FML

First day back to work, I made it until lunch before crying. I called home to see how everything was going and I heard his little grunt in the background. That was all it took. I miss my little dude so much.
I have also felt sick today. My stomach is wrecked and frequent trips to the bathroom have really taken a toll on me today. Hopefully I will be able to take a nap, with Asher, when I get home. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
Ugh!!

Asher-1-3 weeks

Asher made his first trip to the pumpkin patch. He slept the whole time, but Craig and I enjoyed it. He also got his first bath-he's not a fan. He loves going for walks in the Jeep stroller, but not when I try to take Remy too, she's too fast, he just likes to cruise.

Asher Allen

Our little boy is here, yay! Asher Allen was born 2:56 pm on October 9, 2010. He was 7lb13oz and 21.1 inches long. He has his daddy's cleft chin, and everyone says he's got my eyes. :) Christi and Craig were my labor coaches and were my saviors during the 15 hours I was in labor. Here are a few pics for family and friends to enjoy. He is 13 days old today and weighs 7lb7oz working his way back up to birth weight. He is a little confused with days and nights but I don't mind too much. He makes the cutest little noises and when he's hungry he pants instead of cries. He is such a good baby and Craig and I are so blessed.

Hospital Visit Number 1

This is my apology to all pregnant people who have gone to the hospital early. I have judged you many times. Last night, I became one of you. I had been having contractions all throughout dinner and into bedtime. I woke up at 2:30 with really bad heartburn and realized, hey, I'm having contractions. I layed there on my side for about 20 minutes and then finally thought, huh, maybe I should time these, they're pretty frequent. So at 3:09 I wrote down my first note, and while sitting in the recliner I wrote down about 5 more. I decided to try pacing the house, hearing a change in activity would make braxton hick's subside. However, this made them come closer together. They were not painful, just a squeezing sensation. I woke up Craig at 4 and said I was going to take a shower to see if it helped, and if not we should call the doctor. He was back to sleep in 30 seconds. ha! A half hour shower did not make them stop. I laid back in bed thinking I would wait until 5 to call the doctor. Well, 5 came, and I was still contracting, so I called and she told me to go to the hospital. I cried. Because I did not want to be the 1st time mom who went in to the hospital for nothing, and because I was a little nervous he might be coming a little too early. Craig and I found out shortly there after that we were not at all prepared. He threw the car seat in after realizing he didn't know how to strap it down :) and our bag was only half packed. We got to the hospital about 6, still contracting. The nurse hooked me up to view the contractions. They were coming, but very weak. SHe checked me and said I was dialated 0-1 and 40% effaced. She then said, "I didn't feel the baby's butt hole." Her exact words, and they threw me off guard a little. What kind of nurse says butt hole? She had me do a urine test, which she questioned, because it was nearly clear. She told me a story of a druggy mom who tried to use toilet water. I assured her it was in fact "my urine." Then when she hooked me back up to the monitor it wasn't registering my contractions at all, and she didn't notice. So, I lay there for about 15 minutes feeling them, with no record of them. I finally had to ask Craig to go ask her if she was done with the test, which she was not and she apologized for not noticing it. About 5 minutes later, I experienced what I thought was a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I had three painful contractions and told Craig to go get her again. Turns out, those hurt because I had to pee. Nice. She sent us home after that and said I was fine and to come back if the contractions get stronger. I am still having contractions, but they are just the same old tightening sensation. There are so many what if's in my head right now. What if I go into early labor this week, what if I just have these silly contractions for 3 more weeks and nothing, what if that lady was a nimrod and missed something important with my little dude in there probably still breech? Thank goodness I have an appointment with my Doctor on Tuesday. For now, I'm gonna putz around getting some things ready and resting. Just a side note, the heartburn has been consistent since last night.

26 days!

My week of evals are over at school now. Thank goodness! Talk about stress. Plus it was my week for lounge duty, meaning I had to take in goodies to the lounge for all the teachers this week. I did muffins and juice on Tuesday. Donuts, bags of chips with dip, and sweet tea on Thursday, and then Friday I kind of skimped and only took in one box of frozen cream puffs. Thursday was also Grandparent night, which meant I had to stay at school working on lesson plans until 6 and then entertain grandparents of 21 kids for another hour. They were all very sweet, but can't we just have one day a year and call it open house like back in the day. We already had parent night, now grandparent night, then in a few weeks parent teacher conferences. I'm tired, people, and want to go home at a decent hour. :) Little boy Hendry is getting bigger by the minute. He should be about 6 lbs now. I thought he moved for me as my tummy looked sloped and there was a lot of pressure on my "lower parts" but I'm not sure. I have been having quite a few braxton hicks contractions, the last two days I didn't think they would stop. They are not close enough to time though. I did, however, freak Craig out a couple of times. We went to the movies last night and I must have had three or four contractions while watching the movie. I had Craig feel my stomach each time. He would look at me with these big eyes and say "are you ok, does it hurt, do we need to go to the hospital?" Hahaha! I can't wait for the big day when I say yep and he loses all cool. :) We go TUesday for our BIG appointment. Ultrasound and doc appt. to see if he is head down. If not, I will be having a c-section in about 3 weeks. I think he'll do it though. He's gonna be a momma's boy and wants to start pleasing early. (fingers crossed)
My super successful hubby applied and recieved a promotion at work. He is now the technical, mechanical, tool crib, and some other department MANAGER. He is over 42 people and got his own phone, laptop, raise, 3 weeks vacay, and a bonus package. Wahoo! I am nervous for him though, because it will be a lot more work and stress than I think he is used to, but, if I know him well enough-he will succeed with flying colors and make it look easy!

35 week appt

I have my 35 week appointment tomorrow. That means only 5 more weeks and I will be having a baby. Whoa! The doctor is still going by Oct. 12th though, so I might have 6 weeks. Either way, it's just right around the corner. I am so tired and can't seem to keep any energy. I feel like a lazy butt at school because I sit so much. My symptoms are still heartburn, sore back, sore ankles, tiredness, and now I feel like my stomach is stretched to the max. I keep thinking it's what I'm eating, but seriously-when this kiddo moves I can see everything (and feel everything). It hurts a little when he moves certain ways.
We went to Roy and Lauren's wedding reception this past Saturday. Craig was the best man and had to give a speech which he was nervous about. It was a lot of fun and I got to visit with some girlfriends. Sandy goes in to be induced tomorrow. I wonder how she will sleep tonight. I'd be a nervous wreck!!
We are still waiting to hear back about the house in Sullivan. The bank was waiting on some paperwork from the sellers last we heard. The realtor said he had no clue when we would hear something but that he'd keep us posted. I in the meantime perused the internet and found another house I'm interested in. Craig, however, has no interest in checking it out. For some reason he has his heart set on this one. blah!
We found a sitter. She has got to be in her 70's but she'll do for now.

32 weeks along, 54 more days!

Well, I think this is what is called the homestretch. I've got 54 more days to go. I feel the need to organize everything, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, closets, dresser drawers. How much of that I'll actually get done is unknown. I went through some of the kitchen cabinets a few weeks ago-exhausting! I went out and watered the plants two nights ago and got eaten alive by mosquitos. I've never been so itchy, and then it poured rain last night. Figures. I've been working in my classroom trying to get posters up and centers planned. I don't have too much more to do. I keep thinking about 8 weeks from now and what my plans will look like for the sub. I have a feeling the first few weeks of school will just zoom by. I have a boy in my class named Gambit. Craig vetoed that name before I could even suggest it. ha! I did ask him about Maverick though, and he said as serious as can be, "Our son is not a character from top gun Nichole." I always crack up when he uses my name. That's when I know he means business.
Last night little Hendry was stretching out big time. We were laying in bed and every five minutes or so I would go, "ahh, ouch." Craig has no idea what it feels like to have something stretch you from side to side. He did get to feel one of them though and said, "oh my gosh." My response was yeah, and that was about half of what he has been doing. I still think it's cool to watch my belly move around, except, I keep having little panick attacks that he is squished in there. How can people have claustrophobia when for the first 9 months of their life they are squished like this. Poor baby. Not long and you can stretch to your heart content. For now, go easy on me kid!!
I've got some videos to post, once I figure out how.

31 weeks

Thirty-one weeks equals sixty-four more days until Baby Hendry's due date. We leave for Jamaica on Saturday and will return on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to relaxing days by the beach, and if it's too hot, then relaxing days in the air conditioned restaurants. ha! I can't wait to see Roy and Lauren tie the knot. wahoo!
Dudee put the stoller together the night I brought it home from the baby shower. He was pretty excited and has already showed it off to a couple of friends. I can't wait to see him holding his little boy. He will look so teeny-tiny in his Daddy's arms. Not long to wait now and I will get to see this little miracle.

Visiting the Fam

Mom and LaDonna were here for 4 days and then I went to Cali for 6 days. It was nice to see everyone and celebrate mine and then LaDonna's baby shower. We are so lucky to be going throught this together. While I enjoyed my visit, I am so happy to be home, with my Dude and our pets in our quiet home. I started to go through baby stuff yesterday thinking I would organize more and pack my diaper bag for the hospital. I worked for about an hour and then gave up. I'm still missing some things, and there is really no place to put the stuff right now, so why do things twice right. Here are a few pics from the showers.

78 days? Hyperventilation

I just saw I only have 78 more days until my due date. I might have started to hyperventilate a little. But then I thought about how darn cute he is going to be and slowed my breathing a little bit. I feel more connected with him lately, and love to rub my belly hoping he can feel me. I'm still not singing to him, and haven't read to him. Funny story though-I was reading The Notebook the other day and thought, heck, I'll read out loud so he can hear me. DOn't you know it was the chapter with the steamy sex scene. About two sentences in and my voice kept getting quiter, until finally I thought, "I really don't think this is appropriate to be reading aloud to my son." Part of me thought, ah, what could it hurt, if anything he will be more romantic when he grows up, and the other part thought, he doesn't need to know those thoughts until he's at least 25.
Mom and LaDonna come tomorrow and stay until Tuesday. It will be so nice to have people here to talk to during the day. Can't wait for the company.

What the heck

What is it with me and doctor's offices? I had my appointment yesterday "28" weeks, and everything went well. All is good with baby Hendry. I told the doc that I have symptoms of a UTI, which they had treated me for last time, so she wanted to send my urine to the lab to be tested. Well, they called me this morning to come in and give another sample because they threw it out before they could send it. Right, like I'm gonna drive 45 minutes just to pee in a cup and then come home. :) Luckily, I ran up to Shelbyville Hospital and did it there.
So far, we have one wall painted in the baby's room, the next three should be done before night's end. Can't wait to post pics.
Feeling a little bummed that I don't remember too much of my childhood. Favorite book, who knows. Favorite cartoon, who knows. Favorite foods, I have no idea. I guess that's what family stories are for. Might have to pick mom's brain later.

Ah! 86 Days

It is coming up so fast I can hardly believe it. I will start going to the doc every two weeks soon. Then Soon after that I will go once a week. When i hit the once a weeks I will probably freak out a little. We had our birthing class last weekend and it was pretty fun. Pete and sandy went too so it made it go by really fast. It was a great bonding experience for Dude and me. Funny thing happened last night. We were laying in bed and of course I had my hand on my belly. The little guy kicked out so hard on my side that it scared me and I jumped. I had Craig put the light on my stomach and sure enough, he kicked out again and Craig said, "oh, woa, wow, did that hurt?" haha. I can't wait until he starts doing that to my ribs!! I'm trying to get a video of him moving, but he is stubborn just like his daddy and when I turn on the camera he stops.

4th of July

Craig and I decided to hit the boat for the holiday weekend. We met up with our good friends Jared and Jamie Nixon and drove to St. Louis. We stayed at the Westport Sheraton, which was pretty nice. The actually rooms were just okay but it was located in a little shopping center with a few restaurants, a coldstone creamery (yum), a dance club, a comedy place, and lots more. I like places like that. We went to the Ameristar casino and gambled for a little while and then Jared headed off for his nursing test, which he passed. yay! I first won $60 on a Monopoly slot machine. Craid won a bunch on roulette. I then won $300 on a 5 cent wizard of oz slot machine, wahoo! When Jared got back we went to Harrah's to eat dinner and gamble some more. We ate dinner at this Italian joint in the casino, which I hear is also on The Hill in St. Louis. I had veal parmigian with a side of pasta. My meal was $30,yikes! It was a very nice atmosphere, the waitress kept organizing my silverware, and I kept unorganizing it just to see if she would come back and organize it again, sure enough, she did. haha! Dinner was pricey, but worth the experience. After dinner we gambled some more, I learned to play 3 card poker, so fun, and let it ride. I did not like, nor get this game. Craig won a couple hundred on 3 card poker, and I lost $100. OUch! All together we brought home twice what we took. I call that success. Last night Craig and I went to see Eclipse, it was ok. I still liked the first movie best. We walked up to the park to watch the fireworks and got bit up a little from mosquitos. We had pretty perfect seats though. I don't think baby Hendry liked the noise, because when we got home and laid down for bed he was in a weird position and then didn't stop moving for about 30-40 minutes. It was the first time I felt him at the top of my belly. When I felt my stomach it was a hard roll at the top, like a leg or arm or something. Craig and I felt and watched him for a while, but then he burried himself back down by my bladder (his usual spot). We watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and then finally around 1 went to sleep. Very fun, very busy weekend. Have our ultrasound tomorrow, yay!

New Doctor

Had my first appointment with my new doctor. Dr. Anderson is awesome! I got pricked three times thought because they had a temp. nurse and she couldn't hit my vein to get blood. I took my glucose test too. My first sip I said, "Hey, that's not bad, kinda tastes like orange soda." But by the end of the cup my eyes were watering and I had to choke it down. Yuck! I've only gained two lbs in the last month, which I think is pretty good. Next month I probably won't be so lucky. The best news of the day, other than hearing little dude's heartbeat, was that she cleared me for Jamaica. All she said was, drink plenty of fluids so you don't get dehydrated. She wasn't worried that I'd deliver early or have problems or anything. Very reassuring and very exciting. Woohoo! So, St. Louis for the 4th, my shower, Cali trip for LaDonna's shower, then Jamaica, then school starts. SUmmer is going to be over before I know it, but lots of fun times waiting to be had.

Almost freak-out!

So, I purchased baby furniture about a month ago and we recieved 3 pieces of it so far. The mattress, the conversion rails, and the hutch are here, in our living room. The crib is supposed to be back-ordered until Sept.1st. So, I looked online to check our order and saw only the words "crib" left in the que. I called JC Penneys and the lady said oh yes, there is no order for a dresser or a changer. I asked her if I ordered it today could I use the original discount since it was just an oversite. The answer was no. So, I said, let me think about this. After a bit I called back and said, ok, can I get free shipping or just have it shipped with the crib. This time the lady said, well, we can cancel your crib order and redo it but it might put the delivery date even further back. So again, I said, let me think about this. I got back on the website to check my order again wondering how in the world I could forget to order the dresser and changer, they are two of the most important parts. In the meantime I had to text Craig to tell him what I did. Not a happy camper there!! I finally typed in the item number to see why it was costing me $700 for a crib that cost $300. Ah,ha! It was a set of three pieces, but just listed as "crib" in the invoice. So I called penneys back again and made sure I was really seeing this right. This time she said, oh yes, that is a room package and all three pieces will be sent at the same time. So I hadn't forgotten to order it and the first two ladies I spoke with were morons. Good thing I didn't just purchase them again, or we would have two of everything and had paid twice for shipping. Awesome customer service strikes again! So glad I don't have to have this conversation with Craig later. Whew! We still have to wait until Sept. for the crib, dresser, and changer though. Since we don't have a room to put it in yet, I can't complain too much.
By the way. Tomorrow is the 100th day until my due date. I remember the last one hundred days before the wedding. They went rediculously fast and left little time for error. I sure hope we have a room for him, otherwise ours will be getting a little cramped.

Distortion

Being 25 weeks pregnant I get to experience a lot of new things. For one, I can belch like a sailor now, not that I try, sometimes it just slips out. Also, I see my stomach take all kinds of shapes. Last night we were laying in bed watching a movie, and I was laying on my side. I felt movement in my stomach so I felt it and, oh my, the left side was protruding out about two inches. I told Craig to put his hand there, and he said, "wow, it's hard." Pretty sure that was a butt. :) Little dude has been exploring all regions of my stomach and making his presence well known. I love to watch my stomach move around. A couple of times I have made myself queezy though because I will put my hand on my stomach and I can feel him, it kinda creeps me out.
I went to my friend Amber's baby shower yesterday and visited with friends and got to see her little boy for the first time. Jacob is about one month old. He is about 7 lbs and I can't help but wonder how something that size will fit in my stomach. I read online that little dude should be over 2 lbs now and 13 1/2 inches long. WHAT!!! Like I said, it creeps me out. I think I'm on the decline in the pregnancy as far as energy and stamina. Lately I get tired pretty easy. Hard to believe I only have about 14 weeks to go and then I will be a mom with a baby!
We are still waiting to hear about the house. And, we are waiting for the rest of our baby furniture to come in. They said the crib won't be in until Sept. but I really hope the dresser comes in soon. I can't wait to see it.

House Hunters

We are in the process of filing for a short sale on a house in Sullivan. The owners haven't been paying their mortgage, hence the short sale. It's a huge, 3800sq ft ranch style home with a walk out finished basement. There are three bedrooms upstairs and plenty of room downstairs if we wanted to make a 4th in the future. It is in a quiet subdivision in the country and our backyard opens up to trees that hide the lake. The realtor said that in the winter when the trees are bare you can see the water, it's only like a football field away from our house (I think). Craig is so excited that he looks at the pictures of it online everyday. I have already measured some windows and thought about what curtains to hang, so I guess I'm pretty excited too. We both really hope the short sale goes fast, but if not and we get it for what we want to pay we will be just elated. Wish us luck.

My friend Braxton

Well, Mr. baby Hendry is making himself well known. I feel kicks, jabs, flip turns, and today for the first time I felt a contraction. At least, that's what I think it is. My belly will get really hard, especially down by my pelvis, then after a few seconds, go away. I have felt it probably 5 or 6 times today. I read that sometimes they are more frequent when you are dehydrated, and since I've been in the sun alot lately, and super hot sitting in our non-a/c'd house that's probably the case. I bought a 1 liter water today and chugged, and will probably try to drink at least 4 of those a day from now on. Gotta keep myself healthy for the Jamaica trip. :) Took a pic of myself tonight and for the first time went, "eew!" My belly is definitely protruding now, and I just can't imagine what I will look like in 3 more months. Yikes!!

Nursery Pick!!

We have been pretty busy lately. Looking at a house and trying to decide if we can afford it, picking out nursery items, I subbed twice this week for summer school and coached everyday. I'm also in the process of switching doctors. I say in the process because, today I called to see about these headaches I've been having and I was told that since my medical records are in the mail I need to wait to call back on Monday. So, I just wait.
We did pick our nursery set, it's so cute and we love it. I can't wait to see which house we will be setting everything up in. Right now, I'm kind of hoping the other house. Let's just hope they will take our offer.

Nursery Gallore

Here are a few more of my favorite nursery ideas. My all-time favorite is the blue stripped, it's called daniel by bananafish. I think it's very boyish and clean looking. Plus, it lacks the cutesy wutesy animals that I'm dreading. I personally have decided on a name. Today, I'm positive. Craig is not so positive. I'm the mom right, so I get to choose. haha!
I'm feeling good despite the heat, pitched a game of softball at school today, and decided later that it wasn't a great idea. Went back inside to sit in the refreshing ac at school. Dude hooked our window unit up in the bedroom, and I slept like a baby last night. This morning it was like the arctic in there, ha!
I think I'm finally gaining some weight. On my scale I was 125 last night. I will find out tomorrow if that's accurate-if so I would have gained 8 lbs in like 3 weeks.
No school for me tomorrow. Then I only have two more days then it's SuMmEr TiMe!!!

A new shape

I am 18 weeks and three days now. I think my belly is taking a different shape. I guess our little boy is spreading out now that we know what he is. Craig said he thinks I need to eat more, I think he wants our boy to be a line backer, so I started snacking, which is not something I normally do. It actually takes effort for me to do this, but I gained a pound in the last week. So I have gained a total of 2 lbs now. Crazy!
We are really worried that we won't finish the upstairs before our little boy gets here. Even with Craig working on the house everyday there is just so much to do. I keep saying, "can't we just put carpet in and finish the rest later?" But apparently you can't.

Gender Bender

Craig and I were sure that we were having a girl. Today we had our ultrasound and found out otherwise. The little baby definitely had a little something there. He was all sprawled out with legs outstretched. We saw his little spine and a great shot of his feet. The tech took 3-D pics of him, which made me bawl. The pictures are so clear that we could see his little button nose, chin, eyelids, elbows, pretty much everything. I don't think we saw the ears though come to think of it. When the tech went to take pics of his nether region he balled up and crossed his legs. Modest little boy, mama is so proud of you already and all you are doing is growing. Craig's face was amazing today, he is so happy! What a magical day, one that I will most likely never forget.

Nursery ideas

I have been looking up nursery inspiration to get ready for my appointment on Thursday. After this weekend I will be working full steam to put my first nursery together. I am determined that this will be the most effort I have put into anything in my life. I thought I wanted lamb stuff, now I'm kind of on a bird kick. I think I would like to go with something sort of sophisticated-nothing frufruey or gay if you will. I know our furniture will be dark wood, but here are a few of my favorite's so far. I love the circles in the corner of the room. I love the chair rails, and I am digging the stick on flowers or tree decals. I am searching for a stuffed chair that may or may not rock, but am over the idea of a "traditional" glider. Also, I'm looking for a sweet chandelier or hanging lamp.