This One Thing

As the New Year approaches, what are you focused on? Have you made your list of New Year Resolutions? Did you know that 40 to 45% of American adult make one or more resolutions each year. Among the top new years resolutions are resolutions about weight loss, exercise, and stopping to smoke. Also popular are resolutions dealing with better money management / debt reduction. The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%

Now what would you say if I told you there is a way to achieve all your goals by just focusing on One Thing? I am just going to brush the surface of a message I heard, but if you feel lead to hear the whole message you can go to http://www.impactchurch.info/ and listen to the podcast from Sunday December 27th, 2009!

The bible gives us several referances to this One Thing. Lets start with Philipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." ...
This is the core to what I am about to share. Now if you go back just one chapter to Philipians 3:10-14 you will find more! Referring back to achieving all your goals... Phil 3:13-14..."forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus."

Are you seeing where I am going with this?

Now there is priority which has to take place when you are trying to achieve a goal, so lets talk about that for a minute. Matt. 6:33, "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all things will be given to you as well."

JESUS HAS TO BE THE CENTERPIECE OF YOUR LIFE!

This is the One Thing that should be our focus for the New Year! So go shred, tear up or burn that list of New Year Resolutions that you have been writing, start reading your bible instead and keep your eye on the prize! I know I am!

Bah Humbug

I am trying not to feel this way, but I do. I am in a rut and cannot seem to pull myself out. There are no signs of Christmas at our house. While everyone else talks of decorating, baking, putting up the tree, shopping, etc., there is none of that happening here! We are struggling financially and even though I know that is not what Christmas is all about; the shopping for gifts I mean. It is still depressing to know that I cannot even afford to go to the dollar store right now. It is depressing to know that I scheduled an appointment to get family pictures done and I might have to cancel because in all reality we cannot afford it. Christmas has just become another day on the calendar and that well is depressing. I think of it as work; putting up the tree is work, decorating is work, putting up the stockings is work. I usually put out our Christmas Cards, but I have not because well it is depressing. It reminds me of the fact that I cannot afford the stamps to send out any of my own. Nathan and Alex do not believe in Santa anymore and Abigail and Luke are too young to care, so that is depressing. I honestly don't even know if I want to teach Abigail and Luke to believe in Santa. I am trying to get in touch with the true meaning of Christmas, but that is not even helping. I think it is because I have always believed Christmas is about giving and well we cannot afford to give and that is depressing. My mom and dad are doing this www.christmasjars.com for Christmas next year and when I heard about it I thought, "I am a needy family right now!" I honestly felt like they should have been offering us some kind of help and not asking us if we wanted to help. That is depressing because I know there are families worse off then us, but we still have needs. Yes, we have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food in our stomachs (barely), but our bills are piling up, the food we have is from a food closet, and well he clothes are the same clothes we have had for years and years. It would be nice to be able to go grocery shopping, buy a new outfit for the kids, pay rent on time, etc. I am not trying to sound ungrateful or greedy, because I am neither of those, I am just well depressed and not feeling the Christmas spirit this year. So Bah Humbug!

What are you Thankful for?

What are you Thankful for? If I had a penny for how many times I have heard this question in just the last day I would be rich. What are you thankful for, well where do I start. I am thankful for the wonderful family that I have. I am thankful for my mom, who I still think is superwomen. I am thankful for my dad for supporting us all. I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has gone above and beyond what I ever imagined. I am thankful for my awesome children, who have come a long way. I am prouder of them then anything I have ever been proud of. I am thankful for a roof over my family;s head, food in our tummies, and the jobs that my husband and I have. Although we have struggled and contine to struggle, we have each other and for that I am so thankful. I am thankful for my church family and all that they have done for my family. You all cannot believe how much you mean to us!! I am thankful that I am walking with God by my side. I would never have made it where I am without him. I am thankful for good friends and co workers. I am thankful for all the men and women who are putting their lives on the line to give us the freedom that we have. I am thankful for our health and healthcare. I am thankful for answered prayers. I am thankful for all the little things. I am sure there are many other things that I am thankful for and I am forgeting them. What are you thankful for?

Leeps and Bounds

As this year comes to an end, I have been reflecting on my marriage, my kids, and just life! I don't get a lot of time to do this normally, but some recent health issues gave me a chance to slow down. On November 3 I had what is called a Leep Procedure to remove abnormal cells that were found on my cervix and in my vaginal canal. Sorry for TMI, but that is what it is! This was due to the HPV virus and found during a routine pap smear. The pap smear came back abnormal and my OBGYN did further test to find the abnormal cells. It is not Cancer, but what she called, "Precursors". The Leep procedure is an outpatient procedure, so I was home the same day. I was on strict bed rest for the rest of the day, and light duty after that. This gave me lots of time to reflect on things!

During my time of reflection, I decided to make some changes; good changes. I am spending more time with my kids, my husband and most importantly my Bible. I realized that all those things are getting dusty because I leave them on the shelf for too long before I pick them up and pay attention to them. Life is too short to take these important items for granted. It is time for me to step up and for me to put my actions where my mouth is. This is going to be hard for me because I have a lot of bad habits I need to break, but I will do it for my family.

Alex is doing better in school now and I need to step up to encourage him. I need to be a good role model and show him that hard work pays off. Nathan is growing up and becoming a man, so I need to work hard to lead him in the right direction. My husband is a hard worker and provider for our family and I need to show him that we appreciate him. So with that being said, I am off to go care for the baby, read my bible and get some housework done!

Abigail pictures

LONG OVER DUE I know! Abigail is 5 months old today! She is about 14lbs 10 oz. and I am not sure how long. She is still nursing, but gets solid food everyday around 6pm. I am making most of her food and sometimes give her store bought. We are cloth diapering at home 90% of the time.She can roll in both directions. She interacts with toys, people, the cat and anything else she sees. She is almost crawling and we predict she will be fully crawling by Thanksgiving. She is very happy and spoiled.
Luke is so good with her and so are the other boys. It is so fun having a girl in the house. She is definately the baby! She gets held a lot and loved on by everyone. We are going to have to put up the baby gates again soon, so that she stays in one room. It seems like we just took them down. We will also be transistioning her into her room soon. She has been in our room since birth. She will share a room with Luke. I am a little anxious of this transisition and not sure how either her or Luke are going to handle it. I will let you all know how it goes!

FYI

People have been asking for pictures and I would love to comply. However, our computer is on the frits and I cannot upload pictures right now. Just thought I would let you all know that!

Sickness

A horrible sickness plagued our home this last week! It started on Thursday with Nathan suffering flu like symptoms. Then on Friday Alex was not feeling well and threw up that evening. By Saturday Luke and Abby were coughing and Abby had a fever. Sunday it hit Lloyd and he ended up calling in sick on Monday. I am the only one who did not get it. Abby and Lloyd are still fighting it and the rest of the family seems to be doing better. I hate that Abby has it because she is miserable. She sounds hoarse from coughing and I keep having to suck her nose so she can breath. I took her to the doctor and he says it is just a cold and she should be better in a week! That seems like an eternity to me! He also said not to give her medicine because it does not make the cold go away it just makes her feel better! Well DUH! Isn't that the whole idea is to make her feel better. I have been giving her little bits of cough medicine when I feel she is really needing it, but I try not to give her to much. With this sickness has come new challenges with Luke. He is not eating much these days. I would say he gets 95% of his calories from drinking milk. I am trying to put a stop to this, but it is hard when that is all he wants. To get him to eat these last few days we are having to treat him like a baby. Even then we can only get him to take about 3-5 bites. It is very frustrating! I know this shall pass and prays it does so quickly! On a side note, Nathan got a position on the Freshmen football team and is working hard to stay with it. He has practice everyday after school and does not get home until after 6pm. I wish Alex would find an extra curricular activity to put all his energy into!

Update

WOW! A lot is going on in the life of the Dunwald-Campbell family. With the end of the year right around the corner; I am looking forward to a fresh start! This has been a long year. As some of you know, we have behavior problem with Alex. Well top those behavior problem off with puberty and we are in a whole new ball game now! These behavior problems started when Alex was about 2, but got worse as he got older. These last few years have been the hardest. With this year topping the charts. He started Middle School this year, a new school, is going through puberty and has been off medication. Well all this bundled together to make life very difficult for us. We have had to make some decisions that are not exactly what we had planned. Some of the changes include, new therapy and therapist, new phychiatrist, possibly being put back on meds, and new plans for school and home discipline. This as all taken a huge toll on our entire family. It is hard on our marriage and the other children. I am losing time at work and lots of patience. We are at a loss as to what is going to happen next. We don't really know what to do with Alex at this point. Talks of him going to a behavior school have been thrown around, but we are doing everything in our power to keep that from happening. However, if something does not change soon that may be the only option! I have been praying and have lots of prayer warriors on our side, so I know the whole issue is being protected and guided by the Lord Almighty! He is leading the way. We are believing for complete restoration of Alex's mind and body. I am going to be requesting the pediatricion to to a full blood work on Alex to rule out any hormonal inbalance or thyroid issue. Please be in prayer with us that all will turn out well even if it means putting Alex back on medication. This has been a long journey for our family and we know that longer roads are ahead. However, we stand tall and strong knowing that God is leading the way!

Love is the answer...

Have you told you kids that they mean the world to you? Have you told them that you are proud of them? Have you told your spouse that he/she is your everything? Have you told them that you could not picture your life with out them? We are parents and spouses I think forget these little things. I know I do! We are learning about love at my church right now and it is really hitting home for me! I think a lot of us really do not know what it means to Love. Did you know that Love is a choice and a commitment? My husband and I made a commitment to one another and to "our" children (I had two children from a previous marriage for those of you who did not know) when we got married! We made an agreement from the very being that divorce is not an option. No matter what we are going to commit to one another! Did you know that love is an action not just an emotion? Yes, it is great to have the emotion to go along with it, but remember love is a choice! Love is a skill that you can learn and practice makes perfect! What I am getting at here is that if more of us would just take the time to love then there would be more love. You know what comes around goes around. I think one of the hardest things to do is to love unconditionally! If we could all just abide by the golden rule what a difference the world would be. Now I know that not all people are capable of this and I know that the world is not a perfect place, but I also know that it has to start somewhere! Let's choose to love one another and let love be our #1 goal! Reach out to your family, your friends, your neighbors, or even strangers! "Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in faith. Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it!" 2 Corinthians 13:5

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Sometimes you have to take the good times with the bad times. I like to make the best out of all times. As a blended family we have had a lot of what I like to call "rough" times. Lloyd does his best with what has been dealt to him. What I mean by this is that he came into our lives when Nathan and Alex were already formed. They were 8 and 6 years old I believe. They had and still have a relationship with their real father. This is hard for all of us because they constantly remind Lloyd that he is not their dad. Mostly it is Alex doing the reminding. Nathan and Lloyd have a good relationship and there is a good respect between the both of them. However, Alex and Lloyd have never and unfortunately will probably never bond. It is not becuase Lloyd hasn't tried; it is more because Alex will not let him in. Alex really does not let anyone in. Not even me! Last night we had a really emotional conversation; a rather heated discussion. I laid a lot of things out on the table for both of the boys to hear. Mostly it was for Alex. I know he gets singled out a lot, but if you lived our lives you would understand why! What started the conversation was Alex saying that I do not care about him. This is spoken from his mouth quite often lately. He even took it as far last night as to say that I was probably not even his mom and that he was probably adopted. It was very hurtful to me and I was done hearing such lies come out of his mouth. I tried to explain a lot of things to him, but to be honest I feel it all went in one ear and out the other. Things have never been easy with Alex. His form of reality is all messed up. He has a very low self esteem and I do not know how to help him. We have tried everything you can think of to help him. On Thursday of this week, I will be discussing many options with his counselor. I have to find out if there is anything else that we can try. I hate that it is the way that it is, but it is what it is and we have to take the good with the bad. I have to say that I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband because I think any other man would have ran away a long time ago, but Lloyd stays. He takes the good with the bad a majority of the time. Unfortunately he gets the bad more then the good. There is good trust me there is. Alex is really a sweet loving and kind person when he shows that side of himself. He does use his manners and I get a lot of compliments when we are out about how well mannered he is. Just when it comes to school and home he struggles. It is anytime he is faced with authority. I know where most of it steams from, but I will not go there in this post. He is going through a lot of changes right now as a preteen, but that is only a peice of the puzzle. I know that there are a lot of things that I can do better, but I have to take the good with the bad. I do what I can when I can. I may not do my best and I may not give it 100%, but I will never give up.

ReCap

I thought I would Recap for those that are new to my blog or haven't visited in a while. I am a mother, a wife, a sister,an aunt, granddaughter and a daughter. I am also a loyal friend and born again Christian. I am by no means perfect and never claimed to be so. I refer to all my children, husband and friends by their real names unless they ask otherwise. I have four children, three boys and one girl. I have many nieces and nephews as I consider my friends children my nieces and nephews. I have one sister and two brothers. I have been married twice. My first marriage is an interesting story that I will have to blog about another time. The only great thing that came out of it was my two oldest children. Now I have been married to my knight in shining armour for four years and we are raising all four of our children. I refer to him as my knight in shining armor because without him I do not know where I would be. This blog was mostly created for family and friends that have moved away, but I also use it as a venting tool. I am an open book what you see is what you get. I am very simplistic. You will not find anything special here, just a family trying to make ends meet. We live pay check to pay check and sometimes outside our means. We eat left overs and go out to eat more then we should. My house is clean, but lived in. I do not dust so watch out for spider webs. I do kill the spiders if I see them and any other bug that makes its way in. I HATE BUGS! I drive a mini van (as of April of this year), but I am not a scoccer mom. We cannot afford to put our kids in sports. My middle son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was three, but we have had him off medication for almost a year. My oldest son is quiet and stays out of trouble. Then the two youngest well they are not old enough to really cause any trouble. I had my oldest son when I was seventeen (twenty days before I turned eightteen). I will be thirty-three in August and just had my daughter in May. There is a fifteen year age difference between my oldest and youngest. That is what happens when you become a blended family. I love it and would not change it for the world. I work very part time as a preschool teacher and have been in that field for over fifteen years. I have my AA degree in Early Childhood Education and love what I do. I was voulenteering in the children's ministry at my chruch until I had my daughter. I will go back to that in August. I am a born again Christian, but I do not read my bible. I go to church almost every Sunday, but I cannot quote scripture. I believe in God and have accepted Jesus into my heart, but I do not try to force that onto anyone else. I know that you are suppose to share the good news, but I have a hard time doing so when I do not know much about it. All I know is that I believe and I cannot force someone else to believe. We live in California and have done so most of my adult life. As a child my dad was in the military so we moved around a lot. Now I like to stay put. However, with as bad as the economy is getting if we were given the opportunity we would move in a heartbeat. Well I think that is the just of things. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Like I said I am an open book!

Mother of Four

I never in a million years thought I would be a mother of four! I do not know how my mother ever did it! She raised all four of us and half of that time she was disabled. I was sick this last week with a very bad kidney infection that almost landed me in the hospital. I had to call on friends and family to help me because I just couldn't do it alone. My husband is a very hardworking man and was out working. Much like my father was while I was a kid. My father served 3 terms of a year each time in Korea. My husband works 24/7 on call and is frequently gone at night. I called my mom crying and asked her, "How did you do it?" She replied with a very simple, "I just did." Well, I guess it is time for me to just start doing because I am now a mother of four. When it is just the two babies at home with me we are okay. Even when it is all four of them at home with me I am ok. It is when we have to venture out into the big world that I struggle. Trying to juggle a baby in a car seat and a toddler, who likes to wander into parking lots, is not an easy task. I never thought I would put my child on a leash, but I bought one the other day for Luke. We call it his backpack and he has not offically been out into the world with it yet. We have put it on a couple of times to try it out. I look at it this way I would rather he be safe then hit by a car!
Abigail is doing well. She had some nursing issues in the beginning due to a tounge tie and some movement restrictions, but now that we clipped her tounge and attend theraphy she is good. I cannot believe she is a month old already! We cannot get over how pretty she is. I just love having a little girl. She is going to be a mover and a shaker. She is already holding her head up. When on he tummy she pushes with her feet like she wants to crawl and when on her back she tries to roll over! She knows she has three big brothers she has to keep up with. I have to go back to work on July 6th which is going to be really hard on me. My friend Stephanie and my mom will be watching Abigail. Luke is going to go into preschool!
Speaking of Luke, he will be two in a month and is talking more and more everyday. He loves to watch movies, draw and play with his brothers and daddy. He loves to be outside! I am not sure what we are going to do for his birthday yet, but I am thinking it will be Cars Theme. He loves cars, trains, dinosaurs, and monkeys.
Nathan and Alex are both attending summer school. Nathan will be a freshmen this school year and Alex will be in 7th grade. They are doing okay. Normal teenagers. Nathan got to go to Washington DC, New York and Pennsylvania with his 8th grade History teacher. He had a great time and I am very jealous he got to go!
Well, I think that is about it for this update. I promise to post some pictures next time.

Sneek Peek

If you would like a sneek peek at Abigail's newborn photo session check this out!

http://www.outloudphotography.blogspot.com/

Pictures of Abigail Jean

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83524&id=529459211&l=b232beff37

It's Four O'Clock. Do you know where your kids are?

A few days ago I was awaken from my nap by a text message from a friend saying she was on her way over. I responded with, "I guess that means I better get up." No sooner had I gotten up and threw myself together was she knocking on the door. She came by to devlier a meal to us. (The last meal we recieved for the week.) Her and her roomate asked where the older boys were and I replied, "I don't know." I knew where Abigail was and I knew where Luke was, but I honestly could not tell you where my older boys were. Does this make me a horrible mom? I really should keep better tabs on them. Maybe this is why they stole from Walmart or maybe this is why Alex was lighting matches on the porch. Maybe this is why Alex lies to me about just about everything that he is caught doing. I feel that I am a good mom and everyone tells me I am a good mom, but in all honesty I doubt myself each and everyday. So next time you look at the clock no matter what time it is make sure you know where your kids are!

Baby Abigail Jean has arrived!

On may 18th at 2:32 pm baby Abigail Jean Dunwald entered our world and stole our hearts! She is perfect in every way and we are so blessed to finally have a little girl. Our birth story is a long one so settle in as I begin our journey to becoming a family of six. I had technically been showing signs of "labor" since about the end of April when I was about 1 cm dilated and told not to travel out of town! I missed my grandmothers memorial service and stayed close to home thinking she may come anytime. Well she had other plans. Progress was slow to say the least and we waited and waited, walked and walked. On May 15th I had my weekly doctors appointment and was about 2cm, so the doctor asked if I would like my membranes stripped. We decided sure why not lets see if this gets things going. By the 17th I was 3 cm and having contractions, but nothing consistent. There were other signs as well that lead us to make a late night visit to the labor and delivery room only to be told to walk for an hour and then be sent home. The next morning at about 5:30a I woke up to wetness and thought my water had broke or was leaking. Every time I moved more would gush, so we once again headed to labor and delivery. We arrived at 7am and was checked to be told I was still 3cm, but my water was leaking so they kept me. At 8:30a we started pitocin in hopes to get things moving along. I knew that my regular doctor was scheduled to go out of town at 2pm, so I really was hoping Abigail would come before then, but we will get to that in a bit. I was getting checked about every hour and not progressing as fast as I thought I would. At 1:30p My regular doctor came in to check on me and see how I was doing. She checked me and I was 4-5 cm, 80% and baby was at -1 station. She also discovered I still had a "fore bag" of water so she broke that completely and that is when things really progressed. Unfortunately she headed out right after that. I remember at one point I was 5cm and while the nurse was checking me I went from 5cm to 7cm. I had to wait for the doctor on call to come in before I could push. The delivery was fairly easy and I got to try some different positions and finally was able to push. At 2:32 pm Abigail arrived. (If only my regular doctor would have come in earlier to check on me.) I had no tearing and she took to the breast right away. It was a great experience and we all love her dearly. All the boys are doing awesome and love being big brothers! We have been extremely blessed by our church family with meals being delivered to us for about a week. We have eaten well and truly appreciate them all! I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to Jeanette for setting that up for us and also a huge THANK YOU to all the families that have or are going to make and deliver meals to us. As for the winner of our little guessing contest there was some what of a tie. My sister Emily guessed May 18th at 9am and for the weight 8lbs 0oz with the length as 21in. Her roommate, MaryJo, guessed May 18th at 12am and for the weight 7lbs 0oz with the length of 19in. So I have decided that they are both going to receive a wallet size photo of me when I was pregnant and bragging rights! There is a slide show of pictures from her birth and hospital stay as well as this link to see her hospital photos. http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=e317d539-2f24-4855-bf7b-790db9ca34e0 Feel free to leave a comment for us and I will continue to update as I can!

Mother Son Dance

The Mother Son dance tonight with Alex was fun. It is hard to dance when you are nine months pregnant, but we made it work. I did it mostly for him anyway and he kept saying he was having fun so that is all that matters. We went out to dinner first. Nothing fancy just Carl's Jr. Then we got to the dance and ate more. We sat through the first few songs until others started dancing then we hit the dance floor. They had a raffle and Alex and I won a $5 Starbucks gift card! Yeah Us! Around 8pm Alex was ready to go, but I talked him into staying a little longer by allowing him to change back into his tennis shoes and playing on the playground outside for about 15 minutes. Then we went back in and had our last dance together. I am really glad that I got to spend this time with him and enjoyed all the "dates" I went on this week with my boys. I hope to continue this with them even after the baby comes. Enjoy the slideshow.

PS: Thank you to Papa Larry for letting Alex borrow your cowboy boots and hat!

When and where

We have made it to 37 weeks and now the question of when and where is on my mind. Everytime I leave the house I wonder is this the day. Am I going to go into labor while I am out and about or at home. I know that I can go anytime or closer to my due date. I hate not knowing. I am ready but not ready. My hubby is primary at his job for the next to weeks which means lots of work for him. He could be called to Napa or Fairfield at anytime of the day or night. I worry that I will go into labor while he is gone. We have our hospital tour tomorrow which is exciting because I have heard great things about Sutter Roseville. I cannot wait to see what it is like in person.

I made Big Brother shirts for the boys and three onsies for Abigail. They will be able to wear them when they meet for the first time and I made her three so she will have one for each stage. This way they can wear them more then once.

The only thing we have left to do is get the house cleaned up (anyone know a cheap maid)? Lloyd will be putting her co-sleeper up soon and then we are ready. I have my bag and her bag packed. We just wait now and I continue to wonder when and where!

36 week update

Well this baby may come sooner then later! I went to my Ob appointment today and my cervix is 30% effaced and very soft. I am up to 151 lbs and was measuring at 34 weeks. She is not to concerned by this because my ultrasounds are right where they should be. She highly recommended against me traveling, so it looks like I will not be going to my grandma's memorial service. I have another appointment on Wednesday the 29th and may make my final decision based on my progress at that time. I am leaning towards not going though. I do not want to risk going into labor.
As for our little guessing game that I have going on. I will be locking it out today so no one can change their guesses. Hopefully you are happy with your guess!
Luke and my mom came to the appointment with me today and got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Luke did much better at this appointment then he did when we went for the 3D ultrasound. My doctor is awesome though, she distracted him with being funny and she talked to him about what she was doing to me. I think this really helped him feel more secure.
Oh and my last day of work was Wednesday the 22nd. I thought I would be able to work longer and take more time when the baby was born, but found out that was not true. So I went ahead and put in my request for maternity leave! I am glad a did since I may have this baby before the 22nd!
I will be packing my hospital back today or this weekend. We may have a baby by Mother's Day!

Baby Shower

First of all I want to thank everyone who came and also thank everyone who couldn't come, but still sent gifts. I am also so grateful for my church family and love you all! What a great group of ladies to support me in my time of grief and happiness. You made my day one that I will remember for happiness and not sadness. I will explain, as I got to the baby shower I had a voice message from my uncle to call him as soon as I had a chance. I decided to step outside and return his call; not expecting what I heard. He informed me that my grandma had passed away this morning. He asked if I was with my husband or my boys and I explained that I was at my baby shower. He felt terrible and kept apologizing for telling me. I was obviously distraught and one of my baby shower guest came out and asked me what had happen. I told her and she comforted me. I collected myself as best I could and then went back inside. Still visibly upset I had to explain to everyone else what was wrong. My mom being the first I told because it was her mother. We cried and prayed and reminisced a little. The ladies from my church were so comforting and made sure I enjoyed the day!
I am just blessed to have such a great church family and do not think I would have made it through the day without them. The baby shower was great! Baby Abigail got so many clothes that she is going to be one styling baby! Oh and my cake turned out just perfect and it was tasty too! So despite the sad news I know my grandma was with me at the shower and she would have wanted it to go just as it did. I now she is in a better place now and at peace. I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

34 week update.

Well unfortunately I will not be able to give you all any hints as to how big Abigail will be. We were unable to do the 3-D ultrasound today because she is already in birthing position and too far into my pelvic area to get any good pictures. My OBGYN appointment was a quick in and out appointment. My doctor did not say how big I was measuring, but we heard a healthy heartbeat and my blood pressure was good.OH tomorrow is my baby shower and I am super excited! I will be posting pictures of that ASAP! Here are some belly shoots!

New Game/Poll

You can click on the button to the right that says Expectnet and go guess when you think Abby will be born, what time, how much she will weight, and her length. Then when she comes I can go back and see who is the closest. I may have a prize for the winner or you may just get bragging rights. It will be fun and the more people who guess then the more fun it will be! So go take a guess! Be on the watch for my 34 week update on Friday I may have hints on how big she is measuring at that time. I will also post the stats of all the boys on that post to give you an idea of how big my babies have been! Good Luck and have fun!

Easter Bunny

I have a new small group at my church that meets every Friday. We are all moms and bring our kids to play together. It has been a really nice group and I have enjoyed it. We used to meet at the Chick Fi La while they were offering a free breakfast, but that offer is over now. So, we met at the Roseville Galleria today! Luke had a blast playing and running around. He even got a ballon from a nice man who came out of one of the shops and ask all the kids who wanted ballons! After the group was over, I thought we would stop and see the Easter Bunny. Now last year we did not do the Easter Bunny or Santa at the mall, but a Santa did come to my work and Luke wanted nothing to do with him. So when he saw the Eater Bunny today and his eyes lit up I was excited. I seized the opportunity and got a picture! Please enjoy!

32 weeks Pregnancy Update!

I had my 32 week check up today and everything is great. I was measuring perfectly, babies heart rate was in the 140's and I now weigh 145. We discussed the iron pills I am now taking and how they are upsetting my tummy. She offered to give me a sample of a different type, but I told her I would hold off and see if my body gets use to the ones I am taking. My other blood work for the other vitamin deficiencies came back fine. My B12 and Folic acid were normal. I have an appointment on Monday with the primary care physician to talk about the vitamins and have my moles looked at. Tomorrow is our maternity photo shoot and I am really excited about it. I picked out some cute outfits and poses for all of us. I plan to have some of just Lloyd and I, some of all of us, some of just Luke and I, some of just Nathan, Alex, and myself and some of just me! We will be doing some here at our house and some at a park. The weather is absolutely gorgeous, so I think it is going to be a good shoot. I will be posting those as soon as I get the proofs. I am still trying to talk Lloyd into a 3D ultrasound. We are running out of time because they recommend you do it before 34 weeks I believe. So, hopefully I can talk him into it soon. I did buy three outfits for Abigail today and cannot wait to do all her baby laundry! It has been so much fun. I am getting excited. My baby shower is only two weeks away and we are getting close to having our baby girl! We have another appointment in two weeks and then we are going every week! Please be praying for the babies I posted about as well as my friend Crystal. She is due April 15th, but has signs of pre eclamsia and has been in the Labor and Delivery all weekend. Thanks! Til next time!

New Friends of Christ in need

As you may have noticed I posted a button on the side of my blog for a baby named Jonah. Today I added Stellans. These babies are fighting for there lives and need our prayers. I found these wonderful families by blog surfing something I do way to much. I probably torture myself with other peoples sadness to a point. However, I have so much compassion for others that I feel God is leading me to these sisters and brothers because they need prayer and support. There is a lot in my own life that I can get myself worked up about, but it really puts it into prospective for me when I look at what others are going through. There is always someone out there that has it worse then you and we need to pray for them just like we pray for our ownselves and our own families. We are all children of God and need to reach out to one another in prayer. If you feel compelled to do so please click on these buttons and read these baby's stories. Pray for them and their families. I think of how we stormed the heavens with prayers for baby Lucas (www.ourlittlewarriorlucas.blogspot.com) and God answered our prayers. I know he will do the same for Jonah and Stellan. Even for babies out there that we do not know. We need to just pray for healing to all in need. Babies, children, and adults. There are so many in need. Lord, I just knell before you right now and I ask of you our all mighty physician to heal all your children, Lord. Like your word says, " God has saved us from dangers. And he will continue to do it. We have put our hope in him. He will continue to save us." 2 Cort. 1:10 Lord we put our hope and trust and faith in you right now for all the children of God all over the world that need healing. "By your stripes we ARE healed." We know that our healing has already been paid for upon the cross and we thank you for that sacrifice. We love you Lord and praise you for all you have done and all that you are going to do! AMEN!

30 week Prenatal Appointment and Belly shots

SO I had my 30 week prenatal appointment and everything is good with baby. My doctor was more concerned about me. I am anemic and she is also concerned that I have some other vitamin deficiencies. Something about my red blood cells being bigger then they should be?? So I have to go have more blood work to follow up on this. I also need to start taking iron supplements on top of my prenatal pills. (I really need to just start taking my prenatal pills!) She was also concerned with a mole that I have on the left side of my stomach. She said it was an unusual shape and I should have it looked at. I am not to concerned by it; I have had it as long as I remember and it has not changed and it does not bother me. I asked her a lot of questions that I had and she answered them. 1) Was I had some concerns about illness that I should be aware of; seeing as that I am a preschool teacher. She said I should only be concerned with Slap Cheek, Parvo Viruses, and Chicken Pox. She said to practice good hand washing techniques and I should be fine. I already wash my hands like I have OCD! 2) Was I asked about Thrush. I am going to breastfeed and with my last one I fought thrush for over 6 months. It was terrible. I asked if I could start taking a probiotic now to help prevent thrush and she said it would not hurt. We are also going to just keep on top of it when the time comes as well. 3) We discussed the leg cramps I have been getting. She said it is probably because I am so active. She said to drink plenty of fluids and start eating more bananas. 4) I asked when we would discuss my birthing plan and she said around 36 weeks! Also I passed my glucose test with flying colors! I have an appointment with my new primary care doctor on March 30th which is right after my next prenatal appointment. Which by the way, I now have my prenatal appointments every two weeks. The primary care doctor will be the one following up on the vitamin deficiencies and the mole, with my OBGYN getting feed back from her.

Stats: My BP was 104/58 weight 141 pounds
Baby's heart rate was in the 150s
Fundal Height was 25cm (Your fundal height is suppose to match within 2 cm how many weeks you are. She was not to concerned by this because my ultrasound looked good and it shows the baby measuring right on target)

I am getting excited as the time is nearing that we will have our little girl. Lloyd set up the room for the babies and for now it is Luke's room, but when Abby is about 3 months old she will move in with him! We have a maternity photo shoot scheduled for March 28th and my baby shower is on April 11th. I was able to get some really nice newborn clothes for Abby today off freecycle some were brand new with the tags still on them! Lets see, I don't think there is anything else to report so here are the belly shots I promised.

29 Weeks 5 Days Ultrasound

I had another free ultrasound at Western Career College on Wednesday March 11th. Abigail is still a girl and she is a little chunker. She has really chubby cheecks and is weighing almost 3 lbs already! Other then that I have nothing really to report right now. I have an OBGYN appointment tomorrow, so I will post belly shots and any news she tells me then! Until then here are the pictures we got of Abigail yesterday. They gave me a total of 8 pictures. Two of them were specificaly for my mom and dad, since my mom was with me at the ultrasound and I am only posting 4 of them. The other two were not that great. So here you go!

More Baby Shower Fashion Advice Needed

So I have the dress which is number 4 if you look at older post you can find the posting with the dresses. I also got a brown shrug to wear with it. My next question is what kind of shoes and what color shoes I should wear. I want to be as comfortable as possible! I have no fashion since so if anyone can send me links, pictures or ideas I would appreciate it. I am thinking pink or brown sandals, but not sure if I am overkilling the pink and brown thing! PLEASE HELP!!!

Baby Shower Dress ***UPDATE***

I went ahead an jumped the gun a bit. I ordered my baby shower dress before everyone was done voting! LOL! I ordered number 4 and already have it hanging in my closet. It is not a maternity dress, so of course I tried it on. It fits well; it is just a little revealing in the breast area, so I will be getting a sweater, shrug or shawl to wear with it. I will have lots of pictures when I do wear it and may even wear it for my maternity photo shoot on March 28. I have another ultrasound with Western Career College scheduled for March 11th and my next OBGYN appointment is on March 13th. More belly shots to come then! Thanks to everyone for voting; since I already have the dress I am going to delete the poll.

Week 28 update

So we are 12 weeks away from having our little girl! OMG! How the time just flies by. My baby shower plans are coming along nicely; we found a place to have it and now we just need to find someone to do the cake. I am really set on the cake I posted before, but it is on the pricey side. We have received some good quotes,so I am hoping we can get it! Also I had my 1 hour glucose test done today and some other routine blood work. I should get the results by next week. I drank the lemon lime flavor which was not bad. I usually get to pick and choose orange only because I don't like orange anyway so it does not ruin my taste buds. This time I did not have a choice, but like I said it was not bad.
I went ahead and ordered my baby shower dress. So far #4 has the most votes and that is the one I ordered, but I really like #1, so I am debating over ordering them both or just sticking with #4. What do you all think?
I feel like my belly is getting bigger and bigger everyday. My belly button is almost popped out and it is super tender. I do not fit into some of my maternity jeans that I could fit into at the beginning, so my wardrobe is becoming very limited. Abigail is very active some days and other days she is not. I am suppose to start tracking the fetal movement now, but cannot recall the exacts. Something about three times a day counting the amount of kicks/movements I feel in one hour? I will have to research it or call my doctor. Other then that I do not think there is much to report.

Baby Shower Dresses

1)




2)




3) Could not get a picture so copy and paste this link
http://www.dhstyles.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FARINELLI-689-PINK-BLK&Click=1164&gdftrk=gdfV2382_a_7c451_a_7c1375_a_7cFARINELLI_d_689_d_PINK_d_BLK&SID=3b1a8869c93d395d0196e089f580ef2bbf67e720

4)


Please vote for your favorite on the side!

I want a dress that matches my theme. See previous post for pictures of the cake and color scheme!

Ultrasound 26w 5d

My doctor scheduled an ultrasound that I am thinking is going to count as the "Big 20 Week scan". The tech said it still looks like a girl, but baby was very stubborn or lady like and had her legs crossed. The tech had a hard time getting the areas that she needed because of the babies position and the baby did not want to move! LOL! She is going to be stubborn just like mommy and daddy. We did get a couple good profile shots even though her hand is across her face and we got a good shot of her foot! She has big feet already measuring at 2 cm. That may not sound big, but they looked big! She weighs about 2 pounds right now and I was measuring at 26-27 weeks so right on. Not much else to report here are the pictures!

Valentine's Day 2009 Slideshow

Lloyd and I's Valentine's Day 2009 Trip

We had an awesome three day weekend getaway! Friday night we arrived in Ft. Bragg at our Bed and Breakfast at about 8:30pm. We got settled in our room, "The Harvest Room", and spent some quality time playing Uno then went to bed around 11. On Saturday we woke at 7ish and just relaxed in our room until 9:15 when we thought was breakfast; it turned out I had actually signed up for the 8:30 breakfast! LOL! So the inn keeper was nice enough to bring us breakfast to our room. After breakfast we headed out to the Botanical Gardens! What a beautiful and peaceful place! This is 47 acres of gardens nestled right along the ocean coast! It did sprinkle a little off and on while we were there, but not enough to scare us away. Then we went to a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant and were embarrassed once again. We did not read the signs and see that they did not accept credit cards until after we already ordered our food. I had to go ask the server if she could tell me the closest ATM so Lloyd could go pull out some cash. After lunch we walked along some of the shops. Then we just went back to our room for a two hour nap! We woke up and started to get ready for our dinner date. As part of our Bed and Breakfast package we had a $75 gift certificate to a local restaurant called the Mendo Bistro! This is a very nice casual restaurant hidden in a huge building on the second floor. We got dressed up and headed out; as we were getting there Lloyd opened the door for another couple and we headed upstairs. We waited to be seat which we were told would only be a 10-15 minute wait. As we were waiting the gentlemen that we had held the door open for came over to us and explained that he and his wife felt bad that we had held the door for them and that they had got seated first. Since they had a table for four, they thought they could invite us to join them at their table. We thought it over and decided to join them. It was very nice to have the adult company and conversation. No kids, no schedules, no cold food because I had to share it with Luke. They were a local couple and she is an elementary school teacher and he was a Scuba Instructor. So her and I had a little bit in common and it was awesome to hear his scuba stories. They do not have children, but do have a yellow lab that we talked about! LOL! He is a lot like Marley from the movie, so they had some fun stories! We truly enjoyed our dinner and their company! Hi Steve and Kim. We got back to our room about 8:30 and had our special treats which were champagne and cookies (there were chocolate covered strawberries, but we enjoyed them before dinner). On Sunday we had breakfast and then checked out early. There were two places I wanted to hit before we head home. MacKerricher State Park and Glass Beach. MacKerricher has a boardwalk that leads to great ocean views and Glass Beach used to be a dump in the 40's or 60's where people used to dump bottles. Now all that glass is smoothed out by the ocean tides and just lies on the shore! It is beautiful! While at MacKerricher we did not make it to the boardwalk because the road that leads to it was closed, but we were able to get to another part and walked along the beach. That is where I drew the big heart in the sand with Lloyd and I's name in it and the date! We did not stay long there or at Glass Beach because it was cold and I had to go to the restroom. I wanted to go to my grandfather's old neighborhood and see his old house, but we decided that we were going to head out to avoid the weather as much as possible. Around 11am it was time to head home! THE LONGEST DRIVE EVER! The roads are pretty winding and I was already not feeling very great from breakfast, so we took them very slow. While needless to get into too much detail, but I ended up getting car sick and all together the trip home took 6 hours! The next post is the slideshow of pictures I took!

25 Week Update: Appt. with new OBGYN

Let me start by saying I LOVE MY NEW OBGYN! She was great! As soon as she walked in I knew I was going to like her. She was very nice and funny. She had a little bit of a cold and warned me of that as soon as she walked in and kept her distance until she had to measure me and check the heartbeat. Which we got to actually hear for the first time!! That was the best part. OMG! I weighed 133 pounds! That is a lot for me; I think I was close to 140 when I delivered Luke, so to be at 133 already shocked me. I guess it is all the food I have been eating. I measured right at 25 weeks I think she said. I also heard her say something about 25 weeks and 6 days, so I am not sure. I will be 26 weeks on Friday. She gave me a lot of information and I have some things to get done before my next appoint which will be on March 13th. I have to get my glucose testing done within the next week and on Feb. 18th I have an ultrasound per her request. Which means I will probably cancel the one on the 25th with Western Career College because that is too close together. She also wrote me a prescription for some Compression Stockings to wear during our long drive to Fort Bragg this weekend. She said they will help prevent blood clots! I will be checking into them to see how much they cost and if my insurance will cover them. As for symptoms the only thing I have been really struggling with is heartburn. The pain in my stomach has stopped unless I do something to strenuous then I just rest or take it easy and I am fine. She said that is probably just Round Ligament Pains and to continue listening to my body. After my appointment on March 13th we will go to the every two week appointments already! WOW! That surprised me too, that we are getting so close. We will be scheduling a tour of the hospital where we will be delivering and if they allow it I will take pictures. I have heard and from the pictures on the website it is a nice hospital. The Labor and Delivery is like a hotel suite. I think that is all for now.

Abigail's First Pair of Shoes and other fun stuff

It has been so fun looking for girl stuff! Today I picked up some hangers from someone on freecycle and she threw in a pair of shoes for Abigail! SO CUTE! We have also decided on the bedding we want:


The baby shower theme is going to be pink and brown and I would love to have this cake:


My friend Jeanette is hosting my baby shower and I will be contacting everyone soon for address so we can make sure you get invited!

Free Museum Day- The Zoo

So this morning we decided spur of the moment to go to the zoo. Every year there is a free museum day and like 26 different museums participate the zoo being one of them. Our plan was to hit the zoo then the Aerospace Museum. Well, we headed out to breakfast first and made it to the zoo around 11 or 11:30. It was pretty crowded and Lloyd does not do crowds. He pushed through and handled it great, but then we had to wait half an hour in line to go through the reptile house! By the time we got in I think both of us had lost our patience and so had Nathan and Alex. Luke was in Lizard Heaven, so he did not care! He had waited all morning just to see the lizards and was signing lizard for everything. I posted a slideshow and yes most of the pictures are of Luke, but really the trip was for all of us. It was really nice to spend the day as a family; we are really focusing on that this year. Lloyd did get a work call while we were at the zoo, but he was able to push it out until the evening. I had a meeting to attend at 4 so after the zoo we just decided to skip the Aerospace Museum and head home. I am glad we did because we were all wiped! When we got home Luke, Lloyd and I all took a 2 hour nap!

Free Museum Day 2009-The Zoo

2nd Video

Video of Luke

Luke at 18 months

WOW! How he has grown and changed. He is the funniest little guy and just a joy! His favorite things right now are he loves to play "Nannie nannie boo boo" and have someone chase him through the house. He loves to listen to music and put his puzzles together. He also LOVES Dinosaurs and will actually sit through Jurassic Park. We have started having him watch We're Back because Jurassic Park is a little scary and I don't like to expose him to that much. Lets see what else; oh his new food of choice is Pickles. He still loves to read and his piggy bank from Christmas is still his favorite. We are introducing the potty and he has gone "pee pee" many times, but nothing consistent enough to warrant saying he is potty trained. He still wears a diaper, but will be transitioning into training underwear very soon! I am a little nervous about this because we have not got the poop in the potty yet!I am hoping to have him potty trained by May, but we will see it is not a big rush right now. I took a video of him, but the quality sucks. You can hear him making animal sounds and see some of his signs. I will post it along with a video of him starting to play "nannie nannie boo boo" For now here are some pictures!

Heartburn and Dreams: Week 24 update

As you can tell by the title these are the symptoms I am experiencing! Heartburn every time I eat something; it does not matter what it is or when I eat it. It does tend to be worse in the evening. I have also been having the weirdest dreams. Some are a bit on the scary side and I have a hard time going back to sleep afterwards. It doesn't help that getting comfortable is not an easy task and getting up to go pee several times a night interrupts my sleep!

I have been feeling her move a lot more and some days it is really strong. Other times her movements are very suttle if at all. I sometimes wonder if I felt her move at all during the day and I will get worried, but then at night she lets me know she is there! Then there are other days where she is active all day and not much during the night!

We have started the transition of having Nathan and Alex share a room and now we just need to transition Luke into the room that he will share with Abigail. We are looking at different ideas for color schemes/themes to use in their room. So far we have not made a decision, but I think I have it narrowed down to two! We will not paint the room because we rent, but the crib bedding and Luke's toddler bedding will go together! I am excited to start buying girlie clothes and shoes! My mom and I looked at stuff at Walmart today and I have to say girls have so much more then boys!

Here are some belly shots and I will have a more detailed update on Feb. 10th after we see the new Obgyn!

An Honest Prayer

Dear God, Please bless my Children,
While they are calmly near slumber’s edge.
Oh Lord, Please make it pleasant,
The dreams, keep them distant from the ledge.

Dear God, Please keep them safe,
While they are outdoors, playing hard.
Oh Lord, give them the courage,
To deal with life when it becomes marred.

Dear God, Please stay beside them,
Throughout each and every day.
Oh Lord, as they begin to make choices,
Please help to guide them in the right way.

Dear God, please send them an Angel,
One whom will always be there.
Oh Lord, don’t we all have one?
A Guardian Angel with a shield to share.

Dear God, please help them to learn,
And, not to be so naive.
Oh Lord, help them to understand You,
So that they will be able to Believe.

Dear God, please open their eyes,
And help them to understand.
Even though sometimes life isn’t easy,
They can be guided by your humble hand.

Dear God, You are the Alpha and the Omega,
Which is the beginning and the end.
Oh Lord, together we can all make it,
For, there’s nothing your love can’t mend.


RebeccaJeanine

Hurt Feelings

Back over the summer a friend of mine reached out to me for help. To make a long story short her and her husband had gotten into an altercation and he took matters a little too far. Well he ended up in jail for the night and she stayed with me for about a week. In the end she choose not to press charges and went back to him. However, he now holds the whole incident against me and it has really put a wedge in between my friend and I. We no longer hang out as much or even talk as much. She is due to have a baby in April, so we should be having a lot of fun together. Her son and Luke are only two months apart and we use to hang out and have play dates, but not anymore. Well she called me tonight to get some addresses of people we both know so she can invite them to her baby shower and her son's birthday, but then she says I cannot send you one. I was like are you serious; you are not inviting me to your baby shower or your son's birthday. Her response was you are invited in my heart, but if you show up things will get ugly. I was so hurt! I cannot believe that her husband could not swallow his pride for one day so I can be there for my friend. Now we attend the same church and he will come occasionally, but I cannot come on his turf. When he comes to church, I don't bother him. I may say hi to my friend and the baby, but that is it. I have not held anything against him except for the wedge that he is putting into our friendship! I am trying to be the bigger person; trying not to be judgemental, but I am hurt! I have been in her shoes before, so I think that makes it even harder.

Disbelief

I keep looking at the ultrasound pictures over and over again. I cannot believe we are having a girl! Me having a girl after having three boys! Secretly I have always wanted a little girl, but truly I AM SCARED TO DEATH! What am I suppose to do with a little girl. We do not have anything for little girls. We do not behave like little girls. My house is full of stinky, rough and tough little boys. They burp and fart and wrestle. This is what I am use to. I have even at times become one of the guys. I don't wear dresses, I don't wear make up, I don't do hair, so what am I suppose to do with a little girl. I am not even sure if I have ever played dolls or had a tea party. I was and still am a tomboy. Yes, I will wear a dress/shirt and make up once in a while, but not ofter. Yes, I am sure I can wing a tea party and even playing dress up. I know that I am going to love her no matter what and she is going to become the princess while I take on the role of queen. She is going to be the most spoiled member of our family and we are in for a big change. Move over rough and tumble boys the princess is moving in!

Think Pink

YES, IT IS A GIRL! We are so excited! We had an hour and a half free ultrasound done today by a student at Western Career College with the help of her teacher. They did a great job. I could not be happier. The beginning of the ultrasound the student has specific landmarks that she has to find as part of her training, so there was a lot of medical vocab. being used as they looked at the baby's brain, heart and spine. Then towards the end it was time to see if the baby would let us see the goods! At first the student thought it was a boy. She thought she saw boy parts, but then the teacher kept asking are you sure. They went back and forth boy, girl for a little bit and I was starting to think we would not know again! Then finally the teacher got a good shot and said it was definitely a GIRL! My measurements were anywhere from 22-24 weeks, but we are sticking with 23 weeks and same due date of May 22. I also got the phone call from my new OBGYN and will be seeing her on Feb. 10th. I will also be going back for another ultrasound with Western Career College on Feb. 25th. Lots of pictures will be posted. Speaking of pictures here are the five that we got today. They are already labeled, so hopefully you can read what they say!

Limbo

I am in limbo right now and it is kind of scary. This is what is happening. I went a head and had my records transferred to a new OBGYN. Well now I am in limbo with no OBGYN until the new OBGYN takes me as a new patient. I thought it was going to be confirmed on Tuesday or Wednesday, but did not hear anything. So I called and now I am being told I may not know until next week! I am a little nervous about this, but I know it will all work out and I will be happier in the end! I am also in limbo in another situation. I reserved a bed and breakfast for my husband and I to have a weekend getaway for Valentines Day/His birthday. Well the inn keeper was suppose to charge a deposit on my card last Friday then she said this Wednesday, but has not done anything yet! If I do not see anything posted onto my card by tomorrow I will be emailing her again!

On a good note I did find out that Western Career College does free ultrasounds to help train their students (Thanks for the info Stephanie!) I have an appointment tomorrow at 11am and I am really excited about it! They do a 45 min Ultrasound with Sex determination and I heard even 3d. They also put it onto a VCR tape if you bring one! I will be getting pictures as well, so I will post an update tomorrow! WE might know the sex of our baby!!

22 weeks

Well there is not much to report! We still do not know the sex of the baby and I have not been able to fully convince Lloyd into the 3d ultrasound. My next appoint is on Feb. 5th with my regular doctor unless I can get in with a new doctor before then. I will be calling today to see if this will be possible. I found a women doctor and I think I will like her a lot better. She also delivers at Sutter Roseville which is something I have been looking into. That hospital has a brand new NICU and the labor and delivery rooms are more like hotel suites then hospital rooms. As for symptoms, I have been having really bad leg and foot cramps. My legs are very sore from this and it is getting hard to sleep at night. I am getting a body pillow this weekend so hopefully that will help. I can feel a lot of movement now which is good because before I was not feeling much and was starting to get worried. The movements are a lot more suttle then I remember with my last pregnancy, but every once in a while I will feel a good one! I have had two dreams about the baby; one was a dream of an ultrasound and the baby was obviously a boy. The next dream I saw the baby after it was born and it was a girl. I am sticking with my original gut feeling and that is it is a girl. If I am wrong then so be it, but that is what I think and feel. That is it for now. I will post more belly shots soon and update on my doctor situation as soon as I get it resolved.

Slideshow to Go with State Capitol/Park of Dreams Blog