

What can you do but laugh? Oh wait, I better not do that... I might pee.

For all you dog-lovers...

Where does your dog sleep? (vote to the right) Shelby has always slept in her crate... but she wants so badly to sleep in our bed. We've let her try it maybe a handful of times, but she's only content for a few hours and then she inevitably starts whining and wants to go back to her bed in the middle of the night. I don't mind her sleeping with us, but Mike hates it. He's the strict one on keeping her out. And it's probably for the best, especially with the baby coming... but she definitely loves to cuddle with me and if it weren't for him, I'm too much of a softie and I'd surely let her stay. Just curious what everyone else does...

BabyW has a new cousin!

My cousin, Mike, and his fiance, Marilyn, had their baby girl today! Makayla Grace was born (5 weeks early) in Maryland and she is 5 lbs 14 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. The new mom & dad are doing well and super-excited. Mike manages my dad's Baltimore store and it worked out that my dad was up there teaching today so he got to meet his great-niece and see my aunt Brenda who flew in today from Florida to meet her first granddaughter. Here's a picture of the proud new dad and his little girl.

Never early... Never late

For some reason, God seems to always wait until the last minute to answer. I know He has more of a purpose than just the answer I'm looking for, but I must say, he sure likes to keep us on our toes! Well, I'm not trying to get ahead of myself here, but we have been planning to sell our condo since Christmas...and while we've gotten lots of calls, no one has ever shown up to actually see it. We've cleaned and decluttered and gotten it ready to show so many times only to be stood up. Our deadline has been June 1... and the closer we get, the more I've started to doubt if it would sell.

We started stressing about how to work out Plan B... but then tonight, we had our first potential buyers and it couldn't have gone better. They absolutely LOVED it. It's a young couple (tonight was just the girl with her mom) and they just went on and on as I walked them through the house saying how perfect they think it is. They are bringing back the rest of the family soon to see it again. I have a good feeling about it. I know we don't have an offer or contract yet, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Whether this couple buys it or not, I was just reminded that God is going to take care of us and that I shouldn't be so quick to lose faith when He's led us this far. So I'll keep you posted... and if we do sell anytime soon, I'll be back to beg you all for help packing & moving!

Good Excuse to Eat Out :)

For the entire month of May, T.G.I.Friday's has $5 salads & sandwiches! This was actually where Mike and I had our first date and we were just talking about how we never go there anymore... so I'm thinking we'll have to pay them a visit sometime this month! I love their Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad. And that's as cheap as eating fast-food! You can check-out the promotion here.

A May Update

We had another full but fun weekend. The Walk for Life went well on Saturday morning... I hadn't been to the zoo in over 20 years! I forgot just how cute giraffes are! :) **Thank you to everyone who pledged to support us! You'll receive something in the mail in a few weeks to fulfill your pledge.**

We finally found a changing table/dresser at a consignment shop this weekend, so now painting it is next on the project-list! I'm also still searching for some modern fabric to reupholster our cheap glider with! Check out this cool glider makeover - I'm hoping mine will turn out that well. I'm hoping to make some progress on both of these by the end of this weekend. With only 10 weeks left, it really feels like time is flying!

We've gotten lots of calls & emails about our condo, but no one has actually come to see it yet. We do have an appt. set for tomorrow, so hopefully they'll show up! We've worked our butts off to get it sparkling clean several times only to have people stand us up... frustrating for sure, but it's probably the cleanest we've ever lived! We're getting close to our cut-off time... but we're still hopeful. As much as we'd love to sell it though, the thought of moving before July is definitely a bit daunting! But God's in control so we're just along for the ride!

Good news, but not without a little drama first...

I already knew that BabyW was a big boy. I even had a doctor friend I hadn't seen in a while ask me last weekend if I had been told my baby was big, because I looked further along than I was. She also mentioned it may be likely that I would have gestational diabetes (GD) if he is as big as they say. Several others mentioned GD as a likely possibility too. So when I went to the doctor yesterday and had another ultrasound (since I'm new to this practice), the u/s tech also thought I'd end up testing postitive for GD because BabyW's head and abdomen are definitely big.

I was to have the GD screening test right after the ultrasound. Either way, I knew it would be fine... by this point, I definitely just expected to test positive. So I went and drank my glucose-juice and headed back to the waiting room for the 1 hour wait until they'd test my blood. Meanwhile my doctor met with me, and she too thought it was almost inevitable I'd have GD. Not only is BabyW big, but I also had a bit of excess amniotic fluid, which is typical with GD.

So the hour passed, they drew my blood.... and what do you know, I DON'T have GD! Crazy. I was shocked, as was my doctor! Soo... apparently BabyW just has his daddy's big head (and my chubby cheeks) and is just likely to be a big boy. I was still a little worried about the now unexplained excess fluid, (polyhydramnios) but I called today and got reassurance that it's only a mild case and that they will just keep monitoring us by ultrasound for the remainder of the pregnancy, but I shouldn't be too concerned at this point. I go back every two weeks now. Please pray that they are right, and that BabyW. will make it to full-term without any complications. Just 10 1/2 weeks to go!

He currently weighs about 3 lbs 8 oz. and is looking good. Here are a couple of pictures: the first one of his face... Mike says he has my cheeks :) and the second is a profile shot. Now I just get to start stressing about how I'm going to get this big boy out!!