Eli - Week 3

After a bath in the hooded towel.

Playing with daddy.

Jeff somehow got Eli to hold his own bottle up.

Jeff showing Eli the moose on the front of his hunting magazine. I am so in for it. I hope the next one is a girl!


A rare picture with me in it.

Grandma and Eli.

On another walk.

This was the first time we put a cloth diaper on Eli. Notice how big it is and that was on the smallest setting. He is not a happy camper in this picture!

Daddy and Eli playing during tummy time. Or at least daddy was playing, not sure about Eli!

The Ward men of the house.

Sucking his thumb! He doesn't do this often and hasn't for quite a while, but every now and then he gets it in there and goes to town.

Eli - Week 2

Our new little family

First bath at home - much harder than we thought it would be! I think this picture is funny because it looks like Eli is biting Jeff.

Enjoying a nap on mommy's shoulder


The paintings my mom made for us while she was here. They are awesome!!! They match our nursery bedding perfectly, and Eli can have them in his room forever.

Mom also painted wooden letters for the wall.

On mornings when Eli would wake up really early and not go back to sleep, mom and I would go out for walks close to our house around 6 am before it got too hot. I love the stroller!

Gotta love the binky!

Eli in his crab overalls next to the duck pillow and blanket made for him by Grandma Edith.

He likes to sleep with his arms over his head sometimes. He hates being swaddled because he likes having his arms free, thankfully he doesn't seem to wake himself up by moving his arms.

Another bath picture.

Eli in his Mobe wrap. He fell right asleep! It is too hot to use regularly though, hopefully I can use it more this fall.

Eli likes tummy time the most right after a bath. I like to put him down naked to let his little bottom air out! Using lots of waterproof pads, of course.

Lifting our head up! SO strong, just like daddy. Ready for pt??

Eli - First Week Home

Bringing Eli home from the hospital

First diaper change at home! Good job daddy :-)

He looked so tiny in his bouncy chair.


First tummy time in the nursery at home. Notice us trying to distract him with music.

Busted! Mom watched Eli one night while I helped Jeff with something and I found them both passed out on her bed watching a rodeo on tv.

Daddy giving Eli a bottle of breast milk. No "nipple confusion" for this boy, he had a bottle and pacifier within a few days of being born without any problems.

Look how tiny he was!

Tiny baby in the swing. He was so little that even on the lowest setting the swing was way too fast for him and he would really look terrified in it. We don't have that problem anymore!

Eli in his crib.

Eli is 6 weeks old!!!

Wow how time flies by. Our little man Eli is now 6 weeks 2 days old! I can't believe it. Life has been so crazy over the past 6 weeks that I have haven't had much time to do anything other than care for Eli and myself, but he is napping in his swing right now (or at least hanging out in the swing quietly) so I thought I would post as much as I could for now :-)

So what have we been up to for the past 6 weeks? Of course Eli was born on Sunday June 1 (Father's Day) and we came home from the hospital 2 days later. I don't really remember much from that first week because I was so sleep deprived and so focused on learning how to care for Eli. We didn't really leave the house much at first. Jeff got 10 days off for paid paternity leave (thank you US government) which was AWESOME. My mom also was here to help. Between the three of us we managed somehow to take care of this little man. At first he would wake up several times a night to eat and would be up and down all day but mostly slept a lot. It was even hard to keep him awake to eat a full meal! I have been breast feeding from the very beginning and the first 2 weeks were pretty rough (and painful) but after a visit to the hospital lactation consultant and lots of practice and lanolin cream, Eli and I got the hang of it. I also have been pumping some to freeze and occasionally giving him a bottle.

Around 3 weeks after he was born, Wanda, Jeff's mom, flew out to spend a week with us. Jeff took that week off from work as well. We had a great time! Wanda made some delicious food for us and we now have some stashed in our freezer for later use, which for now is such a great present. Thanks Wanda! Again we didn't really do too much, mainly stayed home, but we did have the professional newborn pics taken while she was here. They turned out great! I will post them later in another post. Eli did really well, is a natural poser, and fell asleep for the second half which was perfect. I highly recommend spending the money to get nice pics like these, they are beautiful and we will have them forever to remember our little man. Our photographer is Ashlie Hilton, http://ashliephotography.com/blog. She is the same person who took the maternity pics 2 weeks before Eli was born. We bought a package deal that allows 3 photo sessions, so we are trying to have the 3rd session before Christmas. I can't wait!

After Wanda left, another week went by then my dad and my sister Laura came out to visit. We also had a great time! Jeff was back to work by then, so my family and I spent our days relaxing, playing cards and Cranium, and sitting in the inflatable pool mom bought that we set up on m back patio. We let Eli lay in a giant inflated duck that is supposed to be a bathtub but it made a great little boat for Eli (with constant monitoring by us of course). I will post a video in a later post showing him in his little duck boat. It was so great having them here. Then a week ago today they all flew home, and since then I have been adjusting to staying home caring for Eli by myself while Jeff works. It took me a few days to adjust, but I'm doing pretty well with it now. I must admit, the lack of adult interaction during the day is hard! I got pretty spoiled by having my mom here with me constantly for the first 5+ weeks! This definitely makes me really miss home (VA) so much more.

So what is going on with little man Eli at 6 weeks of age?
- He is growing like a little weed! He began at 6 lbs 14 oz and is now somewhere over 9 lbs, I would guess close to 9.5 lbs at least. He has definitely gotten much longer too and is thickening up, he has already outgrown some of his newborn clothes. We can definitely tell the different when we put him in his car seat or swing, he has to have grown several inches at least. I think we might have a tall skinny boy!

- He is a good sleeper, thank God. He usually nurses around 9 pm then passes out until around 3 am, nurses then passes out again until 5-7 am when he nurses again then sometimes takes another nap. He has been sleeping this way for 2-3 weeks, I actually don't feel sleep deprived! I usually get a good 7 hours of sleep. Last night he was asleep before 9 pm, nursed at 2 am then slept until 6 am, was up for an hour or so then slept for another half hour.

- For the first 5 weeks we had him sleeping in our room, sometimes in his bedside bassinet and sometimes in bed with us. I loved being able to snuggle up with him at night, and it made nursing in the middle of the night so much easier. However I decided after my family left that it was time to move him to his crib, in his own room, because a) he liked to kick me in the tummy in the middle of the night and he took up as much room in the bed as I did, which didn't leave much room for me, b) I would wake up several times worrying about rolling onto him (this never happened of course but I just wanted to make sure) and c) when I return to work in 6 weeks I need him to be in his own bed sleeping pretty much through the night and I figure it is better to get him used to that before the time came. Note that I couldn't move him into his own room until my family left because we had people sleeping on a mattress in his room. Next week I plan to start putting him to bed at night awake and working on a bedtime routine so he can learn to put himself to sleep and we also need to work on naps (he doesn't really like taking naps much during the day unless he falls asleep in his car seat or swing). This will involve some "cry it out" sessions which I am hesitant about but I think it is the right thing to do. I just hate the idea of my baby thinking I abandoned him!

- He is a very gassy baby, has been since birth pretty much. It will get very painful for him and he will squirm around and curl up and just cry and cry. We tried Mylicon drops but they didn't help at all. The pediatrician had me try elminating dairy products from my diet in case he is sensitive to cows milk protien. Anyone who knows me very well knows how hard this has been for me, but I haven't had any dairy products or even anythin with dairy as an ingredient for about 3 weeks. Then right before his 1 month apointment he started having some blood in his stools and they had me also remove wheat products from my diet because they thought this was due to a food sensitivity or allergy. So basically I'm on a baby imposed Atkin's diet! Ha. But so far removing things from my diet hasn't really helped at all. The only thing that has helped so far with the gas is gripe water (we use Baby's Bliss http://www.babysbliss.com). It has definitely cut down on the gas and pain, but he still has some blood in his diapers, so we probably need to get back to the doctor.

- Eli is now alternating between disposable diapers (Pampers size 1 - he already outgrew newborn diapers!) and our BumGenius 3.0 cloth diapers (we got ours from Target http://www.target.com/bumGenius-2-pack-Neutral/dp/B001DOI8AG/sr=1-4/qid=1249406715/ref=sr_1_4/187-3029376-2907013?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Abumgenius&page=1). At first he was too small for the cloth diapers, but now they fit pretty well, although we did have a small leak the other day because his leg are still so skinny. The cloth diapers are working well, they are very soft and very cute, although still a little big on him. I only use them during the day when we are home because they are much bulkier than disposables so clothes don't fit as well and I'm concerned about leaks at night. I think they were a good investment though, disposable diapers get epxensive, especially with a baby who goes through as many as Eli does! I also have been using cloth wipes which is a huge money saver and probably better for his skin. I bought cheap baby washclothes and a wipe warmer (I bought a Prince Lionheart http://www.target.com/Prince-Lionheart-Warmies-Wipes-Warmer/dp/B001QIN6ME/sr=1-7/qid=1249406847/ref=sr_1_7/187-3029376-2907013?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&field-original-keywords=wiper%20warmer&rh=k%3Awipes%20warmer&page=1) , I fold the wipes in half, wet them and put them in and keep it at my changing table, then I have wet warm cloth wipes ready whenever I need them. I use a cleaning solution called Kissaluvs (http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/other.htm#potion) that you mix with witch hazel and keep in a spray bottle. I just spray it on his bottom then wipe with a washcloth and this seems to be much cleaner, quicker, and better smelling than disposable wipes! And it really has seemed to help keep away diaper rash. I highly recommend this. And with both the cloth diapers and wipes, you don't have to rinse or anything, just throw them in a trash can with a lid (I have 2 of these waterproof washable trashcan liners that go right in the washing machine with the dirty stuff http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/other.htm#pailliner) then when it's time to wash just throw everything into the washing machine and wash one hot then one cold cycle and try in the dryer then they are ready to go. Very easy, really! I hope I can keep up with is once I go back to work, we already found one daycare who says they will allow cloth diaper usage.

- Eli is getting really good at holding his head up. However, he usually very much despises tummy time. Also, if I give him tumy time too soon after eating he will spit up a bunch which is no good. 2 weeks ago he rolled over multiple time 2 days in a row, but since then has refused to do this again! Ornery boy. We will keep working on it. Sometimes I left him have tumy time while paying on my chest, he likes that much better.

- Eli's eye sight seems to be getting better and he is much more alert. He loved to be held up to my shoulder and look around at the world. He loves looking out the window and he loves going outside (when it isn't too hot which is rarely right now) and listen to the birds while swinging on our patio swing. He will now track my face if I move it while holding him and he will track a rattle. I saw him notice and watch his mobile for the first time a few days ago. And he loves looking at his cloth book which has great simple pictures in contrasting colors. He is developing a little each day, it is really amazing to watch. I think he is trying to start smiling as well, a few times I think he may have smiled at me for real (rather than smiling because he had gas) but I'm not sure. Soon enough I'm sure!

Well that's all I can think of for now. Now I'm going to try to post some pictures and videos before little man wakes up!

Professional Maternity Pics

Click here to view these pictures larger

My Husband The Tough Man

A while back, a local news team came out to the base and exercised with Jeff and his squadron and had a story about it on tv. Jeff did the interview, he is pretty impressive! Watch this video of how hard the Security Forces at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base work out twice a week! I certainly couldn't do it for now.

http://www.kold.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15088&topVideoCatNoB=158866&topVideoCatNoC=158876&topVideoCatNoD=158882&topVideoCatNoE=138849&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3925809

Nursery Tour

Eli's First Bath

Labor and Hospital Pictures

Here are some pictures from labor and delivery.

Early labor on the big ball

Later labor, after getting out of the shower

Trying the squat bar for pushing

Eli on my chest right after being born

Eli's first bath a few hours after being born

Grandma and Eli

Daddy and Eli

Eli getting checked out right after birth

6 lbs 14.7 oz!

His lungs worked!

Getting his first diaper

Welcome Baby Eli!!!

There is so much to write about! I will just start from the beginning. This will probably be REALLY long :-)

I worked right up until the end, got a project for work done Friday morning, cleaned my entire desk off Thursday, and before leaving Friday afternoon I looked over my desk and did some final organizing because I think I subconsciously knew I wouldn't be back. Saturday 6/20 was a pretty uneventful day. I had a nice pedicure, got some shopping done at Target for the nursery then did some reorganizing in the nursery and the closet in the guest bathroom. Now looking back, I was definitely nesting a lot the the last few days, especially at work. Saturday night Jeff and I went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Poca Cosa, to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary, which was Monday 6/22. It was delicious! Thank goodness we did that, because it was a good filling last meal before labor. We went home and I went to sleep around 10. Jeff stayed up to work on a paper for a college class that was due the next day.

I woke up around 12:30 am thinking I had peed the bed, there was a nice little puddle :-) (Of course I had just bought brand new sheets the day before and put them on the bed that night before going to sleep). So I went to the bathroom and on the way back to bed, more leaked out on the floor. I sat down and debated what to do, because I was pretty sure that I hadn't peed myself twice, although I wasn't mentally ready to go into labor just then so I was hoping I really had just peed myself. But alas, more came out, so I figured it was time to notify Jeff that I suspected my water had broke.

I went out and told Jeff, and I don't think he really knew what to do. I had him call the labor and delivery people at the hospital, and they said that since my water had probably broke to come right in (there is concern that you can develop an infection if you go too long after it breaks without having the baby). So we gathered together last minute stuff for the hospital bags and off we went. Poor Jeff was a little distracted by what was going on and he almost missed the turn for the hospital :-) Because I wasn't having contractions yet, I wanted to walk in with Jeff instead of getting dropped off. We got to the parking deck then started walking into the hospital and realized the main (closest) door was locked, because it was the middle of the night. So we ended up walking all the way around the hospital to the maternity ward on the other side. Thank goodness I wasn't having contractions!

We got inside and was admitted and got changed and into a room. At my first exam I was still only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Ugh. The nurse told me that they wold have to give me an IV and probably start me on pitocin. This really upset me because I really wanted a natural birth and I didn't want to be tied down by an IV and I certainly didn't want pitocin, which makes contractions stronger and more painful. Unfortunately my doctors were both on vacation and our substitute doctor (who turned out to be awesome) made me get on the IV and started pitocin at 5 am. I was upset about this but what could I do? Jeff got a little sleep but I wasn't able to sleep both because I was starting to have some contractions and because of adrenaline, so I read and watched tv.

As many of you know, my mom has been planning for months to come out early and stay for several weeks, hoping to see the birth. Because of dad's accident, we changed her ticket so she would come out a week later. And guess what day that was -- yes, Sunday! We called her a few hours after we were admitted and she was on her way to the airport. Surprise! Amazingly, she made it from Grottoes, VA to Tucson, AZ all while I was in labor. I called a great friend from work, Lindsey, and she picked mom up at the airport and brought her straight to the hospital. Unfortunately for me, I still had about 7 more hours of labor ahead of me by the time she arrived at around 10:30 am.

After they started the pitocin, the contractions got stronger and I gradually got more uncomfortable. At some point (time is a big blur for me that day) the doctor gave the ok for me to use the shower for help with the pain, so in Jeff and I went, after Jeff changed into some hospital scrubs. The hot water spraying on my back felt SO GOOD! The shower really made the contractions hurt less, but everything seemed to help me progress in labor. Every now and then I would have to get out to be checked and to put the baby on the monitor, but I got back in 4 times! Every time I got out and got back in bed or tried something else like sitting on the ball or in the rocking chair, the contractions got much worse and I just couldn't get comfortable. The hot shower is definitely my best friend. That and the cherry pop sickles Jeff bought for me :-) What is funny to me is that I had lots of ideas about things I thought would be comforting to me during labor, like massage, sitting on the birthing ball, walking around, but it turned out that I didn't want to be touched AT ALL during a contraction because it messed up my concentration, the birthing ball was uncomfortable later in labor, and standing up during a contraction was just miserable. I got through the contractions with controlled breathing that I counted in my head and the knowledge that they didn't last more than a minute, so usually by the time they got really bad they were almost over. And the wonderful shower!

After getting out of the shower for the last time, I was 7-8 cm dilated, 100% effaced and they could feel hair when they did an exam! Shortly after that I started feeling the urge to push, so she checked me again and I was 9-10 cm and ready to start doing practice pushes! This was probably 4-4:30 pm and I had gone this entire time drug-free and I was excited to push the baby out. Unfortunately, when I started pushing, I had a horrible horrible pain in my lower pelvis and it hurt so bad that I just couldn't bring myself to push. We tried several positions, squatting (which hurt my knees), hands and knees, sitting up, but the only position that half way was bearable was laying on my back sitting up a little, exactly how I always thought would be the worst position to give birth in. The pushing urge got really bad and the doctor came in and I had one very intense contraction with severe pain every time I pushed and I think I actually screamed... it just wasn't happening. They offered an epidural so I could get him out, and I agreed, so I got my epidural (which I hardly felt, it isn't bad at all!) and pushed for 15 minutes or so then he was out!

As his head was coming out, the doctor had Jeff and I touch his head - what a weird thing! I was pretty loopy by then though, so I just wanted him out. When his had came out, the doctor said "that looks like a pretty little girl face" but then the rest came out and they pulled him up onto my chest and there was no doubt about it, it was a little boy, our little Eli! What a great moment, I only wish I wasn't so tired and out of it. I had a small tear so I have a few stitches but it is nothing major, i think that has already healed. Mom and Jeff watched him get cleaned up and checked and took pictures and called everyone to let them know while I got stitched and cleaned up and had the placenta come out -- which the doctor showed to me, it was interesting to see. Then they brought Eli to me and I was able to nurse him for quite a while, which was quite an experience since I had no idea what I was doing! He stayed with me from then out, a few hours later he had his bath then they moves up upstairs to our room where we stayed 2 nights and left the 3rd day. The hospital stay was uneventful, other than watching his circumcision (not a pretty sight but he was well numbed up and it has already healed) and trying to figure out how to breastfeed with very sore and occasionally bleeding nipples. Breastfeeding is not easy!!! Geez. And the little man didn't like waking up to eat, and I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, and poor Jeff had to sleep on the pull-out couch.

It sure is nice being home! It has been stressful at times, pretty exhausting and overwhelming, but with Jeff off for 10 days to help, and with mom here, were are doing well and Eli seems to develop some every day. He actually slept 5 hours last night!

I have a ton more to write about our little man Eli and about life with him at home, but I'm too tired to write it all at once. More to come soon, including pictures and video of Eli and a video of his finished nursery!

A Look Back

As we approach the end of this pregnancy (this crazy wild journey) we sometimes look back at how far we have come and how ready we are for this next chapter of our lives. It feels like I have been pregnant for forever! So I realized, I don't think I have ever posted about when we first found out we were having a baby, since I didn't start this blog until around the time we started telling everyone, which was a little while in. So here is the story :-)

So I will go way back to the beginning. When Jeff and I first met 3.5 years ago and we got to a point in our relationship when we started talking about our plans for the future, we both said we thought we would like to be married and start having children about 3 years from then. How true that turned out! So we got married the first time (the elopement) June 22, 2007, then had the big ceremony on June 21, 2008 back home in Virginia to celebrate with everyone. Yes, our 2 year wedding anniversary is just around the corner, 6 days before the baby's due date! About a month after that, Jeff brought up the subject of kids, pretty much seeing what would happen. This freaked me out at first, but once I thought about it more, I realized this was a good time for us and we were ready.

Of course anyone who knows me knows that I am a major planner and that I don't leave things up to chance. So after a few months, I found the best resource ever: http://www.fertilityfriend.com . The very first month I really used this, we hit the jackpot! And because of this website, I can say with almost 100% certainty that this little one was conceived on Oct. 7, 2008, give or take a day. Pretty cool, huh? I highly recommend this website for anyone trying to have a baby, especially if you are crazy like me!

So a few days later, on Sunday Oct. 19, Jeff and I ran a 5k charity run for the annual Tucson Aids Walk, of which GEICO is a major sponsor. We ran together and I actually ran it in 30 minutes, which is really good for me! The rest of the day though I was super exhausted and wouldn't even play Wii with Jeff because I was so tired. Jeff claims now he knew I was pregnant then. The next day, Oct. 20, I was exactly one day late and I felt a little weird, so when I got home I took a test (no I didn't wait for Jeff, I probably should have but I was going a little nuts).

It was positive! I took one of the fancy expense digital tests, and it gave me a positive reading when I was just one day late. How cool. So I of course started freaking out, walking around the house grinning and pacing and not knowing what to do with myself. I tried waiting for Jeff to get home, but of course this was a day Jeff decided to stay and work late, and eventually I just couldn't take it anymore so I called him and told him he needed to come home, and when he asked why, I just had to tell him. He was mad that I didn't wait for him, but of course very happy!

So the next day, I call my doctor office and tell them I had a positive test, and they tell me to come in that afternoon to confirm it. So I left work early and went down there and did the pee in a cup thing. Well the doctor office doesn't use the fancy digital test like I did, they use the dollar store strips, and the test came back negative! That was not fun, but they reassured me that since it was so early it could be a false negative because the hormone levels weren't very high yet. They told me to come back first thing in the morning after not peeing ALL MORNING so I could take the test again. So I did this, and again, a negative! At this point I started getting upset. They went ahead and drew blood to send off for an official test, which wouldn't come back until the next day. So of course after worrying myself all day, I went home that night and took another of my fancy digital tests and again got a positive! So that made me feel better.

So the next day at work, I finally got the call from my doctor office saying the blood test confirmed I was in fact pregnant. Duh! Geez. So I guess there are a few things to learn from my experience: it probably is best to wait at least a week to go to the doctor to confirm pregnancy, it is worth buying the expensive digital tests to use at home, and a false positive is much much more rare than a false negative in the first few days so if you get both results using different tests, the positive is probably correct!

In other news, the baby is still in there, rolling around, Jeff thinks it is packing it's bags :-) And I can now balance my coffee mug on my belly while sitting! I will try to get a picture of this for the blog, talk about "stupid people tricks" lol.

Well I'm off to get an oil change and the car washed and the interior cleaned, we need to get the car seat installed this week! Then I'm probably off to work, I have a project I need to finish by Friday, or at least before the baby is here, and I haven't had time to start it yet. Yes, I know I am a workaholic, but I'm rapidly approaching a nice 3 month break so I feel like I can work hard now so I can better enjoy my time off then. I will try to post more pics and pregnancy stuff later today if I have time.

Oh one more thing - my dad came home from the hospital this week! He is doing really really well, we are all so happy to have him home, and it looks like everyone will still be able to make it out here to meet the baby as planned. Mom arrives a week from today!

15 days

We are in the home stretch :-) I plan to write more later, but here is a picture of me and my enormous belly this morning. And yes, the belly button is still in!

I babysat our friends' one year old daughter Taelir a few nights ago. I figured out a good way to entertain children this age: a singing and dancing duck! Enjoy the video, it's pretty cute.

It's the Final Countdown...

Before I talk about baby stuff, here are a few family updates. First, we have some new health issues going on in our families which I won't go into detail about, but please keep us in your thoughts. Jeff and I aren't sure if we should have more children because so many bad things have happened during this one. As for my father, he is in a rehab center at UVA now and they say he should be heading home on Thursday! It has been a really long road but he is doing so much better and only has a few lingering problems to deal with now. On a happy note, Laura (my sister) and Caleb celebrated their first wedding anniversary a few days ago! It is hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since the "wedding month" we had last year.

Well today the ticket above says we have 20 days to go. I find it funny to say that now when people ask, because of course there is only about a 5% chance the baby will be born exactly on the due date, so I feel kind of like a fraud when I say "oh I have 20 days to go." Because who knows!!! We are very fortunate to have had a very healthy and easy pregnancy so chances are we won't need to schedule a c-section or induction, so it is just a waiting game from here. I'm full term, so I would say the baby could come tomorrow, or in 35 days or so! Who knows. I talked to someone at work Friday who said her second baby was ONE MONTH LATE! Geez. I certainly don't think this little one is going to wait that long. I have been having some uncomfortable feelings here and there, but certainly nothing to make me think anything is going on yet. Tomorrow the doctor will do my first exam to see if there has been any progress yet, I will let you know. I'm thinking nothing is going on yet.

So my belly is now 42.5 inches. That is nearly 4 feet around! I feel pretty good these days, I have quite a bit of energy. The belly button is still in there, but getting shallower every day. I think it would be too funny if it popped out the day I have the baby, like a Thanksgiving turkey timer! It is getting much harder to do simple things like get into my car, roll over in bed, and put on underwear. Especially when I am having a Braxton Hicks contraction, I made that mistake today trying to get into my car while having one and it hurt! I now only have one pair of work pants that will go on so I have been wearing more skirts and dresses. My low back continues to hurt but it hasn't gotten any worse, and thanks to seeing my chiropractor, my neck has gotten a lot better! No more headaches, just random sciatic attacks where I have to hobble around like an old woman until I loosen up.

Here are my pictures from today:

The maternity pants that come up to my rib cage are HOT. Oh, they used to come to my rib cage but don't now, never mind... I can't really wear the other maternity jeans that come down lower because they now dig into the bottom of my belly every time I sit down and that hurts.

So I was happy to have gotten through my pregnancy without swelling up. Until now. Ugh. My face is swollen, I have no more chin, I have carpal tunnel symptoms from wrist swelling, my thumbs hurt and I can't bend them all the way anymore, and my feet swell so bad now and I no longer have ankles. Yes, you heard it here first, i officially have CANKLES! Below is a picture of my feet earlier today, after pretty much laying around with my feet up all day, they were much worse yesterday after cleaning all day then entertaining dinner guests. I don't even know whose feet those are anymore, certainly not mine. I have decided that I no longer look like the Grinch, now I look like Princess Fiona (in her ogre form) from Shrek! Geez. I will probably miss feeling the baby moving inside me, but I certainly won't miss the swelling!

Me looking miserable and swollen in my rocker. Note the tons of cords coming out of my laptop beside me, both my battery and my wireless card have died, and instead of replacing them, I just keep them plugged in now, much cheaper!

So we officially decided to give cloth diapering a try, and I ordered a bunch from Target using our remaining gift cards and a 10% off coupon from the registry. We now have 22 Bumgenious 3.0 one-size-fits-all diapers in white, green and yellow. They have already arrived and they are very nice and soft and I look forward to using them. They can be worn from the time the baby is 8 pounds to I believe 35 pounds which I guess is potty training time, and from what I hear they hold up well so can be used for multiple children. I figure when I'm home we will just use cloth, then once I'm back to work and when we travel we will mix in disposables as needed. I'm excited to give it a try, I figure since neither of us have ever changed a single diaper in our lives and don't know what we are doing, we will just start of training ourselves on cloth diapers and it won't be too much of a shock to the system. We shall see. Here is a good website I found about cloth diapering: http://simplemom.net/resources/cloth-diapering/ We shall see.

Ok my hands are starting to go numb now due to the carpal tunnel problems, I think it is time for bed. More to come soon!