Clearing Something Up

Okay, so for those of you who read the "comments" that family and friends write after each post... you saw a not so nice comment yesterday. The commenter knew it was in bad taste or otherwise they would have signed their name. After just a small amount of research, I figured out who the person was because I can track who visits my site (how and when they got there, etc.). Anyway, maybe it's my hormonal imbalance due to the pregnancy... but, I was more than offended by the comment. It really bothered me at first. But, then Josh and I talked about it and I realized that quite simply, this person does not know us or our story very well.

So, in case this person decides to come back to my blog... I wanted to let them personally know that my husband and I suffered with fertility problems for a year and a half before I got pregnant with Isaac. All we have ever wanted is to have a family together and we are SO excited to finally be making our dream come true. Isaac has been loved from the very moment we found out I was pregnant and we have been preparing for him since then. I am choosing to be a stay-at-home mom for our son and he will be raised in a loving, Christian family. We do indeed know how fortunate we are to have a healthy pregnancy and supportive family and friends. Anyone who truly knows us knows that Isaac is wanted and will be smothered with as much love as two parents can possibly give a child.

P.S. Most women are miserable at 39 weeks pregnant and can vent on their blogs if they choose to do so. :)

No Progress!

I was SO grumpy last night... sorry I didn't post an update from my doctor's appointment. NO good news, unfortunately. I am STILL only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. In a week and a half, I have not progressed at all. :( We saw Dr. F and he seemed to be on this kick of "Oh, almost all first time moms deliver late!" I just wanted to kick him when he said that they usually only let first time moms go a week or TWO past their due dates. Okay, that is NOT okay with me. I still get all riled up about it because my main OB (Dr. N) has told me from the beginning that he'd only let me go 1 week past my due date before inducing me. It's really bothersome that Dr. F threw in that two week comment especially after feeling my belly and exclaiming yet again that "My, you have a big baby there." LOL In the parking lot, I told Josh... "There's NO way I'm waiting until Dec. 19th for this baby!!"

So, anyway... Isaac is doing fine. His heartbeat was at 140 beats per minute and I gained one pound. My blood pressure and all that were normal. I was just really, really hoping for some news that I had progressed. Afterall, I am only 6 days away now from my offical due date. I had an insane craving for chocolate after the appointment and we stopped for brownies at the bakery. Even the brownies didn't do the job. I was a grumpy butt all night long... c'mon already! Let's get this show on the road!

P.S. My next doctor's appointment is next Tuesday, Dec. 6th, with Dr. N (not Dr. F). Cross your fingers I won't even need the appointment, please!

Week 39

Well... I'm at 39 weeks today and am SO ready to be done! Only 7 days to go until my official due date (2 days to go to Nov. 30th- the date given at our last ultrasound based on Isaac's size). I am a waddling duck for sure now... just waiting for my little guy to tell me "when" he'd like to come as I waddle my way around. I am extremely tired and ache all over. Today, I will be going to the doctor for a checkup. Josh wants to make sure we bring my hospital bag with us just in case they tell us we're staying. I wish! Isaac is doing well... we're just anxious to meet him! It hopefully won't be TOO long now!

How your baby's growing: Your baby's ready to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches. Your baby's organs are fully developed and in place, and the outer layers of skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

How big is your baby?
Your baby is now between 18 and 20 ½ inches long and weighs around 6½ to 8 pounds.

Still Waiting

Just checking in quickly to say that I'm still here... no baby yet! I had a batch of strong contractions last night but then they went away. I've only had them sporadically since then. It has been REALLY hard for me to get up and down today because I'm feeling lots of pressure and feel tired/achey overall. Tomorrow afternoon, I go for a doctor's appointment to check on progress. I am hoping that there's been a change! We were really, really hoping to meet our little guy this weekend because my family was in town. But, it seems that Isaac has decided to "cook" a little longer.

More Preggo Belly Pics

We posed in front of the Christmas tree for some pictures yesterday. Again, I cannot believe how BIG I am... I know I feel big, but not THAT big. LOL

Too Many Dogs

So, my mom brought her two very large dogs(Toby & Jacob)to our house for the holidays! I'm not complaining... we're fine with that because we bring our's to her house when we visit. However... Wow! FOUR dogs are just a lot to handle! Luckily, they all get along well and are having lots of fun together (They were big fans of leftover turkey yesterday as well)!

Turkey Day Pics

My mom, Chrissy, Beckie, Josh, and I all enjoyed a very yummy Thanksgiving lunch yesterday!!

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Josh was disappointed that I hadn't posted any pics of our Christmas tree today. So, here they are... along with some other holiday decor pics. We like to decorate in a "country" theme with lots of snowmen, Santa Claus', and snowflakes. Our tree has red and green wooden beads, jingle bells, tin and crocheted snowflakes, and many handpainted ornaments (most by Josh's wonderfully talented Grandma Fraizer). We display Josh's collection of Santa figurines on the fireplace mantle. Enjoy the pics!We are getting SNOW today as well... here's a pic from this afternoon. We have about 1 1/2 inches and it keeps coming down... winter is here!

Happy Thanksgiving... and a FYI

Today, my mom and sisters (along with their two huge dogs) will be coming to visit for the holiday weekend. I'm very excited because they haven't been to our house since the middle of the summer. Plus, it will be funny to see their reactions to my HUGE belly! We're having dinner here at our house for the first time... thank goodness my mom will be here to do most of the cooking. On Friday, the fam will head out to the Black Friday sales without me (Can you imagine how miserable I'd be? I'm SO slow these days!) and then we'll just hang out and visit the rest of the weekend. I know that I want to show them where the hospital is so they can find it in a hurry when the need arises (Isaac- hint, hint).

Just an very important FYI fact: I will most likely NOT be posting on the blog over the next few days. This does not automatically mean that the next post you'll see will be one of a baby picture! It just means that I'll be spending time with my family and will be too busy to get online much. Never fear, you will be notified by email if we head to the hospital over the weekend! Take care and have a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey and mashed potatoes!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

CHRISTMAS!! Okay, weird timing for the holidays this year with myself being hugely pregnant and uncomfortable... wondering IF we'll have a baby this Thanksgiving and knowing for sure we'll have one by Christmas. So, we have decided to try and get as much as our holiday planning done as *early* as possible. I have the Christmas cards addressed waiting for baby pics, 75% of my shopping done, and last night, we officially started to decorate our home. At first, I wanted to keep it low-key and not put out every single decoration. But, then the holiday music on the radio got to me and I had Josh lug in 9 out of the 10 tupperware containers anyway. Today, I will be finishing up with the Christmas decorations... and we'll put up the tree together tonight! Fun, fun! While this may seem like jumping the gun for some, you must remember that we are only days away from having a newborn demand all of our attention. I won't have any time to sleep, let alone make my home look cute for Christmas after Isaac decides to join us.

Otto Boy & Sophie Girl

Sometimes, Josh and I wish our pets had just a TEENY BIT of personality... LOLOtto wasn't thrilled with my picture-taking last night in case you can't tell... and Soph, well... she's what one would call a "close talker (kisser)."

Week 38

Onto my 38th week of pregnancy today! Josh and I are getting very excited although sometimes he still seems to be in disbelief and says, "Can you believe we're really going to have a kid?" LOL I guess it seems much more believable to me since I'm the one with Isaac kicking and poking at me constantly. My belly is growing bigger and I feel lots of pressure/weight when I walk now. Honestly, I'm feeling miserable... uncomfortable, anxious, and emotional. I don't go to the doctor this week due to the holiday. My next appointment is next Monday, the 28th. As you know, we've been hoping for an early baby... so, the big question is whether or not Isaac will make his appearance when my family is here visiting for Thanksgiving. Will he or will he not be a turkey baby? As much as I'd love to think so, I've been thinking that he'd prefer a December birthday and will wait a bit longer.

How your baby's growing: Your baby has really fattened up. He likely weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds now (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and he's probably between 19 and 20 inches long. He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test with your pinky!

The Game

Just wanted to take a minute to say, "GO BUCKS!!" on the blog. Today is the infamous rivalry between The Ohio State Buckeyes and The University of Michigan Wolverines. It's crazy living in the capital city with everyone's buckeye fever... very contagious indeed. I never knew a strong hate for another team could be ingrained at such an early age... even toddlers here are taught to hate the "state up north." Oh, wait... I did grow up hating Pittsburgh because my family cheered for the Browns. Anyway, we'll be watching the game today in hopes that OSU will pull off a win!

Just One

One centimeter dialated and 50% effaced... that's the update from my doctor. Not much, but it still means that I'm officially in early labor. Isaac's head is low and his heartbeat was strong at 136 beats per minute. The doctor felt the size of my belly and reviewed Isaac's growth on his ultrasounds. He still thinks that Isaac will be over 8 lbs. at least.








I lost two pounds in the last week and again, I'm not sure how that's happened because I've been eating normally. My doc doesn't seem worried and made a joke about if I were Ethiopian and 80 lbs. to begin with, then he would be alarmed. Never fear, though... with Turkey Day coming up next week, I WILL gain more weight for sure! Doesn't everyone?

The crazy news is that I won't be going back to the doctor until Monday, Nov. 28th because of the holiday week next week... makes me wonder *if* I'll make it to that appointment at all! I was really hoping for an early baby due to Isaac's size. But, who knows? I've barely made any progress so far and some women stay at the same dilation for weeks until they truly go into labor. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Enjoy the brave belly pics I'm posting... I can't believe how big I am! No wonder people in public look at my belly first and then my face. LOL

Brrrrrr

It's COLD outside... currently 26 degrees. Today's weather report for our town:

Today: Snow flurries this morning will give way to partly cloudy skies during the day. Cold. High near 30F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Cold. Low around 15F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph

Snow? Oh, man. I really wish it wasn't time for winter yet. I was talking to my sister-in-law Jamie yesterday and she had 80 degrees in Arizona. Too bad I won't be taking any trips to warmer climates for awhile b/c that temperature sounded just heavenly.

**Doctor's appointment later today for a check-up on progress (if there IS any). I'm beginning to think Isaac may just take his jolly good time in arriving.

Ugh... Ouch!

Not much to report today other than I feel like I am getting beaten up by the baby. Isaac is STRONG and BIG and is still very active for being so squished in utero! His kicks, elbows, and jabs are beginning to get very uncomfortable. The other day, I was resting my arm across my belly and he obviously didn't like the pressure. Every time I tried laying my arm there, he would push it away with force. Last night, I told Josh to reach over and put his hand on my belly and he might catch some movement. You should have seen the way his eyes bugged out as he said, "Whoah!" after Isaac decided to give him a swift elbow jab making my belly bounce. Ugh! I am thinking it's almost time for this baby to make his entrance... he is wearing out his welcome and I feel like my ribs will bruised very soon.

Ah, The Life

It's very good to be a dog at our house... enjoy the pics!Not too bad for two mutts rescued from the pound! :)