Brynna Belle Holifield

Hello everyone..this is Cadye. I'm posting for Amy and Brynna! This morning at 7:34 Brynna was here!! She weighs 8lbs .04 oz and is 20 1/2in long. She is absolutly BEAUTIFUL!!! Amy is doing great and so is the baby! Cameron did great too he didnt nearly drop Brynna like he did D'Laney. Speaking of D'Laney she was so funny, before Cameron brought her in there was another baby in the nursery and she was talking to it nonstop. Then when Cameron brought Brynna in she looked at her then covered up here face and would not even look in there! But after awhile she started to look and we would ask her where her sister Brynna was and she would point and say her name. I'm just trying to cover the basics on here of course Amy will be posting alot more! Here are just a few pictures from this morning I'm going to put alot more on her facebook! I really hope they come up I dont know how to play with this blog stuff!!

Anyone else have the blogging blahs?

I just don't feel like blogging. There's plenty going on that's blog worthy, I guess, I just don't have the energy to sort it all out and get it on here. I'm going to blame it on the baby. (A lot gets blamed on the baby these days, like my massive pile of laundry and the fact that I haven't been to the post office to get the mail in over a week!)
We're 4 days from having this kid, and I could really use a good ol' dose of nesting, but I don't think it's going to happen. However, I'm going to try to induce it (the nesting, not the kiddo!) I've actually written out a schedule, down to the minute, so that I'll get this house clean and ready for Brynna. I want to bring her home to a spotless house where we can just sit around and enjoy our new family-of-4-ness. I've included times to rest and blog in that schedule, so we'll see how I stick to it :)

T minus 21 days...

I have no idea what that means, I just always hear it.

21 days! or less...
I had an appt this morning and when she checked me she said that I wasn't dilated, but that the head was way way down. In fact, her exact words were, "there's she is! I can feel her head." Um, excuse me? Like, her actual head? Like, I could still go into regular labor?! That thought scares me to death! If I were to go into labor on my own in the next couple of weeks, we would have to make a mad dash to Angelo and then the C-section would be more of an emergency situation. She said not to worry about anything, if she feels like I need to stick around town or that there were any need to move up the delivery, she would definitely let me know. And I trust her, but it's still a little freaky to me. So that bag I was going to get ready next week? I'll be getting it ready tonight.
I know I'm over-reacting, and that is so unlike me. As soon as my husband gets home, his only job is to reassure me that she won't come early, the delivery will go ahead as planned on the 14th, and everything will be fine. And I'll believe him and feel a lot better. I hope. In the mean time, I'm going to take a very long nap, these speedy trips to Angelo really wear me out. And I'll update later on the girls' rooms (almost done!) and my last child free weekend for a year.

The bag!!

Actually, that should be plural! You need a bag, Daddy needs a bag, baby needs a bag, and then you need one for all your extras for your stay. Of course, these can all be combined, and probably should, those hospital rooms get small quickly. As for when to have them packed and ready, your doctor will tell you when he/she thinks it's time, but I think a good time frame is a couple weeks before your due date. Then again, after 37 weeks, they say you could go at any time, so if you feel more comfortable having them ready earlier than that, go for it. I have just under 4 weeks before I deliver, and even though it's a C-section and there's very little chance I'll go into labor before then, I'm kinda feeling the need to have it all packed, so I'll probably be getting mine ready sometime next week. (Holey Moley, next week!!)
I think it's a good idea to pack a "just in case" bag, or add some things, just in case you have a c-section. I've read that 1 in 4 deliveries ends up being a c-section these days. The average stay for a vaginal delivery is 24 hours, but is 3 days for a c-section, so packing a few extras in your "just in case" bag will be helpful. You'll need a lot less than you think, though, just like everything else when it comes to a baby.

MOMMA'S BAG:

• your regular toiletries (toothbrush and paste, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, facewash) and don't forget hair and makeup stuff. You won't feel like going all out, but when looking at the pictures later, you'll wish you had at least thrown on some mascara... at least that's how I felt. I'll be spending a little more time this stay blowdrying my hair (or having someone else do it) and putting on a little bit of makeup.
• 2 or 3 good nursing bras and/or tank tops
• socks, those rooms are freezing
• the hospital provides some lovely mesh underwear for afterwards... hideous, but soooo comfortable, so bring your own, but you might not need them
• comfortable, fairly loose fitting pajamas
• "just in case" you might prefer gowns if you've been cut. There are a couple reasons for this: the first is that pajama pants might be uncomfortable on your incision. The incision will probably be very low, and the pants wouldn't fit directly on it, but it still might be very painful. The second reason is that you will have quite a bit of discharge afterwards, called lochia, that you didn't get rid of by vaginally delivering. Your postpartum nurse will come in every few hours to massage your uterus (or torture you, however you want to look at it. Seriously, it hurts!) and make sure that you're still discharging and it's not clotting. This is much more convenient and goes much quicker if you already have a gown on.
• house shoes, flip flops, etc. for walking afterwards
• sanitary pads... the hospital will provide some of these, but you might prefer your own brand and absorbency. The ones they have could be used as diapers.
• Your going home clothes. It may just be me, but I like to dress up a little bit. Some women just want to wear pj's home.

BABY'S BAG:

• you could include baby's stuff in one of your bags, but you probably just got at least 5 super cute diaper bags, and you've got to break them in sometime!
• the hospital will probably provide everything you need for the baby, including diapers, wipes, any creams you would need, etc. and you usually get to take home anything left over.
• comfy little outfits for baby to wear during your stay, nothing fancy, the baby will sleep for the majority of the first few days. And remember, it's likely that baby will ruin at least 2 outfits a day for the first several months, and it could start that very first day (especially with a rookie dad handling diapers!) so don't bring the whole closet, but 4-6 outfits would be plenty.
• receiving blankets for the ride home (unfortunately, the hospital doesn't let you take those, even though they are the PERFECT size for swaddling)
• the car seat (obviously, but I know sometimes it's the details I concentrate on and forget about the obvious stuff)
• the going-home outfit! and be sure to take pictures of him/her in it before you put them in the car seat and before you get home. Complete outfits have a way of becoming incomplete during a car ride, no matter how short!

DADDY'S BAG (and all the extras):

• Daddy can take care of his own clothes and toiletries (you have enough to worry about!) but remember the possible extra couple of days.
• cell phone chargers for all those calls
• a pre-determined, written out list of people to call
• camera, video camera, all applicable chargers, and plenty of memory cards and tape. Triple check these! Make sure everything is charged and that you have a fresh tape in the recorder and an empty memory card (or two.)
• if you want, a baby book for all your guests to sign. I also suggest that as soon as you get a gift or flowers while there, you have someone write it down in the book. We just kept cards in an envelope, but when we got home and were ready to write thank you cards, that envelope was gone, and we had no idea who had sent what.

Come on, gals, what else can you think of??

Grandmother's birthday present

My grandmother's birthday was at the end of October and we had a big party for her last weekend. It was her 72nd, but somehow we missed doing a big party for her 2 years ago, so we did it this year. We came up with the idea of putting together a table or bench for her patio that was all about her grandkids, so each of us painted two 4" tiles, one with our name on it, and the other with a memory or something that we knew would be special to her. It was extremely difficult getting it all together since the 9 of us live in 5 different towns, but we got it all put together, if not completely finished (it still needs to be mortared and grouted.) I found this little bench in an antique shop here in town, and I thought it would be perfect. It was just rustic enough, and it was long and not very wide... we thought it would perfect as a plant bench. We filled in the gaps with some neutral back splash tile.

I just copied these pictures over from Leddy's facebook page, so they're kinda small.

We laid out the tiles in chronological order, and here's what the "memory" tiles mean:

LACI: my grandparents have a huge tree in their backyard surrounded by a brick planter. We've done everything from make mudpies to stand on the edge to cheer.

AMY: every year since they built the house in '83, we've had our christmas in the barn. (the clover by my name is because my bday is st. patrick's day)

LEDDY: grandmother used to have a big white jewelry box that she and Leddy used to play in, until it got stolen a few years ago.

LUCAS: Luke is the only boy in our line that will carry on the family name... and brand. And the yellow rose (of Texas) is Grandmother's favorite flower.

LAURA: there used to be an old play kitchen set on the back patio that Laura and Cadye used to play with, especially when it rained, thus the blue.

CADYE: a few years ago, Grandmother gave us all ornaments that said "the stars at night are big and bright..." and printed up the entire song, most of which we'd never heard.

LANDON: the "T" is for Tarleton, where Lan is now playing baseball. There is a heart in the bleachers of his baseball field. All 9 of us have always been very involved in athletics, and Grandmother and Granddad have traveled the state making it to as many games as they possibly could.

JORDAN: Jordi perfectly sketched the back patio, and filled in Grandmother teaching her to jitter-bug.

JANCEN: Jance drew bluebonnets, another of Grandmother's favorite flowers.

the (almost) finished product

She loved it!

I was so proud of all my cousins for the work that they did. It's fairly obvious that none of us are artists, but each came up with something that was special to them and to Grandmother, and even the boys put out a lot of effort.

Neglectful

That's what I am. And not just with this blog, my house has been looking pretty bad here lately. I had one beautiful, productive day of nesting and got so much done, but it was all baby related, and then it was gone. But I have forced myself, with the help of my husband's gentle but firm urging, to get the house clean, the laundry done, and the baby's room ready, and I actually feel better, even if I can only tolerate working in short spurts. But anyway, it's all done, except for the baby's room, so I can concentrate on that today and finish preparing for Brynna to get here.

Which, by the way, is in

28 days!!!

I'm almost done being pregnant forever! I'm not sure which I'm more excited about!

I have all of Brynna's hospital stuff ready and most of mine, so pretty soon we'll get our bags packed and ready to go (BTW, I'll post of hospital bags and readiness later today.) Packing D'Laney's bag will be harder than either of ours, she has to have on her cutest outfits for all the pictures that will be taken. At least packing for Cameron will be pretty easy, and the most important thing he'll need those few days, Copenhagen, he can take care of himself!

I'm going to try to catch up on posting today. I'm not sure what I'll post about, it doesn't seem like we've done much, but it's been two weeks, so I'll try to think of something. I'll at least try to get some new pics up.

Speaking of pics, here's a belly shot. I'm sure you're all just dying to see my massiveness. Leddy took this last, I don't take them of myself. All you can see of me is my belly poking out from behind the wall!

Letter to Santa

D'Laney and I wrote a letter to Santa a few days ago, then emailed it to family so that they could see what it was that she was asking for.

I'm back!

I know, back from where? Several days between post is the norm for me, so it would seem that I didn't go anywhere. But I felt like death for several days, so I definitely feel like I'm back from somewhere! I am FINALLY feeling better! Sure enough, that pesky little chest cold turned into bronchitis, which I knew it would. I've had that so much over the years I can feel it coming on like old people can feel a cold front. I'm still coughing quite a bit (to which D'Laney replies, Momma, quit choking!) and it really wears me out, but I am much better. I'll post about Halloween later today, but right now I want to get back to this baby business!

Thanks for all the comments on the last couple of posts. I had a hard time with the last one because it seems to me right now that nothing makes the last few weeks go by any faster or smoother. And it seems that the rest of you feel the same way!

Today let's talk about getting the house ready for the baby. This is something that as a first time mom you think about constantly and you have everything ready for weeks before the big day. I don't know if everyone is like this, but I know for us, the second time around is a vastly different story. Brynna will be here in six weeks, and we have nothing, NOTHING, ready for her. D'Laney is still sleeping in her crib, and all the clothes are still in bins in the shed. I feel completely prepared for another infant in the house, except for the nursery, clothes, diapers, blankets, etc. Ya know, everything!
You'll get a lot of stuff at showers, and some of it you won't be able to live without, some of it will stay in the box for several months, if you don't regift it! Everyone has different things that they prefer, and most of it is trial and error, but maybe we can cut down on what all you try. And I'm not talking about the obvious basics, crib, changing area, dresser, etc. I'm looking for the little things that might slip your mind.

• set up a pack and play: when D'Laney was born we lived in a tiny house, so walking to her room to change her diaper or lay her down for a nap was about 4 strides. Now that we're in a two story, I'm not about to do that! most pack and plays have an upper basket for the newborns, and they work great as a nap/changing station that's right beside you. (we set it up in our bedroom for the first few weeks instead of buying a bassinet, as well.) This time I plan on leaving one downstairs and having one upstairs in our room for the first few weeks.
• if you don't want to set it up, or don't have the room to, at least set out a basket with all the necessary changing gear next to the couch.
• those little baskets come in handy all over the house. have one next to every spot where you might feed your little one and stock it with burp rags and a couple of small blankets. I will be keeping one next to the couch downstairs, the recliner in the baby's room, my bed, probably one in D'Laney's room, and one in the office next to the computer (if I have time for that kind of thing!)
• I didn't like our wipey warmer, it dried out the wipes. Maybe we just got a lemon.
• if there is a phone jack in your baby's room, but a phone in there. You might not spend a whole lot of time in there, but it never fails that the second you sit down to feed the baby or rock her to sleep, the phone rings and you forgot to bring a portable in there with you. I had one that lit up, and I turned the ringer off, so when the phone rang I could see it, but it didn't wake the baby, and I didn't have to get up to answer the phone.

That's all I can think of at the moment! C'mon, ladies, add to it!!

nothing today

Sorry, girls, but I am just not up to posting today. I've got some sort of death thing in my chest. I'm exaggerating, of course, it's just bronchitis or something like that, but given my limited breathing ability anyway, and my overall fatigue the last 8 months, I just feel like death. So I will post again tomorrow... maybe.

Let's get started!

THE FINAL WEEKS OF PREGNANCY

• Tylenol PM is your best friend!
• swimming helps relieve pain and pressure all over your body. it's hard to find an indoor pool right now, but it'd be worth the search
• when you feel like throwing up if you look at one more glass or bottle of water, try a sugar free additive, like lemonade or a crystal light thing
• a hot bath every night will help sooth back pain and help you sleep, but if your feet and legs are swelling, it could make them worse (at least it does mine)

That's all I got! This one is hard for me, because it seems like forever ago that I was ending D'Laney's pregnancy, and it seems like I have forever to go in this one! And not much makes me feel much better right now, so y'all are going to have to help me!

ATTENTION!!! ADVICE NEEDED!!!!!

Got your attention, huh? I knew if I said I needed advice, I'd get more looks. Everyone is always willing to offer their opinion and advice about things, solicited or not. Well I am definitely soliciting!
My friend Susan is expecting her first baby in a few weeks, and we were talking the other day about the hospital stay, what I wish I would have done differently, etc. She said "if you have any more tidbits, pass them on!" She's so right, you can read all the books you want, browse countless websites, but there's nothing like real life experience advice from people you know. Those books and sites are written by people in LA and NYC anyway, what do they know about having a new born in West Texas?! So here's what I'm doing, and what I'm going to ask all of you to do: I'm going to break it up into several posts, and offer what little knowledge I've accumulated in my short time as a momma, things I learned with D'Laney and things I wish I'd learned that I can use this time around. I'd like for you to leave comments here, or even post yourselves. Tips, advice, tricks, anything you can think of. And this isn't just for Susan, no matter how new of a mom you are, you can always learn something new, or be reminded of something old.
Here are some of the categories that I'll touch on:

• surviving the last few weeks of pregnancy
• what to take to the hospital
• what to do at the hospital
• the first few weeks
• navigating the cold and flu season
• out and about town
• breastfeeding tricks

That's really all I can think of right now, but I'm sure each of you could add more, so DO!!

I'll start later tonight, right now I have to make a dash to walmart for some dimatap and a humidifier! (tip: already have these things!!!) I'm excited!! I can't wait to hear what everyone has to say!

name origins

I am TOTALLY avoiding a disaster of a kitchen right now and what seems like a years' worth of laundry!

On one of my baby websites there was an article about choosing your kiddo's name and what your naming style is, blah blah blah... I learned that I have a classic style where I place importance on family names and traditions, like I needed them to tell me that. I do choose some pretty crazy spellings, but those spellings are based on family names, too. (well, my name!) I was curious about the origins of our names, though. I've known mine since I was little, but I wanted to see what the rest of ours meant.

Cameron Dale: of Scottish origin, and means "crooked nose", and of old English origin and means "one who lives in the valley"
Amy D'Lynn: french (yuck!) and means "beloved" (of course!), and of course I couldn't find anything for my middle name because it is a contraction of my parents' names, Dana and Lynn
D'Laney Dale: Irish, means "dark challenger" (the challenger part is so appropriate!), and of course English "valley"
Brynna Belle: Irish, and had two meanings "little drop of water" and "raven-haired" (and our spelling was actually listed!), and French (yuck!) and means "beautiful"
Holifield: I couldn't find a meaning, but the origin is old English

See the trend? We're definitely Irish in this house! Which we really are, both Cameron and I have a ton of Irish blood (that and Indian, I'm Cherokee and Cameron is Apache, how's that for a temper combination!) Both of our girls' names are very traditional Irish names, which wasn't planned but I love it. Cameron is a very traditional Scotch name, which is pretty close. My name is French (I'm not a fan of the french, can you tell?) but it is one of the top 5 most popular names in Ireland these days.

OK, I've avoided my chores long enough. I just can't get motivated to do anything these days!

catching up on posting all in one day... yeah, right. I should have known better.

I still haven't started on Brynna's room. We were waiting until after the open house, and when no one showed up for that, I decided we could go ahead and just plan on being here when she's born. However, before we could do anything we got a call from the realtor and she had someone to look at the house this past weekend, and I think it would show better with a guest room instead of two little girls' rooms, so we left things as they were. The people who looked loved our house, and have narrowed it down between ours and one other here in Stanton, and we're still waiting to hear. It's driving me crazy! Just when I think, OK, this is the house we'll bring the baby home to, I can start planning for that, this comes up and we still might be moving. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited, but at the same time, I'm extremely apprehensive. Brynna will be born in a little over 7 weeks, 7!, and we don't have much time to pack, move, and get settled before then. It can be done, if the house sells it will definitely be done, but it's still scary.

Today we're at 31 weeks, 54 days left! And Brynna is really letting me know today that she's ready to get out of there! My whole stomach is moving around, an elbow here, a foot there, she even mooned me earlier today, sticking that sweet little hiney way out. She's running out of room, and I think she might be a little claustrophobic.

Well that's really all I've got. Things are pretty uneventful around here right now. It won't last much longer, but for now, it's quiet. I don't have many recent pictures lately, either. Although, while out house was being looked at saturday, we went to the little park that's a couple blocks form our house. I was hot and miserable, but D'Laney and daddy had a good time. I put some of the pictures on facebook, and I don't want to post them on here, too, so here's the link:
FACEBOOK PICTURES
We're going to Iraan this weekend for a halloween party, so I'll have some good pictures of my little ladybug next week.

2 big milestones

I started this post on friday, it's now monday morning! better late than never! I'm going to try to catch up on blogging today, but not all in one post.

OK, so they weren't that big. Wednesday we hit 30 weeks, AND it so happened to fall on the 14th, which is exactly 2 months before Brynna graces us with her presence. The 30's is the last stage for me, I won't hit the 40 week mark, so I'm definitely on the home stretch. Just a few more weeks, but we're actually counting down by days. Even Cameron will say, only 6o some odd days left! I think he's as ready for me to not be pregnant anymore as I am.

I had a doctor's appointment today and everything looks great. Although I feel huge, I've still only gained 18 lbs at this point. I was a little shocked by that. I've been having a ton, I mean a TON, of Braxton-Hicks contractions, so she wanted to check me to make sure that they weren't real contractions and that everything was still nice and closed, which it was. I didn't think there would be anything to worry about, D'Laney was 9 lbs, a week over due, and I never dilated or thinned or anything, so I certainly didn't expect to be this time either. She does want me to be very aware of any and all signs of premature labor. Being the second kiddo, who is bigger than the first, apparently makes my chances go up, but she said she doesn't expect it, just to be aware of it. She said a woman's best friend, gravity, is to blame for all the contractions and ligament pain in my stomach and back. So I'll just have to tough it out, and it should all be fine as soon as Brynna is born. She put me on a few restrictions when it came to carrying D'Laney, mostly just avoid carrying her on the stairs and try not to pick her up too often during the day. I'll be on a whole lot after the surgery, so I'm trying to get as much cuddle time in as I can right now, even though D'Laney won't stand for it. It's just too dang bad, she's going to give me some hugs and sugars whether she likes it or not!

pic post

The pictures of Brynna did not turn out near as well as the ones we have of D'Laney. They're not as clear, but D'Laney was much more cooperative. I tried finding the disc so I could compare the pictures, but it's packed somewhere.
This was the best face shot we got.



This one is not good at all, except that Brynna is furrowing her eyebrows at us. Cameron said she really looks like me in this one.



Sunday afternoon we finally got to sit down for a while and watched the cowboys play. I had my feet up on the ottoman and D'Laney thought that it looked like the perfect place to lay down. Please pardon my expression, or really all of me, the 'boys really sucked and I was already feeling really bad, and my sister was supposed to be taking a picture of ONLY D'Laney.

D'Laney spilled strawberry milk all over her in the car, so we just stripped her naked and went on about our merry journey. She was mad that she didn't have anymore milk, though, so she got a sucker.



We got to see Eli and Landon when they came to watch Ryder play in Stanton thursday night. I'm not sure which of the boys this is, but D'Laney sure enjoyed playing with her cousins and giving them lots of lovin'!

"No wonder you're in so much pain..."

Whew! What a weekend! It'll take me all week to recover!
We had a weekend full of doctor's appointments, catching up with friends and family, lots of football, and a little shopping, but no rest! I enjoyed every second of this weekend, but I wasn't very kind to my circulatory system (quote from a movie, any one know it?!)
Friday's appointment went really well. Cameron was able to take off and go with me, and since he was there, we just kept D'Laney with us instead of having someone watch her. I thought she'd be really interested in the sono, she loves sitting with me at the computer and looking through old pictures, but she couldn't care less. Brynna looks great... well, what we could see looks great. She kept her hands in front of her face the whole time. My little wiggle worm decided to take a nap and not budge for the entire sonogram. We saw a pretty good profile, though, and she looks exactly like D'Laney! She's a little thinner in the cheeks, but through the eyes and nose and mouth, you'd think we were looking at a pic of D'Laney. It was awesome to see, even though I knew that's exactly what she'd look like. I told Cameron a while back that I think our girls will look like twins separated by 2 1/2 years. She is completely and perfectly healthy, and big... I mean BIG!!! On friday, her gestational age was 28 weeks, 2 days, and she was measuring 29 weeks, 6 days, which is huge right now. She weighs 3 lbs, 3 oz, but she didn't say and I didn't ask how long she is. That's a little bigger than D'Laney was at this stage! (you know, 9lb .4 oz, D'Laney!)
When we got in to the doctor, she said that she expects another 9lb-er. I said, well, maybe not since we'll take her almost 2 weeks early, and her response? Uh... if not, she'll be very close! When I was telling her about all the pain I've been having, the back pain, the Braxton-Hicks, what feels like a tear right above my belly button, she just smiled and said all of that was because I have another HUGE baby in my belly. She said the tear that I'm feeling is stomach muscles separating to make room for the baby, more like a hernia than a muscle tear, and that there's nothing to do for it, and it'll go back to normal after the baby's born. The Braxton-Hicks are nothing to worry about unless they become more painful and more regular, and the back pain will be around until I'm no longer picking up kids... ya know, 10 years from now! The whole visit, we had D'Laney in the room with us, and she was her usual busy self. She was very good, just busy, getting into things and climbing the walls, etc. As we were leaving, Dr. Hajovsky laughed and said, "No wonder you're in so much pain!" I agreed, and said that living in a 2 story didn't help things either, and she just patted my knee and said in her most sympathetic voice that I don't have much longer. I expect that it won't be too long before she'll put me on some sort of restrictions when it comes to carrying D'Laney, especially up and down the stairs, but she didn't say anything about it this time. This visit was the first of my every two weeks visits, and I don't remember when we'll start the weekly visits, but I don't think I'll have many of those since we're going in so early. Oh well, it's a good thing I like driving...oh wait, I hate driving!
I'd fill you in on the rest of the weekend, but it wasn't anything exciting. Dad had a kid break his arm really bad friday night, and I feel really terrible for the kid, but oh my goodness, it looked so cool! It was like, a Z pattern. He spent many hours in surgery friday night and saturday morning, and will set off a metal detector a mile away now, and I really do feel really bad for Zane, but he's a tough kid, and he's just a junior, so hopefully he'll be able to play again at the most, regain complete use of his arm and hand at the least.
I have some pictures of Brynna and a few from D'Laney from this weekend, but I'll post them later today, I've got too much housework to catch up on to spend anymore time on here!

Yada, yada, yada...

I don't really have much to blog about.

We had an open house Sunday that saw a total of 0 people show up. Oh, well. I think we're going to give it a couple more weeks, then just take the house off the market for a few months. At least I know where I'll be bringing my new baby home.

This means that I can throw myself into getting the girls' rooms done. (Anyone know a good seamstress?) Cameron doesn't know it yet, but this also means that starting next week, he'll be moving furniture. I can also start getting all of D'Laney's infant clothes out and sorted to see what we'll need to buy for Brynna. With Brynna coming in December, she'll need a lot more warm clothes than D'Laney did in August. I'm excited to get them all out and see them again. D'Laney had some of the cutest, sweetest little outfits, and I'm so glad we get to use them again.

We're going to Angelo for the weekend. We have a dr. appt friday morning, and my aunt and uncle are in this week from Idaho, great timing! My mom's dad, PapaDeere, is in the hospital, too, which isn't such great timing, but ironic timing that Uncle Ben just happened to be coming in for his once every two years visit. I am excited to see Uncle Ben and Aunt Kenda and introduce them to D'Laney. The last time they were here was the Christmas that we found out we were expecting her, so they've never met her.

I'm nervous about this doctor's visit. We get the 3D sono, which I'm so excited about, but I also take the glucose test. For some reason, I'm really scared about it. 2 or 3 times I've had pretty high sugars in my urine and they've pricked my finger, and that always came back normal, but on the high end of normal. If I do have gestational diabetes, it will be very hard to manage given my food allergies. There are only a few things that I can eat, and most of them are high carbs, which turn into sugars even faster when you're pregnant. I'm sure everything will be fine, I'm just anxious about it.

Today we're 28 weeks and have only 75 days to go! And I'm getting so ready. I'm having a ton of braxton-hicks, my back is getting very very sore, and I'm not sure that my stomach can stretch much further. I know it can, I've seen it do it, but that's how it feels right now, and I'm really not even all that big! It's not the skin that's hurting, it's all the muscles underneath. Sleeping is becoming more difficult, there is no comfortable way to lay, so Tylenol PM is added to my nightly pill regimen, and it helps a lot with the sleeping and the back pain. Other than those minor complaints that I whine about all day long, I actually feel pretty good. My legs aren't swelling, any heartburn I get goes away with tums in a matter of minutes, and I have a little bit more energy. The reason for that, though, is that when D'Laney naps, no matter what needs to be done in the house, I nap, too. I have to, otherwise when Brynna gets here and I'm sleeping even less, I'll surely have some sort of a breakdown. I need sleep, and lots of it, so I'd better store up now. Brynna moves constantly, still, and I can see almost every movement. I can tell she's growing because it's more like stretches now than kicks, although every now and then she'll kick me really really hard and take my breath away. Yesterday she planted a foot right in one of my ribs and just left it there. I tried moving it gently, then not so gently, but she wasn't budging, she stayed for about an hour, then just rolled over and went to sleep, I think, she was pretty still for a while. Right now she has the hiccups, it's so funny to me.

Well, I guess I had more to blog about than I thought. And after torturing everyone long enough with no pictures at all, I promise to never post again without at least one, even if it's just a random shot of our daily lives.

Cameron and D'Laney are so close and have so much fun together. His favorite form of torture for her, however, is to "play his guitar" He holds her arm up and tickles her ribs and sings a silly song about a chicken or a frog or something, it's hard to hear because she's always laughing so hard! (Please excuse the massive dip that's about to fall out of my husband's mouth.)

More pictures

I figured I had bored everyone with enough picture-less post to last quite a while. These are in no order, and are for no reason.


I bought this for Brynna right after we found out we were having a girl. She needs something in her wardrobe that didn't come down from D'Laney.


Melinda made this for Brynna, it was the first time I had seen her name on something that wasn't just me writing or typing it... I totally cried!



D'Laney decided she was old enough for makeup, so she found some mascara, somehow unscrewed it, and put it on. I walked in the room and she threw the mascara (cause she got caught) then looked at me and said, pretty?





D'Laney was as confused by Romo's play as the rest of us.


Giving her little sister some lovin'. She only kisses my belly button, it's kinda weird.


Ready to watch the Horns... but not before she accessorised.

Shaunna, you're going to have to share your trick for getting Addi to pose for you. I chased D'Laney around the house for an hour on Saturday, and these were the best shots I got! I'm a little ashamed to say tears were shed, and I might have thrown my camera down in frustration, but that's totally hormonal. At least that's what I'm blaming it on ;)

Nursing info

I had this website bookmarked, but had completely forgotten about it. It was vital for me in the first few weeks after D'Laney was born. Any question you could possibly have about breastfeeding is answered here, and it gives tips for preparing to nurse and how to make that oh-so-important first couple of days go smoothly. It's an awesome site! I don't know how many of you mommas-to-be are planning to breastfeed (all of you, I hope!) but maybe this will help alleviate any concerns you might have. Even having already been through all this once before, I feel the need to read all I can and be very prepared all over again.

www.kellymom.com

picture post

weekend update below!



so sweet... don't worry, it didn't last long!



those two could eat ice cream all day and night




isn't he so cute with that girl?! and look how big our other girl is getting! (Brynna, not me!!! although with the way my head is down, there is so a double chin there!)



hiding

growling like a lion with her crazy mane!

The pictures turned out alright, didn't they? I certainly don't expect professional grade, we let Keva take care of that, but I want them clear. I think once I play with it some more, and actually read the manual, I'll like it better. For the price I got it, I'm more than happy.

long long long weekend

Bullets in chronological order? Yeah, that'll work, hehe...

• Friday D'Laney and I packed up and headed to Angelo. We made it to Miles in time for most of the Bulldogs pep rally and got to see my dad for a minute before the team left for Roby. They lost 21-12 in a downpoor, but they're showing improvements every game. After the pep rally Mom and I went to town and I finally got a new camera. I found a FANTASTIC deal on a Nikon. I'm not sure if I really like it yet, though. I'm not sure how to do the settings and it takes a long time to actually take the picture. But it's red and it was a great price and the few pictures that I took this weekend turned out alright, so it'll definitely do. We went to Wall's homecoming that night and got to see lots of folks I haven't seen in a very long time. I didn't know the girl that won Queen, but I knew most of the girls on the court, and I canNOT believe that they're all seniors! I'm getting so old! This year is 8 years out of high school... unbelievable. We blew out Ozona, always enjoyable, and it didn't pour on us, there was just a light drizzle every now and then.
• Cadye and I got up Saturday morning and took D'Laney to the Cotton Fest parade, where we met Cameron. He got off of work too late to make it to the game, so he just decided to spend the night at home and meet us in the morning, and D'Laney was so excited to see her daddy when he got there! We watched what we could of the parade from the car, but decided it was raining too hard to stay, so we went back to my parents house and spent the rest of the day watching college football. Not a bad day, at all!
• After church Sunday and a great lunch, Cameron had to get back to get ready for the work week, so after he left we spent the rest of the day napping and reading. I read the latest Nicholas Sparks book The Last Song. It was ok, totally predictable and definitely geared toward a younger audience, but it's been a very long time since I was able to read a book in two days, and it was wonderful. D'Laney played with my folks and I holed up in a room by myself. It'll be the last time that I'll be able to do that for a long time, I'm sure! The movie should be out before too long, and even though I can't stand Miley Cyrus ( I think she's getting a little too big for her britches) I'll probably see it.
• Monday D'Laney and I hung out at my parents while everyone went back to work. We went to town that evening to get diapers and meet Lucas and Paige at Charcoal house. Even though that place isn't as good as it was when I was little, I still love their steak fingers dipped in their BBQ sauce.
• Tuesday D'Laney and I met my mother in law and her sister in town for lunch and then they watched her while I went to my doctor's appt. Everything looked great! I don't know why that always surprises me. Brynna is measuring exactly where she should be, not big for her age at all. I asked the doc about her measuring big before, and not now, and she said that she was never so big that it was considered "large," that she was always still within the normal range. I laughed and said you could have fooled me, I feel and look huge! She said that I really look like I should, but I feel so big because in my first pregnancy, I drew the black bean (her words) and had such a huge baby that my stomach muscles are shot to hell (again, her words!) They're so stretched and went back to what they think are a normal position, but that I'm really right where I should be. I gained 6 lbs this month, which is a lot, but I've only gained 13 total, and I'm well over half way done, so she's pleased with that. I can tell I've gained a lot, other parts of my body besides my tummy are starting to catch up and grow! I also have a ring worm on my leg. It's really weird, I've never had one and have no idea how one actually gets one (I always thought it had something to do with cats, which I hate and always avoid.) She told me to put Lotramin on it and it should go away in a couple of weeks. And she told me to stop scratching it! We scheduled the C-section for Monday, December 14th, so it's official, that'll be Brynna's birthday! At our next appointment, we'll do the 3D sono and the diabetes test, which I'm kinda nervous about. That appt. is in 2 weeks, which I thought was strange. I don't really remember, but it seems awful early to start going every 2 weeks. However, I will be 28 weeks then, and I know they like to do the glucose test right at 28, so that could be why. After the appt I picked up D'Laney and made the very long drive home. It's always 3 times farther to get home after several days away.
• Tomorrow we might be headed back to Angelo for a funeral, I haven't decided yet. But we are definitely staying home this weekend. Two in a row away from home is as much as I can take, I'm really becoming a home body. Texas plays Tech saturday night, though, and I can't think of a better place to be than on my couch with my studdly husband, in front of our 56" screen watching the Horns dismantle the Raiders.
• I'll post some pictures later today. I kept forgetting that I actually have a camera again and would forget to get it out, but I got a few good ones.

89 days!!!

Another full weekend

D'Laney and I are about to get packed and head to Angelo. Cameron will meet us there when he gets off of work. We usually always have to take two vehicles when we go down there because I plan our trips around my OB appts, and he always has to get back to go to work. We're going to go to Miles pep rally this afternoon, going back to town to hopefully buy a camera and definitely get an adjustment, going to Wall's homecoming tonight (yay!) and spending tomorrow watching football and cruising the Cotton Fest in Miles. We haven't decided if we're going to try to make the concert saturday night, it's awful late for these old fogies! And Cameron's not a fan of Correy Morrow, I would definitely have to NOT tell him who's playing to get him to go. And Sunday through Tuesday will be recuperating! Tuesday afternoon is my doctor's appt, and we'll get the delivery date on the calender! Other than that it'll be a pretty uneventful visit, but the next one will be so much fun, I can't wait for the 3D sonogram! I'll also have to do the yucky glucose test, but if I'm remembering right, which I never do, it wasn't too bad.
I'm off to pack. Everyone have a great weekend! Maybe I'll actually have some pictures to post when I get back!

25 weeks

A quarter of the way through! Wait, there's not 100 weeks in a pregnancy... it just feels that way to me! Actually, we're now well into the third trimester and have just 3 short months left, 96 days. (I know my ticker says that I have over 100 days left, but that's 105 days until the due date, and we know that she'll be here 9 days before that.) At least, I hope they're short. Hopefully they'll be busy, so maybe that'll help time go by faster.
The baby is hitting a bit of a growth spurt right now, it seems that my tummy is bigger every morning, and then gets bigger as the day goes on. She kicks and squirms all day long, especially late at night. D'Laney has a new fascination with my tummy. She likes to pull my shirt up and she'll pat it and kiss my belly button. Which is cute, unless we're in public, when she gets mad that I don't let her expose me for the world to see. She seems to think that Brynna is someone who's already around, she'll go through the house yelling for her, although when you stop and ask her where Brynna is, she says, in your tummy. She so doesn't get it!
I have such an itch to get the girls' rooms switched and done. Cameron was asking last night why I was in such a hurry, and I can't explain why, it must be a pregnancy thing, but I feel like I HAVE to have it done, NOW! I don't worry that it won't be done before she gets here or that she could come early and be here any day, I just need it done so that I can see it. I still need concrete evidence that there is in fact another baby coming, maybe having a room ready for her will help. I have decided to put them in separate rooms, since it appears that we'll still be living in this house when she's born, and I was going to make them match, but I think I've changed my mind on that, too. I need to find someone to do some sewing for me, I guess. I was going to try to do it myself, but I don't trust myself to do it right, and I won't be able to stand it if it's not done right. We're not going to have to buy any furniture and very little material, so we should be able to do both rooms quickly and cheaply.
Another thing that I have to have done NOW is buy another camera. I have very very few pictures of D'Laney over the last 6 months or so, and I think that makes me a very bad momma. So I'm just going to go get one, and call it my Christmas in september present.
I think we might go to Angelo this weekend. We hate to travel two weekends in a row, but I have a doctor's appt early next week, so I'd be going anyway, and this weekend is Wall's homecoming and the Cotton Fest in Miles, so I think we're just going to go for the whole weekend.
We had a good Labor Day weekend in Iraan. Cameron played a lot of golf, we ate some good food, and played a lot of dominoes. Well, Cameron did, I just can't concentrate on a game like that right now. Maybe after the baby is born and I regain a small fraction of my former brain function, I'll enjoy it again. We also watched some awesome football games... as in, we watched OU lose! That always makes me so happy. I did hate to see Sam Bradford go down, my hatred for that school can't diminish my fondness for their quarterback, I kinda like the kid. But they would have lost anyway, so I can relish in their defeat, and their huge nosedive in the polls! Hook 'em!
I have two friends who are due in the next two weeks or so. Lauri is due in just a couple days, and Kysha has a couple of weeks left. Say a little prayer for them and their growing families if you get a chance. I think I'll be the next one to deliver, then Susan, then Marlayna, and I know that there's more, I just can't think of them. Also, a couple of Cameron's good friends from high school, the Hanna's, just got back from Ethiopia with their new little boy. Kayin is 10 months old and absolutely adorable. He has the sweetest little face! Melissa doesn't blog, as far as I know, so no link :( but both Kayin and Kurt and Melissa are so blessed that the adoption went smoothly and everyone is home safe. Lots and lots of babies! I love it!
How's that for a random post? Let me assure you that my post are much more organized than my usual thoughts through out the day.
Oh yeah! Crystal posted a pic of the Hanna's and their new little boy. Isn't he precious?!

Flashback Friday

Yesterday was my parents anniversary, so in honor of that, today's flashback is of their wedding day, however long ago it was (I'm always a year off, how ever old I am, add a year, that's how long they've been married!)

My dad's brother Levi was his best man and my mom's aunt Becky was her matron of honor. Does the church look familiar? They got married at Johnson Street Church of Christ, where Cameron and I did, as well as almost everyone else in my family.

For reference, our entire wedding party after rehearsals:

The church hasn't changed much in 20 some odd years, has it?

It's hard to believe that last picture was taken 4 1/2 years ago! We're leaving in the morning for a 3 day weekend in Iraan, full of family, friends, hunting, dominoes, and COLLEGE FOOTBALL! (I'm only slightly excited that it's opening weekend...)

Randomness

• 2 post on consecutive days... what's gotten into me?
• D'Laney insisted on wearing jeans to town today, because momma was. Of course, the biggest pair we had was too small, so I decided that, since the weather was going to be getting a little cooler soon (I hope) that I'd go ahead and get her a couple pairs while at Target today. I could have spent a fortune. All of their fall clothes are out and are so cute! Little sweaters and cardigans and boots... I love it! And all in D'Laney sizes, I didn't even make it to my section, but I won't be wearing a whole lot of fashionable stuff this fall or winter, at least nothing that doesn't come from Motherhood. I did see some super cute boots that I will still be able to wear, though.
• I did my grocery shopping at Albertson's instead of Wal-Mart. I am so in love with that store. I liked the way it was layed out and they have absolutely everything! I haven't compared prices yet, so I might not be shopping there much, but I sure hope there's not much difference.
• We had a little bit of a scare yesterday. Well, it wasn't really a scare, but I was sure scared. I didn't feel Brynna move, like, at all, all day long. She usually moves constantly, whether I'm still or washing dishes or whatever. When I put D'Laney down I layed on the couch for almost an hour, she usually moves the most when I'm laying on my back, and only felt her move once or twice, and it was very faint at that. I have always been told that if it's a dramatic decrease in movement that I should call, so I did. Around 4, I called the doctor's office just to see if there was something that I had done or eaten, or not eaten, that would make her more still. The nurse said that it's pretty normal at this stage to not feel her so much everyday, but that I should take it very easy for the rest of the day and call back this morning if I still hadn't felt anything. It kinda aggravated me, I felt like she wasn't really listening to what I had been telling her, how much of a decrease the movement was from every single day for the last several weeks. But I did what she said, Cameron fixed supper and I ate a big meal and then went to bed as soon as D'Laney did, right after 9. I still wasn't feeling anything, and was getting a little more concerned, but around 10:30 she got to jumping around. I still didn't feel any kicks, but she was definitely doing something in there, backflips, I guess. Today she's been pretty active for most of the morning, but with all the running around in town and what not, I haven't felt much this afternoon. I'm sure she's doing fine, and I'm sure that I way overreacted, but something just wasn't right, and I trust that mother's intuition completely. I go back in a couple weeks, and I might request that she put me on the heart monitor so we can really make sure that there's no fluctuation. We'll see what the doc says.

Ahhhh...

I feel like I can breath better. It's September! The next four months are my favorite time of year. All of my favorite holidays fall in this stretch, except my birthday/St. Patty's day of course, and my favorite seasons are also during this stretch: football, dove, turkey, and deer seasons! Plus, we're just over 3 months from meeting Brynna. And, it's just over 70 degrees right now! I love it!
D'Laney learned a while back how to climb over her gate and get out of her room, so we've just been shutting her door to keep her in (we're not holding her prisoner, the stairs make me nervous at night.) Like everything else in this century old house, the door isn't flush with the frame and doesn't actually close, but we've been able to wedge it in and she hasn't been able to open it.... or so we thought. Sunday night D'Laney really didn't want to go to bed, so her daddy let her lay on the couch with him until she fell asleep, which was around 10. He put her to bed, but left her door open. I reminded myself that I needed to close it when we went to bed, but I forgot. Around 2 in the morning, something woke me up, it sounded like a thud, but I felt it more than I heard it. I thought D'Laney had fallen out of her bed so I went to check on her. But she wasn't in her bed, or in her room at all. I began to get a little scared and thought that maybe she had fallen down the stairs and was unconscious, that's why she wasn't crying, so I flew down the stairs and checked everywhere down here, but she was no where to be found. All the doors were locked and everything was in it's place, so I didn't think that someone had taken her, but I couldn't find her. I went back upstairs and went into our room to wake up Cameron, and I saw her, she was asleep on the floor at the foot of our bed. I have no idea how I didn't step on her when I first got up. I grabbed her off the floor and she woke up a little, but lay her head down and went back to sleep, for about 10 seconds. Then she was awake, and stayed awake for the rest of the night. When I'd put her back in her bed, she'd scream, not just cry, but scream. That, of course, means that I was awake for the rest of the night, and Cameron woke up around 3:30 and was up from then on too. It was a scary night, but ended up just being a frustrating night. We have got to figure out how to keep that kid in her room. Cameron is bringing a plane home today and is going to try to trim where the door catches so maybe we can close it, and hopefully she won't be able to open the knob. That kid!
That kid is also fascinated with her dirty diapers. If I forget to put pants on her, which is often with my mushy brain, the minute she poops, she's got it off and rubbing her hands in it. She doesn't put it anywhere near her face, thank goodness, and doesn't rub it in to many things, except the carpet to get it off of her hands. It is so gross, and so infuriating! It's my fault, I shouldn't leave her without britches on, but she's too old for that! Today was probably the 3 or 4th time she's done this, and that's 3 or 4 times too many!
I seriously need a new camera, though not to take pictures of the dirty diapers! Not a good segue, was it, lol? But I do, mine is completely and totally dead. I can't charge it at all, I'll leave it charging for the recommended 3 hours...nothing, so I'll leave it charging all night...nothing. Because it's several years old, I can't find any replacement parts. So I guess I'm in the market, any ideas? The one I have is Kodak, and I really like the software for it, but that's probably only because I already know how to use it. I don't want to spend much money, but I want a good camera, especially before Brynna gets here. So let me know what y'all have and if you like it. You know I'll have to look at all options before deciding.

It's Friday!!!

Not only is it friday, it's opening night of high school football season! And we don't even have to travel to catch a game, my cousin Jordan cheers for Grape Creek, and they happen to play here in Stanton, so we'll get to see some family and watch some football tonight. Yay! The weather is supposed to be a little bit cooler, too, so maybe I won't get too hot. My dad is open tonight, so he won't start his season until next week. Monday I printed off Dad's football schedule, Jordan's football and volleyball schedules, Iraan and Ryder's JH football schedule, and looked up Wall's homecoming (that's probably the only game we'd try to make it to, and I doubt we'll even do that this year.) We try to make it to as many games as we can, but since we have to travel for any of them, except in the rare cases like tonight, it's not always easy.

People are weird about things, ok, maybe I should just say I'm weird about things, but I have always thought that the outfit your baby comes home from the hospital in is so important. It's in pictures for the rest of the kid's life, and is always a little more special than most other outfits. D'Laney came home in a precious, very vintage looking yellow sundress with little purple embroidered flowers and a matching bonnet. It was beautiful, and I want something just as sweet for Brynna to come home in. Since the weather will be a lot colder, a little sundress won't do, but I don't want the dress to be Christmas-y, her birth is way more special than some ol' holiday. I want something very classic and looks like baby clothes. I don't like a lot of frill on the girls normally, but like I said, it's a special occasion. So I'm on the hunt. Winter clothes won't be out for a couple more months, so I can't buy anything now, but I'm sure scouring websites looking for what will be released. My plan is to take D'Laney's sundress and whatever Brynna wears and put them in shadow boxes. I'm also trying to find just the right wardrobe for D'Laney to wear for those 3 days. I want something very special for the day Brynna is born, probably a big sister outfit of some kind, and then probably a matching dress for the day we bring Brynna home, but I won't frame it. All I'm thinking about are the pictures that will be taken, but don't you always feel like whatever going on is a little more special if you have a brand new, bought specifically for the occasion outfit to wear? Just me?
We didn't get a very good picture of D'Laney in her sweet little dress, and I'm still mad about it to this day, and the dress actually came out kind of pink in the pictures, but it was such a precious outfit, and the bonnet set it off just perfectly.

110 days to go....

Yes, I'm counting down in days. Susan is, too, so I don't feel so bad. Today we're 23 weeks. At our appt. last week, the doc said that at the next appt we'll schedule the C-section, so we should figure out what day will work out best for us. We decided on December 14th, so that will be Brynna's birthday! The 14th is on a monday, and Doc said she wanted me staying in Angelo for a couple days after I'm discharged in case there is some kind of problem. So we'll deliver on the 14th, leave the hospital on the 16th or 17th, and go to my mom and dad's for a couple days. We're going to get a couple of Christmas's in during those 2 days. Our barn Christmas with my dad's side has already been planned for the 19th, so we'll be in town for that, and we'll have my mom's side out to her house on the 18th, so we won't have to go anywhere but still get to see everyone. After that we'll go home, wherever that may be by then, and have a week to rest up before more festivities. Hopefully, we'll already be in Iraan, where all of Cameron's family is, and won't have to travel at all.
It's so strange to know the exact day that she'll be here. It's even stranger that her delivery is the only thing that's for certain in our lives right now. We don't know where we'll be living, what we'll be doing, etc. It's very stressful. I can't plan a nursery because if we're still in this house, the girls won't share a room, but if we've already moved, they probably will. Planning for Christmas is hard because after we do get to whatever home we're going to, traveling might not be very easy. I'm sure it'll be fine on the baby, but I'll be recovering from my second c-section, and I don't expect it to be easy. I'm really stressing over this, even though I know there isn't a thing I can do about it. I've really been praying for peace and to relax and let things take the course God has laid out, but it's difficult for me. Some might say I have control issues, lol. I've quit praying for a buyer for the house, because that might not be what God wants for us right now. Maybe I should just go ahead with plans to be here for a while, get the nursery ready, plan for the holidays, etc. We are going to continue trying to sell the house, I think we've decided to lower the price again, but I'm not sure what good it'll do. No houses are moving in Stanton right now, it's not just ours. If no one's calling, what does a lower price matter? But sometimes that's just what needs to happen. Who's to say that some one's been keeping an eye on the MLS listings and likes our house, but hasn't called on it because of the price (which by the way, is way below appraisal as it is!) It's so hard to know what to do! UGH!
But, enough with all the lamenting! I'm not a negative person, never have been, and I refuse to get bogged down. After all, I have another baby on the way! And an absolutely precious 2 year old. So a baby update, if anyone is even still reading this (I probably would have given up on this post a while back!)

• Brynna moves constantly! I feel her at least once an hour, but it's late at night that she really gets rolling. I hope that she moves a lot in her sleep and that she's not awake so much. And I really hope that the 10 pm gymnastics practice will stop once she's born. I felt a heel a couple nights ago make about a 3 inch swipe. It's so tiny! Cameron said that I'm crazy for thinking that I know which body part I felt, but when you've been through it before, you know what you're feeling for and how different limbs feel. She also had her first case of the hiccups yesterday, I think. She's still a little too small for me to feel those very well, but I was laying down while D'Laney was napping so I was still, and my tummy was twitching a little. D'Laney had the hiccups every day at 2 o'clock the last 2 or 3 months of that pregnancy. You could have set a watch by it!
• At our appt last monday, I was 21 wks 5 days, and my belly measured just over 23 inches. You're supposed to measure the same: 21 wks, 21 inches. Not my babies, I grow them big! But since we'll deliver almost 2 weeks early, neither the Doc nor I expect her to get to 9 lbs like D'Laney. I also gained the most at this appt. to bring my grand total to 7 lbs. Maybe I'll actually fall within the normal weight gain range this time, as opposed to the 60 lbs. I gained with D'Laney. I guess technically, I only netted about 30, because I was heavier and lost 30 when I was so sick before we got it under control, and then gained that 30 back plus 30 more. But I didn't lose much this time, maybe 5 lbs, and then just didn't gain any for a while. I don't step on a scale, ever, I don't believe in it, so I'm not sure what the gain vs loss was in between appt, but the baby is growing really well, obviously, and I feel pretty good, and the only thing on me that is growing is my tummy (ok, and a little back fat) so if Doc says everything is fine, I believe her.
• The average baby is a foot long and weighs just over a pound right now, so I expect that Brynna is around 14 inches and weighs 1 lb 2 oz. Of course, I'm just guessing. I really have no idea. I do know that if she were born today, she has over a 60% chance of surviving. Cameron got down right mad at me for bringing that up when we hit that point with D'Laney, so I think I'll let him know that as soon as he gets home, hehe. He said that it was morbid and why would I even think about the baby coming this early, but it was comforting to me then and is now too. It means that she's closer to being an actual baby and not just this alien in my tummy.
• I'm still feeling pretty good. I stay exhausted, but my allergies have been really bad lately, and that really wears me out. And of course D'Laney wears me out, but I don't mind that too much. I'm beginning to have some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but they haven't been painful, just annoying. It's actually kind of comforting knowing that those lovely things come towards the end. My feet and legs have been swelling a little, too. That's a new preggo symptom that I didn't have the first go-round. I think it has to do with my lack of water intake. I'm trying, I really am, but I simply forget to drink as much water as I should. And it's not like I'm drinking a lot of coke or anything (I've cut way back, if you can believe it) I'm just not really drinking anything. I've never been one to drink a lot throughout the day, and it's been very difficult to keep up with the water. Which reminds me...
• Ugh, I hate water.
• I've decided not to do cloth diapers. The deciding factor was all the laundry I did the last two days. I'm bad about letting it pile up and then spending all day one day (or two days) catching up, and I couldn't let diapers pile up like that. You would think that would make me keep up a little bit better with the laundry that I have, but I don't work that way. So disposables it is. I'll just hope that Brynna doesn't have the high maintenance hiney that her sister had and that we won't have to buy the most expensive diapers they make. D'Laney would break out if we put anything but pampers on her, she still does.
• We go back mid Sept and we'll schedule the delivery, and then our next appt in mid October will be the BIG one! I'll take the nasty glucose test, yuck!, and we'll do the 3D sonogram. I'm so excited about it, because it is a very accurate picture of the baby. D'Laney looked just exactly like the sono. I'm more curious what Brynna looks like that I was with D'Laney because we already know what a baby of ours looks like, I want to know if she'll look exactly the same or way different or just slightly resemble her sister. With my sister and I, you can tell we're siblings, but we don't favor each other all that much, Cadye actually looks a lot more like one of our cousins than she does me. It's the same with Cameron and his brother, they don't look exactly alike, but you can tell that they're related. For some reason, I think that Brynna and D'Laney will look like twins separated by 2 1/2 years. Cameron thinks that Brynna will have much darker hair and maybe get his blue eyes. I sure hope so. He has beautiful eyes, I hope they're passed to at least one of our girls.

Well, I think that's it. I know I said I was working on a 2 year old post for D'Laney, but it's coming along pretty slowly. She doesn't really hit any milestones these days, so it's more her likes and dislikes, and I have a hard time remembering when I sit down to blog. So as I remember something during the day, I pull up that post and add a little each day. It might take a while.

Party!

I'm working on a two year old post for D'Laney, but I wanted to post about her party! We had a great time. We had about 30 people over, all family from both sides. We ate burgers then opened presents and had cake and ice cream. As I've mentioned, my camera is no longer in commission, but my mom took some that I got from her before she left, so here they are!
If you've read Lindsey's blog or Marlayna's, you'll see that monkeys were a popular theme this year. When Mar and I were talking about what we were going to do for the girls, we kept saying, yeah, I'm doing that too, I was going to do that, etc... I ended up cutting my list of planned things in half, so really the only monkey thing was the cake. We just felt irresponsible spending money on decorations for a birthday party right now. But anyway, here are the pictures. I'm not going to comment about each one, but I will say that the cake was quite an adventure. I made it myself, as you'll be able to tell. I just free-handed the monkey and filled in with colored icing. It turned out ok, but it tasted pretty good. And I enjoyed making it, so that's really all that mattered. I also wanted to put a short video up of D'Laney and her daddy dancing. They do this all the time, but when he's holding her. Tonight, she came up to him and lay her head on his stomach and started leading. It was so sweet, if I were less exhausted I probably would have cried.

So here goes, picture overload!

Potty training = a cranky momma

Potty training has sort of stalled. D'Laney gets excited to go sit on the potty, but not in actually using it. She wore panties all day yesterday and had 2 accidents, both on the kitchen floor, thank goodness. Today we've been cleaning and packing to go to Angelo for the weekend, and she slept kinda late and then went down for a nap early, so we haven't even tried yet, but as soon as she wakes up we will. I'm really struggling with finding the patience for this right now. I'm just not feeling well enough to fight with D'Laney all day every day.
We have a full weekend in Angelo planned. My dad has his first scrimmage tomorrow morning against Iraan, so we're going to try to make that. Then I'm meeting the girls from high school for lunch, and late that afternoon is Maddie's birthday party! Sunday should be pretty low-key, and then monday is my next OB appt. This appt is pretty short I think, just listening to the heart rate. I'm only 2 1/2 weeks away from the third trimester!

We used the potty!!

I realize that not everyone will be as excited about this as me, or really even want to hear about it, but too bad! D'Laney used the potty!!!!
The little potty that we have can be taken apart and part put on top of the regular commode and the rest turned upside down is a step stool. (No pun intended!) I put it on the commode this morning to see if that would generate any new interest from D'Laney, because there's nothing new and exciting about the little potty and she wanted nothing to do with it. But that worked, she wanted to climb up the steps and would pull herself up on the potty, I wasn't allowed to help her at all. Once there, however, was the same old thing, she'd sit for a minute, get down and play, climb back up there, get down to play. After a few minutes of letting her get used to it again, I said if you're not going to use the potty, we're getting out of the bathroom. She fussed at me for a couple minutes, but then her minute attention span was on something else. Well a few minutes ago, I was sitting at the computer and she came and stood in front of me and just stared at me. It was weird for her to just stand there, but then she started to squat a little bit and I knew exactly what she was doing. She hadn't had a dirty diaper today, and I figured she was having some difficulty but that things were about to happen. So I acted really excited and said Let's go sit on the potty! We got into the bathroom and took her diaper off and I tried to sit her on the potty and she screamed NO! I held her for just a sec and then sat her down again, and she tried to fight me, but things were happening! I was right, she was a little constipated and had to really work at it, but she did it! She pooped in the potty!!! I went nuts and I think I scared her a little, but when she realized I was happy, she got a little excited, too. She got to use her very own toilet paper and wash her hands with her very own soap (yay, Kandoo!) She loved flushing the toilet herself, but her favorite part was getting the M&Ms. We called Daddy, who was still working, and tried calling both of her grandmothers, but neither answered. She did get to tell her Aunt Cadye, and she loves talking to Cadye on the phone, so she was excited about that. I'm excited about the fact that afterwards, I put some panties on her and she hasn't had an accident yet and it's been over 30 minutes!! About every 2 minutes I check and say, tell me when you need to teetee and we'll go sit on the potty again. At first she thought I was saying DeeDee, which is my mom, and she thought DeeDee was here, which is sweet but sad. So we'll see how much progress we make now. I've thought all along that if she just goes once or twice, she'll get it and that'll be that. I hope today wasn't a fluke, and that she understood what was going on, not just that I was holding her down on the potty. Regardless, she did it, and I'm so proud of her!