Hospital Prep

Went to my doctor appointment at thirty-six weeks and five days - wow, how time has flown by. We got some unexpected news: the doctor said that I'm three centimeters dilated and seventy percent effaced!

That means Dexter could arrive at any time!
I'm so excited! I am so not ready yet! I was thinking I had a few weeks left but it sounds like Dexter is going to meet us earlier than the due date! Oh my goodness, what a kick in the butt to get things ready!

I guess first thing is to put together a hospital bag. I need to wash some baby clothes so they smell more like mom & dad. What to pack? I found a couple of super helpful lists online from Parents.com & a blog: Life With My Littles (along with some other helpful ideas to prep for baby!) I also got a list from my doctor. Here's my list of what I decided to bring:

Basics:

• Picture ID
• Insurance Card
• Advanced Directive
• Birth Plan
• Vitamin list (& vitamins) 
• Call list
• Chargers (phone, nook)

For baby:

• Diapers & wipes
• Car seat & blanket
• Bottomless gowns
• Burp rags
• Receiving blankets (though the hospital may have some too)
• Baby beanies
• A picture out fit
• Socks

For mom:

• Toiletries: toothbrush, hair brush, deodorant, hair ties, lip balm, emery board 
• Sweatshirt
• Slippers / socks
• Gifts / thank yous for doctors & nurses
• Entertainment devices (nook)
• Snacks & gum
• Nursing bra / shirt / tank top
• Nursing pillow
• Nursing pads?
• Pump
• Extra fabric bag for things acquired at the hospital (gifts / hand outs)
• Flip flops
• Baby's memory book
• A pillow from home
• "Baby folder" for the papers from the hospital
• A laundry bag
• Music device (with music!)

For dad:

• Toiletries: toothbrush, hair brush, deodorant 
• Snacks & gum
• A couple of changes of clothes

Oh, next I should really write out that birth plan so it can be packed and on hand! I got a birth plan check list from WIC & I found this blog, Earth Mama, that has a whole bunch of points to check and then a pdf file can be downloaded for free! Just Mommies also has a similar birth plan creator that makes it easy to simply select what you want & print it out.

Find a pediatrician.... WIC sent me a letter saying that they had picked out a doctor for us. I don't really like that. I want a say in where I take my child. My doctors gave me a list of pediatricians that work with the hospital I'm going to deliver my son at. I have to make some calls, but I hope to be switching to one of their offices.

I still need to pick up the things Dexter still needs! Oh my gosh! I still need some things: bed covers, nursing gear, a baby sling, diaper gear... I'm sure I'm forgetting other things too...

What about birth announcements? Should I pick those out now?

What the hell am I supposed to expect for the labor process? I've never done this before! This is all brand spankin new to me! I've been avoiding really looking into it because I'm scared that it's 'the most painful pain that I'll ever be in, in my whole life.' I want to see and read more birth experiences first, before I dive into it my self! Wait, Dexter, I'm not ready yet!

Calm down. Breath. Be excited! :)
We're going to get to meet little Dexter soon & everything is going to be great!

Bellie Pics :)

Week 3 (when I found out)

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

week 7

Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 9
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 12
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 14

Week 15

Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 16
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 17
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 18
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 19
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 20
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 21
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 22
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 23
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 24
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 25
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 26
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 27
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 30
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 33
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 34
Photo by Timothy Capp

Week 36
Photo by Timothy Capp

30 Weeks!

Oh my goodness!  We're already in week 30!!  Where has the time gone!? The days are just flying by!

Dexter has gotten so big for my belly! He's been able to wake me up a few times from wiggling around. Usually when I wake up it feels like he's tap dancing on whatever side I'm laying on! I've been taking time randomly though out the day to lay back and just watch him move around.  He's gotten stronger and larger, I can see my belly move and I imagine the somersaults he must be doing in there!

Little baby Dexter is now right around three pounds and six-teen inches from head to toe! His eye sight is continuing to develop - he can respond to light and is packing on fat cells.  His brain is also continuing to develop!

I got the baby registry pretty much put together on Amazon so that I could get our online baby shower going and have some fun!

"baby registry"

The registry is not one hundred percent complete yet... we've decided to go with cloth diapers and I have no clue where to begin on those or which ones will work best for us. Our minds were swayed by a mom's group that convinced us that it will be more economical in the long run. So for now the thought is to go with disposal diapers till Dexter gets to the usual ten pound limit for the cloth diapers then transition into cloth diapers. Only using disposable when we're out and about so we don't have to carry around dirty cloth diapers in a bag.

I think I'm going to pull all of my thoughts and research together on another post. Keep it all together in one place!

25 Weeks

Baby and I have reached week 25!

Last night (Dec. 11th) was the first night that he's been so strong and harsh with his movements to wake me up... I thought he was going to crawl right out of me! He kept me up for about an hour in amazement of how much he was moving around.  Though I was so tiered today because of it. I took a three hour nap and I'm thinking of going to bed early too.

Not only is baby Dexter getting stronger, he is now about thirteen and a half inches long, and weights about one and a half pounds. He is also getting more baby fat and practicing breathing, swallowing, crying, out-of-the-womb activities.

One of the mom's in one of my mom's groups had an emergency c-section this week, her and baby are doing good.  It's amazing that we've made it to viability and to see what my boy looks like at this point.

I've been so wrapped up in baby and the holidays this month.  Though, thinking of the future I've tried to start putting together a baby shower. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun! I'm working on a trivia game and some other games we can play over the internet together.  I won't have a chance to really think about it or put it together completely until after the holidays.

Tomorrow there are some local festivities going on - Snow on Tarpon Ave. We're looking forward to checking it out. Though I have a feeling that it would be so much more fun with our son on the out side of me, being as most of these things are geared toward kids. Still, it will be a lot of fun being around all the holiday joy!

South Carolina

Dear Baby,

We're at week 24!!! This pregnancy with you has been going by so fast looking back and thinking I was so excited to reach the half way mark at 20 weeks. It's also been so slow at times with the anticipation of meeting you boiling up and causing butterflies in my tummy. I suppose it's like we've climbed a mountain to the half way point and now that we've reached the summit going down is going to go by so much faster!

The last couple of weeks have really flown by! We went to the Dr.'s for a check-up, I got to hear your heart beat loud & strong and we're both healthy, right where we should be. Then you had your first taste of Thanksgiving. Your first holidays in existence is in my womb, your dad and I are really looking forward to spending the holidays with you! You're going to bring so much more joy and excitement to events than we can experience now as 'boring' adults. We went to your grandparent's place and visited with your great grandparents too. Just a small gathering with your father's side of the family, it was fun!

Photo by Timothy Capp

The day after Thanksgiving we headed to South Carolina to document your daddy's high school friend proposing!  This has been your second road trip up the east coast in my womb, the first being a North Carolina trip for a wedding your daddy photographed.  This trip was short and only lasted a couple of days - but it was so much fun!  We got to experience new restaurants. (Cookout is an awesome inexpensive fast food place - we got two burgers, two sides and a shake for just twelve dollars & it tasted great!) We went to a restaurant we found last time we were up here & just had to get some of their signature berry biscuits (Bojangles.)

Photo by Timothy Capp

We got to the meeting place where the proposal was planed to occur a bit early so we had time to look around and play, since it was at the beach! Your dad pointed out that this was my first time seeing the Atlantic Ocean. I collected some shells of course and your dad got some fun pictures.  We were right outside the hotel that your dad's friend was staying in with his sweetheart.  It was a big beautiful beach themed hotel, there were two weddings there that day as well. The proposal was supposed to take place under the pier, but they got really nervous and he ended up proposing on the balcony. We convinced them to get some really sweet photos before we headed out though.

Photo by Timothy Capp

The day after we got back from South Carolina your dad had a meeting to sell a camera and close to where we were meeting there was a build-a-bear shop! Since we've decided on your first name, we stopped in to make you a bear and leave a message for you - it was your dad's idea.  It was so hard deciding which bear to get you... there was a cute monkey, an alligator that is special for Florida shops only, there were different colored bears, and a puppy that we liked.  We wanted to get you the perfect one that would last you a while.  After we chose the perfect one we left you a message that we put in it's paw & stuffed the bear. We put two hearts in it, one filled with love from dad and one filled with love from mom - we sealed the love in with a kiss before we placed them in your bear.

Photo by Timothy Capp

We are so excited to meet you!  I feel you move more often now. Sometimes it's just small movements and other times it's big kicks!  I think I watched you hiccup today, you were making my whole belly jump in little rhythmic jumps! I've seen you kick and push my belly skin too. I was reading that your skin is growing faster than your fat cells at this point. So you're a wrinkly skinny little one right now about the size of a standard letter, but you weigh just over one and a half pounds by now. You may also have some hair growing on your tiny little head, though it doesn't have any color yet.

You're sucking up all my energy too.  I've been so sleepy and achy.  I took a nap for the first time since your first trimester in my womb yesterday. You are growing so much that my belly is cramping and stretching to make room for your last four months in there. Four months!  I'm so excited to meet you (and yet so scared of what I will go through to do so.)

I'm happy we've decided on a name for you! Now instead of calling you baby when I talk to you at various points of the day, I can call you by your name: Dexter.  We just have to figure out your middle name now...

Mmm...

The holiday season is also baking season!  I can't wait to make some sugar cookies with my boy!  The holidays are going to get a whole lot more exciting having a kid around!!!

So far this season I've tried to make pumpkin bread (which sadly didn't turn out like I wanted.) I made cream cheese pumpkin muffins - those turned out a little gooey for me, but still so good warmed up!

Hubby's been snacking on them

Today I'm trying some sweet potato chips. These are supposedly loaded with vitamins and nutrients that pregnant women need. (Hopefully they taste good, they're in the oven right now.) Super simple to make, same way I make my favorite potato-y fries: Chop 'em up, add a little oil and spices, toss, spread out on a baking sheet, and cook!

After tossing these ones didn't fit on my baking sheet

All spread out, about to go in the oven!

Hmm... I just checked on them and some of them got burnt, and they shrunk!  (My potato-y fries don't do that so much.)

The thinner ones got singed 

.............................................................
mmm
Though some of them got burnt (and I tend to like things a little under cooked) They turned out pretty good!  I feel like there should be some sort of sweet dip to go with them, but it's not needed.  Some future perfecting is needed!

I think I will try making theses again, provided I have the sweet potato for it!  Hubby doesn't like sweet potatoes so this will be my very own snack that I won't have to share (until the little one decides he wants some!)