11 days old

I can not believe our little girl is almost two weeks old! Here are some pictures from Kevin's birthday, Uncle Dave's visit and Lea's 'new' belly button! :)

Having some cake on Kevin's birthday.

Uncle Dave holding Lea.

Our first walk outside (in our fabulous Toro stroller!).

She liked the ride!

Bailey and her new little 'sister'.

Check out my 'new' belly button!

My little chunky monkey!

5 Days Old

I've been wanting to write about little Lea and how we are all doing, but I just can't find the time! (go figure) We are doing great, though. Lea had her first appointment with the pediatrician yesterday morning and he was very impressed with how well she is doing... already gaining weight, very strong and healthy! Here are a few more pictures...

Mommy & Lea leaving the hospital.

Lea held mommy's finger (tight) the entire way home!

Welcome home!

Lea found her thumb!

When she was born, she weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz. When we left the hospital, she weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz and just two days later she was already up to 7 lbs, 11 1/2 oz. She's an eater!

Here's a video of our ride home from the hospital. She was an angel! (note the music in the background... Rockabye Baby Lullaby Renditions of the Smashing Pumpkins, "Today"... very fitting for the moment!)

Lea Calynn

Our baby girl is here!

Lea Calynn was born on September 19, 2009 at 10:54 am.

Long arms and legs!

Mommy & Lea getting some much needed rest!

Daddy handles the first diaper change like a champ.

She is perfection and mommy & daddy couldn't be happier!

She weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds and 1 ounce. She measued 21 inches long.

New Header!

I just want to thank my fabulous cousin, Andrea Hattman, for the awesome new header on my blog!!! Also, check out my new button (to the left). If you have a blog, please feel free to add my button to your page. :)

Thanks, again, Andrea!

Lots of progress!

Yesterday was a good day!

Kevin went with me to what just may have been my last prenatal doctor's appointment yesterday morning. After a long wait (they are never on time!) the doctor finally came in. He said I was already 2 to 3 cm dilated and was thrilled with that progress since this is my first baby. He even said that I "made his day" and the baby and I look perfect. :)

Then, however, he said that he needed me to choose an induction date so they could schedule it at the hospital... just to be sure they have room for me if I needed to be induced. I was pretty uncomfortable with this but he said he would not allow me to go past 41 weeks (which will be Monday the 28th). So, Kevin and I decided to schedule the induction for Friday the 25th (Kevin's birthday and the day my brother arrives!). My next doctor's appointment is Tuesday the 22nd... If Lea hasn't arrived by then, we are going to ask to have the induction date changed to the 28th. I just do not want to be induced for no medically necessary reason. I figure, if we push back the induction date as far as possible (41 weeks, according to this doctor), that will give my body a few more days to go into labor on it's own. The doctor does think I will go into labor on my own and said I shouldn't worry. I am trying not to think about it, but now I have this 'induction date' hanging over my head! We'll see what happens.

After all that, I headed to work and Kevin headed home (to work from home). About noon, Kevin called with more good news... our Anka Sova crib and dresser had arrived! I hurried home after work and we immediately put the crib together. It looks fabulous and fits perfectly in Lea's room! (I'll take pics once the room is completely finished) We will work on putting the dresser together the next couple of nights.

To end the day yesterday, my parents and grandmother brought us dinner... Crab Legs! It was sooo yummy. We also had corn on the cob, homemade cole slaw and apple dumplings for dessert.

Now, I am off to another day at work. My team is still in Las Vegas at the ABC Kids Expo. From what I have heard, it is going well. I haven't seen any pics of our booth yet... hopefully I will soon. I put a lot of work into that and am dying to see how it turned out! As a matter of fact, we started working on the booth design in January. Which means, when I go back to work in January 2010, I'll probably begin working on the new booth design for next year! :) After today, I only have two more days in the office. Crazy!

39 weeks!

It's the final countdown... only 7 days to go until my due date! On average, babies are just over 7 pounds and 21 inches long these days. We will soon find out just how big Lea is! These days, we're just playing the waiting game! Last Friday, I was very uncomfortable and exhausted... I felt a little better on Saturday... and then Sunday I actually felt great. I spent the morning making some things to freeze (banana nut bread and french toast sticks). Kevin then helped with some marinated chicken and pork chops. After that, I ran some errands as I still had some energy and we ended the night with a short walk with Bailey. I guess all that activity helped because I actually slept OK last night. (notice, I said OK and not 'great'! I think my days of sleeping 'great' are far in my past!)

I am finishing up my last week at work. Things are quiet around here as almost everyone is in Las Vegas for the annual ABC Kids Expo. Part of me wishes I could have gone... it's so much fun to check out all the cool new baby and kids products... but, part of me is so glad I didn't have to go this year... it's a LOT of work to set up and run our 50'x50' booth!

Tomorrow, as long as everything is on schedule, our new Anka Sova crib and dresser should be delivered. I can not wait to see how it looks in Lea's room. We chose the beautiful whitewash finish. It should really pop against the dark brown walls.

While I haven't actually used these items yet, I have had a chance to handle them and learn about them. My favorite thing about the dresser is that the top, flat piece can be removed to reveal an integrated changing top. The crib is unique as it is designed to European standards so it's smaller than most cribs. While it still fits a standard size crib mattress, it is low to the ground, eliminating the need for a drop side. (The production of drop side cribs will soon end as there have been so many recalls because of children getting hurt or being killed from a defective drop side crib.) Here's a picture from our recent photo shoot of the collection.

Once we have the crib and dresser set up in the nursery, I will post new pics. And, once we actually have the opportunity to use the furniture, I will post a personal review on what I really think about it!

Belly pics!

Um...yeah, I am still getting bigger. :)

38 weeks!

Holy Cow... only 2 weeks (actually, 13 days...but, again, who's counting?!) until my due date!!!

By now, Lea should be completely ready for life in the 'real world'. She probably weighs about 7 pounds and all her organs are matured. I wonder every single moment of every single day what she looks like... does she have my nose and Kevin's lips? does she have any hair and if so, what color? does she have any birth marks? will I recognize her when she's born and will she recognize me??? We will soon....very soon... find out!!!

So, for the rest of my 'take it easy' weekend: Saturday we didn't exactly take it easy! We spent the day shopping, actually. We had lots of gift cards that were just burning holes in our wallets. Babies R Us, Belk, Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes Foods. I think we are totally set for Lea now (at least, we better be!!!). The last thing we need is our fabulous Anka by Svan crib and dresser. I just found out that it should be shipping any day now so we just might have it set up in her nursery before she arrives.

Kevin spent the entire day Sunday cleaning around the house. He was amazing... doing all the things that I wanted to do but just didn't have the energy to do so. Our house is spotless!!! I wonder what it will be like when Lea is here. We re such neat freaks... it will be hard to let dishes pile up in the sink, laundry fill the hamper and dust collect on the furniture. So, to all my fabulous friends and family out there: if you come visit us that first month or so that Lea is here and see that the house is a mess, don't just ignore it... please help us clean it up! We will NOT be offended, rather we will be so grateful for the help! :) That night, my parents and grandmother brought dinner over. (My mom decided to make us dinner twice a week this last month of my pregnancy and it has been such a huge help... thanks, Mom!)

Finally, on Monday, we DID take it easy! After breakfast at Dunkin' Doughnuts (which isn't nearly as good as Krispy Kreme... which isn't nearly as good as Britt's in Carolina Beach), we did some light yard work. I then took a much needed nap! I spent the rest of the day watching t.v. while Kevin played his new football video game.

Taking it easy....well, sort of!

I have been so extremely exhausted lately... maybe because I am not sleeping at all anymore and maybe because I am creating & growing a human being?! So, this Labor Day weekend I am taking a vow to SLOW DOWN. (we'll see how well that goes!)

Last night, Kevin came home and surprised me with a DVD... Labyrinth! I haven't seen that movie in probably about 15 to 20 years! So, between some laundry and making cup cakes, we watched The Labyrinth last night. (Was Jennifer Connelly about 12 years old when she did that movie!?!?) Not a terrible start to my "slow down weekend."

I woke up about four or five times last night... the last couple times were because of some strange cramping in my abdomen. It could have been Braxton Hicks contractions, but I don't think so because these cramps actually hurt. I remembered our instructor at the hospital telling us that early contractions can often be stopped if you change whatever position you're in and drink some water. So, I did just that. I got up and walked around the dark house for awhile and it indeed stopped. But, as soon as I got back in bed, in my side laying position, it started again. That's when I just grabbed my pillow & my glass of water and moved to the couch! I was able to get a little more comfortable out there and got in about three hours of interrupted sleep until Bailey jumped on me at about 7:45am.

Needless to say, I am pretty tired this morning (what's new?). Kevin has been working on the cars (changing the oil, washing and cleaning them) and I have been slowly straightening up around the house. Later today, perhaps after a nap, we're heading out for some last minute shopping with our gift cards.

When did that happen?

Ahhhh! We're down to the teens!? When did that happen??? Only 19 days until my due date. Time is seriously flying by fast these days. I don't think my pregnancy could have gone by any faster.

Got good news today... my brother bought his plain ticket and will be here on the 25th. Hopefully, his timing and Lea's timing will be just right because he can only stay a few days. See you soon, Dave!