Breastfeeding Frustration

Greer is right--breastfeeding is hard, painful and frustrating! My little one is a night owl and I am a morning person, which is not making things any easier. She sleeps all morning and then wants to eat constantly from about 3 in the afternoon until midnight, which is really hard on my poor breasts. To top it off, she gets so excited at the sight of my breast that the first few seconds after she latches on are pure agony. She is so tired from fighting sleep by the time we get to the 11pm feeding that she falls asleep within 5 minutes of latching on. So she doesn't end up eating much and 5 minutes after I get my bra and shirt situated again, she wants to eat again. Last night I finally decided I was tired of being treated like a snack bar and went against the pediatrician's advice to wait 4 weeks before introducing a bottle. Since she is so tired by the 11pm feeding, I gave her a bottle of pumped breast milk at that feeding thinking that since a bottle does not take as much effort for the baby as nursing, she might be able to stay awake long enough to get a good meal so that she would go to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time overnight. So far, so good...she slept much better last night. In fact, the two overnight feedings were only 15 minutes each and she slept like a lamb in between. She was a little offended at the introduction of the bottle and gave me the most horrible look at first, but then she took it fine and has not had trouble nursing today during the day. So...for the two of you that have not had your babies yet, don't be too worried if you have to give a bottle before the recommended 4 weeks (if you are planning to breastfeed), and don't be afraid to go against the pediatrician's advice every once in a while. You know better than they do what is best for your baby!

--Amanda

Things are happening!

I went to the doctor yesterday (Monday) and had my first internal appointment! I also got tested for Group B Strep. I was a little nervous about my appointment but it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought. Turns out I am 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated! Our midwife said that I am right on track if not a little ahead of schedule!!!!! It's so exciting to know that things are happening!!!

I now start my once-a-week appointments so I'll go back next Monday. I'll let you know if there is anything further to report!!!!

-Emily <><

Total Fluke!!

Adam and I had our follow up appointment with the doctor about my crazy blood pressure and all is right with the world!! It honestly was just a crazy fluke day. My pee test was a huge success and shows that I am no where near having pre-eclampsia, plus my blood pressure was right back to normal today. Maybe its the overachiever in me, but I love passing tests! I've included a picture of the pee jug, since people I've talked to are strangely curious about it. Moving right along with a little over 9 weeks to go! Merry Christmas everyone! ~ Andrea

I take it all back!

In my last post, I grounded Isaac and implied that he was wearing out his welcome in my tummy. This morning, I'm taking that all back! I had an appointment with my ob this morning, and other than having to drink the sugar drink and check for gestational diabetes, I thought it was going to be very routine, just like the rest of my pregnancy has been. I hop up on the table (still happy that I can hop up pretty easily,) and get my arm ready for the blood pressure machine. I've never had issues before and I used to always think it was interesting to see the numbers magically appear. I'm waiting and talking to my nurse about Christmas shopping when up the numbers come... 150/102 !!!! I'm in shock! My nurse immediately tells me to lay on my left side and while she is trying to convince me that it's just a little high, my plethora of books on pregnancy has scared me into thinking otherwise. She tells me to just wait a minute or two and they'll recheck. When they did recheck, it went down to 99/68. That definitely made me feel a little better, but I was definitely getting the feeling something was up. When my ob came in he started going over what I knew was a possibility - preeclampsia. He said they did find a small amount of protein in my urine, and coupled with the wacko blood pressure reading, he was getting concerned that I might be showing some early signs of the condition. So, basically, I have to pee in a jug for the next 24 hours and they'll test it to get a better idea of where I'm at. What does this all really mean ~ well, hopefully, nothing, but if you know me at all you know I immediately came home and started preparing for the worst. That means bed rest until Isaac truly is ready to come out, blood pressure monitoring, and maybe some extra help to get Isaac's lungs and organs really ready (this will only be in extreme cases.) I'm pretty freaked, as this is not something I was expecting at all, and hopefully, I'm worrying for nothing. I just want to take back everything I said about wanting him early. I'll keep him in there as long as he's willing to stay at this point! I'm 29 weeks right now, and measuring 30, so holding off until February is where we're really trying to get. I'll keep you posted! ~Andrea

from my experience...

Here are some things I have learned/loved/used in the past 5 (!!!) weeks with Laine.

1. I had to use my pump for a few days after my milk came in because she was unable to latch on correctly. It was a huge lifesaver and kept us from having to resort to formula (and kept me from feeling like I was going to explode!). I have just now started pumping once every day (in the morning after I feed her since that it when you produce the most milk) and storing what I pump for future use... mainly when I go back to work, but also for over the holidays and any other time when it might be more convenient to have a bottle on hand. I have the Medela Pump In Style double electric pump, which is awesome but very expensive. I was lucky enough to have a cousin give me hers so all I had to buy was new tubing. I use the Medela bottles that go with their pumps, which aren't too fancy but seem to work fine.

2. Pampers seems to have the best diapers and wipes, especially if you buy in bulk. They also have a good rewards program where you enter the points you earn from cartons on diapers or wipes and then earn rewards (kind of like Coke Rewards). I especially like their thick sensitive wipes... they are nice and thick and soft and smell good.

3. The SwaddleMe blankets are nifty, but we usually just wrap her in a normal blanket even though we have a few of them so unless you get them as gifts I'd say save your money.

4. A friend of my gave me a wrap from Lovey Duds that you use to "wear your baby". At first I was a little iffy about actually using it, but then Joe accidentally took the stroller in the car and I had to run an errand so I watched the instructional DVD (yes, it is that complicated at first) and figured out how to get her in there and she LOVED it. It keeps them nice and cozy and you have both hands free. I highly recommend it.

5. We had lofty ideals about pacifier use, but then when we sent her to the nursery they gave her one anyway. At first we were a little annoyed about it, but once we got her home we realized that denying her a pacifier was not a battle we wanted to fight. Fortunately, she has a very strong suck and hasn't had problems breastfeeding so it has not been a conflict for us and our pediatrician recommended giving her the pacifier if it worked to calm her down. Even the lactation consultant said they were fine if the baby wanted one and still breastfed successfully. The brand that seems to stay in their mouths the best are the good old "Nuk" ones, but even with those you will feel like you spend most of your life replacing pacifiers. Joe refers to them as our "best friend and worst enemy".

6. A bouncy seat or swing is essential in my opinion, as well as a Boppy or some other kind of nursing pillow. Those are probably the two things I have used the most. Also, MYLICON! They are easy to give infant gas relief drops and our pediatrician said that even if they somehow ingested the whole bottle it wouldn't do anything to hurt them. It doesn't always work, but it often does and is totally worthwhile. Another handy item is the "Ultimate Crib Sheet". It snaps on over a regular sheet for easier changing if the baby spits up or has an accident or whatever during the night. It is soft on the top layer but water resistant on the bottom so nothing will soak through.

Hope that helps! Here is Laine on her way to meet Santa a week or so ago...

She was very excited about it, obviously.

-- Greer

practicalities

Hello ladies!

I tell you what, I'm still hoping for a 2010 baby but I don't necessarily feel the need anymore for her to wait until 1/15! Andrea's mother thinks I'm going to have a 'binary baby' (computer programming lingo) and I really think I'd love to have either an 01/01/10 baby or an 01/10/10 baby. I have my first internal appointment on next Monday so we'll see if little girl is starting to make any progress or not yet. She's head down so that's a good sign but we'll just have to wait and see about the rest! I do hope to push for about 7 minutes like Amanda, when the time comes!

So, now that more than half of us are mothers (!!!!!) I thought we might be able to share some practical advice. Who has used a pump and do you like the one you have? If you have used bottles, what brand and do you like them? When/if you have introduced a pacifier? Your favorite brand of diapers or wipes. All that kind of fun stuff. If there are products that you absolutely hate or love, I'd love to hear about them!

Moms, make sure you keep posting pictures cause I'd love to see how your babies grow!!! Maybe we should try to make sure that we at least post a picture of our child once a month, if that isn't too much.

-Emily <><

Does it ever really sink in?

My amniotic fluid was still very low when I went to the doctor last week, so we decided it would be best to deliver the baby early since I was already 38 weeks and considered "full term". I went into the hospital Tuesday afternoon and they gave me Cervadil that night to help ripen the cervix before inducing labor. That was actually probably the worst part of the whole labor process. I was extremely uncomfortable all night because they had me hooked up to the monitors the whole night. Then I started having this really bad back pain in the middle of the night that I thought was just really bad gas, but the nurses told me it was actually contractions. Apparently Cervadil sometimes starts labor even though it is not supposed to. I made it through the night (without a lot of sleep) and they gave me pitocin around 8am on Wednesday morning. I was having contractions similar to the ones I had the night before, enough to make me uncomfortable, but not really too terribly painful. Then, around 10:30am my doctor came in to check on me and I was 3cm dialated, so she broke my water. That was when the real pain started. I was having back labor--no pain whatsoever in my abdomen but my back felt like it was going to explode. I decided I had no desire to suffer through that for who knew how many hours, so I got an epidural, and within minutes I was pain free. Tom and I relaxed, listened to music and talked. By 1pm when my doctor came to check on me, I was 5cm, and by 2pm, I was 10cm and it was time to push. Little Hadley was born at 2:07.

Being a mother is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced, but it is also still so incredibly surreal. I just love her more and more every day--despite the lack of sleep I am getting. She was the perfect baby in the hospital, but she screamed from 6:30pm to 4:30am the first two nights we were home. Last night we actually got to sleep at about 1:30, so it wasn't quite as bad. I think part of the problem the first two nights was that she was starting to get a big appetite, but my milk had not come in yet. Luckily, it came in yesterday so things are going a little bit better. Well, I was number 3, so there are only two more of us to go! Best of luck to you both!

Isaac is SOOO grounded

You read the title right. My little sumo wrestler is grounded until he can learn to treat his mother a little nicer. I know that Emily can still identify with me on this. Isaac is seriously starting to wear out his welcome. Don't get me wrong. I want him to stay nice and cozy for about another 2 months, but we need to set up some ground rules. The first being, do not kick or press your monster head up against my rib cage. I spent about 2 hours last night (starting at 1AM) feeling my monster of a baby pressing up against my ribs. He wasn't kicking; that would have been better because at least there would have been still moments. Isaac would just cozy up and put pressure right under rib cage to point where I almost couldn't breath. I finally got him to move by taking a long hot shower with the water pointed directly at my tummy. Not fun, especially when I had to teach a singing lesson at 7:45 AM. This isn't the first time he's done this, and I'm sure it won't be the last. In fact, I'm pretty sure it will only get worse from here. Hopefully, we can come to some kind of truce where at least he doesn't do it while I'm trying to sleep or teach someone how to breath. I promise, I'll buy you a pony if you stop! ~ Andrea

It's a girl....

but we knew that already! Hadley Elizabeth Redick was born about 2pm. She is 5lbs 8oz. Baby and Mama are doing great! I'll let Amanda post with any more updates as she's feeling up to it!

3 down, 2 to go!!!

-Emily <><

5 1/2 weeks to go!

As for an update on me and my little girl....we went to the doctor yesterday and things are going well. Our midwife, Meredith, felt around and says that the babe is head down and getting comfortable. She said our little girl felt to be about 4-5 lbs and not to worry, I "shouldn't expect a 10lb baby". That was soooo reassuring cause Todd ways 9 lbs and I just kept envisioning this massive head trying to come out of me! Now I guess she could still be 9lbs but we're hoping for around 8 or so.

Anyway, I go back in 2 weeks for the Group B Strep test and have weekly appointments from that point on.

I'll keep you posted if anything news worthy comes about!
I can't believe after tomorrow there will only be 2 of us who are still pregnant!!!!!
Emily <><

Baby #3, sooner than expected!

Hello lovely ladies!

I wanted to give y'all an update on Amanda and her daughter. As she posted the other day, she had an appointment today to recheck her amniotic fluid level. Turns out fluid is even lower at this point. As I type, Amanda is checking into the hospital. They plan on giving her Cervadil tonight and then if things haven't moved along, she will start pitocin in the morning. The good news is that she's already 50% effaced and 1.5cm dilated.

I should get a text when the baby arrives and I will let y'all know, but I'll let Amanda share the name and details when she's feeling up to it!

Say your prayers!!!
Emily <><

Third Trimester Woes

First of all, congratulations to Melissa and Greer on their new babies! I haven't posted in a while, so I had not officially congratulated them yet. I'm so glad to hear both of your babies are healthy and that the mom's are doing well!

The first two trimesters of my pregnancy were really easy for me, but I have been having a bit of a hard time in the third trimester. My baby was breached during the first two trimesters, and she has now finally turned head down, but the process was agonizing for me! She was pressing on my spine and hips so much that I was having sciatica and hip pain. And let me tell you, that is no joke. I could not walk, sit, stand or sleep. I used to be on a swim team when I was younger, but I had not swam laps in about 9 or 10 years. I finally broke down and got a pass at a gym that had a pool and swam some laps just so I could tire myself out and get some sleep. And even then, I could not really kick my legs, so it was basically my arms doing all the work.

I finally started feeling better after about 3-4 weeks, and now the pain is completely gone, thank goodness! As soon as I started feeling better though, the nesting urge kicked into full gear. We have been working hard on the nursery and finally finished it last week, except for a ceiling mobile that is arriving in the mail next week.

Turns out it's a good thing we finished. Last time I went to the doctor they were a little concerned because my belly was measuring a little small. So I had to get an ultrasound this week. Our little girl is about 5 lbs. 15 oz. now, so the good news is that they are not very worried about her size since my husband and I are both relatively short and not very big people in general. The bad news is that my amniotic fluid was low, to the point that they want me to come back on Tuesday for an ultrasound and if it is still low they may induce on Wednesday. It would only be 2 weeks early at that point and I am full term now, so she would not be considered a premie. I've been getting so impatient to meet her, but when they told me it might be in less than a week, I got a little panicky! They've told me to drink lots of water and get lots of rest--I actually drank like 84 oz. of water on each of the past two days, plus juice, plus milk. And...I have also been living in the bathroom. Think I might just take my pillow in there tomorrow night so I don't have to get in and out of bed so much!

Anyway, I will keep you guys posted on what happens on Tuesday. If my fluids are back up, then we will just sit and wait so she can grow a little bit more. But if not, then we'll be a mommy and daddy a little sooner than we thought!

--Amanda

Immunizations

Let me preface this by saying, I trust doctors. I think they are incredibly well informed and really do want what is best for me and my soon to be little boy. That being said, I'm scared! It is hard to find a doctor (at least around here,) that isn't some crazy homeopathic quack to give you some kind of flexibility on the whole immunization schedule. I want a doctor who maybe doesn't want to stick my son 23 times before he is 5. Doesn't that seem like a lot? I've done my research, and yes, there are no reputable sources out there that say these immunizations will do any harm (I don't count Jim Carrey or Jenny McCarthy as reputable since, for most of their adult lives, fart humor is how they made a living,) but I don't think a little caution would hurt. I think Adam and I are set on the doctor we want to use. He comes very highly recommended by my OB and his wife (also an OB.) It's in a very small private practice that specializes in personal care, plus I could literally walk there in case of a true emergency. Their policy, however, is that they refuse to accept patients who don't allow them to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics' vaccine guidelines. I really do think I'm ok with this, but it doesn't mean I'm not a little nervous still. After doing some research into other offices, it seems like this is common practice unless I want some quack who doesn't believe in vaccines at all. Any guidance is of course welcome!!!
~ Andrea

Hospital Bag

As most of you have probably seen, on Facebook I asked people what they put in the bag they took to the hospital and what they wish they had taken. Now I know 2 of us don't have to worry about this anymore so they can weigh in on what they wish they had taken. If the rest of you have any other good ideas definitely respond!

Here is the list of everything people have suggested (I'm not necessarily taking all of this but wanted to share it all anyway):
Chapstick
Hairbands
Slippers
Your own pillow (1 person said bring as many as you can!)
Lanolin
Ipod with soothing music
Nursing tank top
Lansenoh
Boppy
Travel sized shampoo and soap
Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Suckers
Phone/charger
Camera/charger/batteries
my mommy said to bring my mommy! :-D
lots of people said snacks!
a craft project
DVDs
my husband's button down shirts (comfy and easy to nurse in)
blanket
exercise ball (my hospital has those)
oils and candles
socks
Always super long overnight pads
a few different outfits for baby because we don't know how big she'll be
going home outfits for baby
going home outfits for mom (pants big enough because I don't know how big I'll be!)
nightgown for after delivery

I'm going to do like my friend Ashley suggested and have my bag together now (I've already packed it!) but put a list with it now with everything that I will have to add last minute like camera and stuff

If anyone else has any suggestions, I'd love to hear it! We're all going to be moms before we know it!!!!

-Emily <><

breastfeeding 101

Let me preface this entry by saying that having a newborn is a wonderful experience. She changes in little ways every day and it is so fascinating to watch her slowly develop and grow and experience the world for the first time. Joe and I are so lucky that Laine has been a very laidback and easy baby for the most part... she sleeps solidly, she eats on a good schedule, she's not too fussy except when she has gas (and really, who can blame her for that?). I wouldn't trade the time I have with her for anything.

That being said, there is a huge glaring lie in the new-mommy world that I feel I must clear up for the sake of your sanity...

Breastfeeding is HARD.

I know it's supposed to be this natural, beautiful bonding experience for you and your new little one, but it has been almost 2 weeks and Laine and I are just finally getting the hang of it. At first, it hurt. A lot. Cracked, bleeding, stinging, you name it. Then that started to get a little better (thank you, lactation nurse at Athens Regional and lanolin cream) and WHAMMO my milk came in. And did it ever. I was so engorged Laine was unable to latch on properly (again) and we would both get to a point of frustration that it was just impossible to have a successful feeding. So I had to pump every feeding (usually after about half an hour of attempting to get her to latch) and give her my milk in a bottle. Which then made me nervous that she would never be able to latch on again because she would get used to the bottle. And engorgement? OW. I mean, I am grateful for an ample milk supply, but still... OW. (Warm washcloths or a heating pad applied right before a feeding help a lot.)

Joe thinks that they don't tell you how frustrating and painful and difficult it would be because then no one would do it. But I think it may actually have the opposite effect. Women start breastfeeding thinking that it is something they should be able to do easily and then when they can't for whatever reason, they give up. They think that they have failed or that something is wrong with them. But everyone I have talked to has shared stories of at least a few weeks of struggle... and that's on the good end of things with a good milk let-down and no mastitis or anything like that.

But here's the good news; eventually, you both do figure it out. Laine latches on within the first few minutes now and eats happily for about half an hour. It doesn't hurt and my breasts, while still rather large, are feeling almost back to normal. I highly recommend finding a support group or having the number of your hospital's lactation nurses handy (I think I called them a few times a day for a couple days, sometimes in tears, and they were always so encouraging and helpful). The groups at the 2 hospitals here in Athens were life-saving and probably kept me from throwing in the towel early.

So I'm not trying to scare any of you away from breastfeeding. The benefits SO far outweigh the struggles and there is nothing better for your baby, especially in their first few months of life. I just hope that you can enter into the experience a little more prepared than I was, with your armor on and your head high, knowing that even while it is a beautiful and natural and wonderful thing...

breastfeeding kinda sucks.*

*Pun totally intended. ;)

Crib Recall

Hello ladies! Long time no chat :-D

Not sure what kind of cribs that everyone has but I wanted to post about this recall just in case you, or someone you know, has a Stork Craft crib.

Crib Recall

Hope everyone is doing well. Can't wait to see pictures of our 2 newest members! :-D

-Emily <><

everything and nothing at all

My description of being a new mommy is about the same as my description of labor... it is both everything you expected, and nothing at all like you thought it would be. It is the hardest thing you've ever done and the most natural and simplest as well. The highs are crazy high and the lows are heartbreakingly low. You have to keep a sense of humor or you'll worry about everything.

As Emily filled you all in on, my doctor and I decided at my appointment Tuesday (was that really only a few days ago???) that it was time to give the baby a bit of a nudge in the right direction. I was still about 60% effaced but not at all dilated and the baby was sitting really low in my pelvis. Dr. Goggin felt that it wouldn't take much to get labor started and after some weighing of pros and cons I decided that I would go ahead into the hospital.

Joe and I arrived at the hospital at about 6:15 on Tuesday night. Since my appointment had been in the morning, I had a lot of time to make sure the house and our lives were in order. I made a million and one phone calls, cleaned the bathroom, checked and double checked our hospital bags, and tried to wrap my mind around what was happening. Once we were settled into our L&D room they started an IV for my antibiotics and put in the Cervadil at about 7:30. I felt fine until about 11pm when the Cervadil actually prompted some contractions. Even after being given an Ambien I was awake throughout the night, finally waking Joe up at about 4:30 to help me get through the pain. And on the note of labor pain... you can all handle it. Yes, it is intense, and yes it is definitely painful, but it really feels a lot like really bad menstrual cramping. Some contractions were worse than others, but I felt like it was definitely manageable. In fact, I was feeling good about going natural up until about 12 the next day. They had started me on Pitocin to regulate my contractions at about 7 in the morning but I still had not made any progress and I was exhausted. When Dr. Goggin checked me at noon, it was one of the most painful parts of the whole experience. My cervix had moved back instead of forward, so he essentially had to reach in and the pull it forward in order to check me. After all of that, he said I was still at only 2 cms and I decided that I would be too tired when it came time to push unless I could get some rest. So really it was the exhaustion that convinced me to get an epidural rather than the pain. Again, if you want to try natural, I encourage you to do it. You all can! After getting the epidural around 1, I napped off and on for a while and felt much better. At 4 they checked me again and I was at about 4cm and my cervix had returned to the correct position. Between 4:00 and 6:00, I went all the way to 9cm, and by 6:30 I was feeling ready to push. Even with the epidural I could feel a LOT of pressure. I started pushing at 7 (change of shift, sadly... we loved our day nurse Amanda!) and pushed with the nurse, my mom, and Joe for about 2 hours before Dr. Goggin came in. He told me that he was pretty sure the baby was "sunny side up", which is why I was so close but getting stuck. He asked me if I wanted an episiotomy, but I was adamant that I would make it through pushing on my own. He coached me through another extremely intense half hour of pushing (very hands on on his end, lots of yelling and encouragement and counting all around). Finally, at 9:22pm, Laine Ann helped her mommy out by corkscrewing herself around as she came out, saving me both from a lot of trauma "down below" and from any more pushing! Dr. Goggin confirmed that it was because she was facing the wrong way that the pushing (and labor in general) had taken such a long time. It also resulted in quite the lovely conehead for our poor little one. While I thought she was beautiful and pink and perfect, I was also very aware that her head was not so cute at first!

So far, Laine has been awesome. We've had some frustration with feeding, but we are both getting the hang of it and trying to get on a schedule. We really enjoyed our first night at home with her last night and are expecting basically a revolving door of visitors this afternoon, as well as the return of our 2 furry children this afternoon!

I can't wait to hear everyone else's labor stories soon and to share more with you all about my beautiful daughter (it's so crazy to be able to say I have a daughter!).

What a week I have had...with my new little man!

Hello ladies!

So let me tell you how is jinxed myself...
I was 37 weeks last Thursday, and I wrote on my facebook that I was excited that I was finally full term, and that this little guy could come any day. One of my friends wrote back and said "I hope he doesn't come tonight since ECU is playing VT". Of course I had to say "well if I go into labor, he will just have to wait until the game is over to come out and meet us...". Famous last words.

I came home from work and stopped by the grocery store. I picked up a 12 pack to surprise my husband so he could have some beer to watch the big game and I picked up some ice cream for myself. I made it all the way home feeling fine. I got in the house just as Joey was leaving for a run, and told him it was a pizza, beer and football kind of night. Kissed him good by and took my shoes off. About 5 minutes later I had to pee. So, I did my thing and stood up and I was like, well that has never happened before. I thought I wasn't done, which is common in pregnancy, but has never happened to me before. So anyways, I stood up again and it did it a little more after I pulled my pants up. Needless to say this happened several more times during the course of the evening. So I called my sister and said that either my water just broke or I just peed myself. Either way, I wasn't ready for either to be the case. I hadn't packed a bag, Joey is running, and if I call my mom, she would be there before I could get off the phone with the doctor.

So I laid down and waited for Joey to return. My sister said if I laid down for about 30 minutes and if I still had fluid coming out, it was my water. So Joey came home, and you should have seen the look on his face when I told him what was going on. So I called the doctor and she told me to relax, eat some dinner, take a shower and when I was ready to make my way to the hospital. So we did that, though I was too excited to eat much, and Joey was too anxious to sit still. The nursery wasn't quite ready and we needed to pack. Basically we were just too worked up. And since every time I moved I was seriously leaking we left for the the hospital just a couple of hours later. But I cannot stress how important it is to eat something before you leave. I went at least 36 hours without eating, and I was STARVING!

So I get to the hospital, and they confirm my water did break. I wasn't dilated or anything, but they admitted me and we started getting settled. I forgot to mention, I wasn't in any pain. My tummy was getting tight, but if my water had not broken, I would never had known it was time. They started me on poticin since I wasn't dilated at all and I was on the clock since my water broke. Painful contractions started about 2:30 Friday morning, and by the time 7 am rolled around I was more than ready for my epi. Unfortunately there was no progress. It took all day for me to get to 10 cm, in fact I was on poticin for about 24 hours before I was fully there.

Our parents were the only ones we wanted there while I labored, and Joey's parents started there drive from Greenville, NC early in the morning, and my mom struggled to stay at work Friday. But they all arrived around 5 pm. Around 8 something I was finally there. I never really felt the urge to push. But I tried for about 2 hours. The doctor said I could continue to push for about an hour longer, but he didn't think I was going to be able to have this baby vaginally. This little guy was just taking his time, and time was the one thing that his mommy didn't have on her side.

So at 10:30 I was prepped for a c section, and at 11:03 Andrew Smith Battle was born! He had such a little cry, but that was all that was little about him. He was 8 lbs and 20.5 inches long. I look down at my belly and do not know how he fit in there. I didn't actually get to see him very well until I went into recovery but once I did I knew he was the cutest little guy ever! I will have to go into more detail about all the stuff I have learned and what I wasn't prepared for, but I wanted to at least share my birthing story with you guys. He will be a week old tonight at 11:03 and cannot believe I have known him for so long already. Right now he is sitting in his swing enjoying some music debating on if it is time to wake up and eat.

Hope you are all doing well. And I hear congratulations is in order for Greer and her new addition! Until next time!

Mel

Baby #2!

Just wanted to let you know that Laine Ann Caldwell was born this evening, some time around 9:15pm. I don't have any specifics yet but wanted to let y'all know that she has arrived!

Update on Greer

Hello ladies,

I just received an update from Greer's husband, Joe. As you know, she was admitted into the hospital last night around 6pm. They started cervadil to help continue her effacement and her contractions started at midnight, which means she didn't get any sleep last night! This morning she had dialated some so they started pitocin at 7:30am. By noon she had made no further progress and the nurses informed her that she would probably be in labor til around 7pm. At this point she has been given an epidural and is finally getting some sleep. They are accepting visitors though so it seems that, even though I'm sure they are frustrated, their hopes are high. Keep saying prayers or sending thoughts and I'll let you know when a little baby appears!

-Emily <><

#2 on it's way!

Hello ladies,

I just wanted to let you know I saw pictures of Melissa's baby, Andrew, and he is beautiful. I don't know any specifics but he looked very healthy! I think baby and mom might have gone home this morning. Hopefully we'll hear from Melissa soon but I understand that writing on a blog is not her priority.

Also......baby #2 is on it's way! Greer is technically due on this coming Saturday but she and her doctor had a long discussion this morning and they decided to go ahead and try to get things moving. She was admitted to the hospital around 6pm. They are starting with trying to speed along effacement, and then will try breaking the water, and then if that doesn't work, Pitocin it is!

Luckily, during our baby class this evening we had our tour of the labor and delivery ward. I got to see Greer right after she was admitted!!! Once the baby comes I will let y'all know but hopefully we'll hear from her in the next couple of days with news of either pink or blue!!!!

I gave in!

Went to the doctor today for one of our every-other-week appointments. Always nice to hear the little girl's heartbeat! Anyway, I have been debating about getting the H1N1 vaccine for the past month or 2 but wasn't too worried about making a decision because we didn't have the vaccine in Athens yet. It seems we do now! I was offered the vaccine today and at first didn't know what I was going to do. Todd is strongly for it but I was still on the fence. I trust my midwife so much though, that when I asked her if she would get it if she was pregnant, and she immediately said yes, I knew that I would trust her on this as well. So I got the vaccine. I don't know if it was the right decision or not but as Todd pointed out, that's parenthood. Constantly second guessing the decisions that you make for the welfare of your children but just doing the best you can with the information you have.

-Emily <><

the first!

I know I should wait and let her be the one to tell everyone, but I'm just so excited! Melissa's water broke last night and she is officially in labor. I'm not sure if she's had her little boy or not so we'll all have to wait for that information but she will post on the blog as soon as she's had him and gets back on the computer. The first out of 5, it'll only be a domino effect from here on out!

-Emily

Crazy boy is messing with me!

I have had the craziest and most macabre pregnancy side affects over the past 2 weeks. It actually started pretty far back with some not so terrible bloody noses. No big deal, I can handle a couple of minor nose bleeds every week. This turned into having gushing scenes of blood everywhere. I'll wake up and look like I killed poor Adam sleeping next to me. My OB has assured me that its normal, and its just extra hormones coupled with the dry, cool weather, but it is so gross! What is my sweet baby boy doing to me?!? We're sticking with dark colored pillow cases for a while.

The next side affect was actually a little scarier. I've had a mole ever since I was born. It's never bothered me and I've never bothered it. Out of nowhere it starts to grow and bleed! Scary stuff when you consider the outlook after googling growing, bleeding mole. I made an appointment with a dermatologist (who just like my overworked OB,) said it was probably nothing, but they shaved it right off anyway and sent it in for a biopsy. Thank God everything came back normal, but it was scary to run through your head the different scenarios of what if it doesn't come back normal. Crazy preggo hormones are turning my body into an oozing egg just waiting to hatch the monster in side of me, (Mommy doesn't really mean that Isaac.) Needless to say, I no longer have my life long companion - the mole. It was all definitely worth my peace of mind to get it checked out. Hopefully, we'll have no more crazy symptoms, but I seriously doubt that this was the last of my frantic calls to the OB. Poor Dr. Meek!
~Andrea

I too got to do a dry run at Labor & Delivery last night. I got rear-ended by a really old lady driving way too fast way to late at night. I was actually on my way to dinner with Emily when it happened. Luckily everything was fine, and they didn't even make me stay the requisite 4 hours, so I was able to get home pretty fast. I think that makes 2 out of 5 for us that have been in fender-benders though--not really good odds.

Tom made fun of me when I bought my SUV because I insisted on getting the tow package, even though we don't actually own anything we can tow. It's just one of those things my parents always had on their cars, so I decided I needed it on mine. But it turns out the trailer hitch soaked up the impact, so my bumper wasn't even damaged. I just love when I'm right! :)

We also got to scope out a few of the items we would need to take with us that we wouldn't normally think about. For example, I still had on my high heels from work and had no socks. The thought of having to walk on the hospital floor barefoot just grossed me out--so I will be carrying socks everywhere I go for the next 7 weeks.

The baby really did not like those monitors though. She kept kicking right in the areas where they had the monitors on me. I am just so excited that I get to meet her soon--I have a feeling the next 7 weeks are going to drag by!

--Amanda

Fun with Pumpkins!

My family really gets into carving pumpkins, and my sister-in-law Dyane even organized a carving contest for us this year. Here's my entry, plus a picture of an adorable shirt I got this year. I'll only have so many chances to wear it, but it was worth it. ~Andrea

Round Ligament Pain

I don't know if you've all experienced it or not, but if you have, I'm sure you will agree that it SUCKS! I had a few pains in the beginning of my second trimester but it was infrequent enough that it didn't bother me too much. And then, as I got further into my second trimester it started happening every day, sometimes a few times a day! I tell you what, ouch!!!! Now that I'm into my third trimester it has subsided some, but definitely not completely. At my last doctor's appointment, I asked her if labor/contractions were anything like round ligament pain. She assured me that it was not, which for some reason gave me such relief. But she made sure that I new that that didn't mean labor was going to be pain-free, just a different kind of pain.

Hopefully the pain will continue back to infrequency. If you haven't experienced it yet, I would say hopefully you won't, but it does serve a purpose to ready our bodies for labor and delivery so I guess it's a good thing.

-Emily

swine flu

Somebody mentioned this in a comment and I was curious, who is getting the H1N1 shot and/or the flu shot? I am in my third trimester, with a month left to go and work at a university. I am in all the "must get one" categories, and have decided not to get one right now. Every time I see a doctor they are pushing one or both shots (even though we do not have the H1N1 vaccine yet) and the whole thing makes me nervous. It isn't so much that I think it is going to do permanent damage to me and my baby...but just all the unknowns out there and I am so close to actually having the baby. I have never gotten the flu shot before, and my mom, I just found out, is allergic to it. Then there is the whole other factor that just because I get the shot, doesn't necessarily mean that my baby gets the benefits. And then my mom (who works at an OB) said that if you get the regular flu shot, you should wait 4 weeks to get the H1N1 shot...there is just too much information and nothing seems to sound legitimate, and it all just seems like they are trying to scare you into getting the shot. So basically I am rambling, but this is all the stuff that is floating around in my head. So for right now, I am washing my hands ALL THE TIME, which isn't that difficult since I am pregnant and am always in the bathroom :) and using Purell constantly. If it gets really bad and there is an "outbreak" at work, then I will reconsider...what about everybody else?

Mel

expecting the unexpected

Last week I went in for my (now weekly) o/b appointment to have a routine screening for the Strep B virus. The appointment itself was nothing super exciting or nerve-wracking; just a simple swab of my nether-regions and a flu shot and I was sent on my way until the next week (tomorrow, actually, when I will get "checked" for the first time!). A few days later, I got a call from the doctor's office and was informed that my results came back positive for the virus. Now, I feel that I have stayed pretty well informed about my pregnancy as it's been happening, but I can honestly say I had no idea what it meant that I had this "vagina virus", as Emily and I decided it should be called. The woman who called assured me that my doctor would talk to me more about it at my next appointment, but that really all that needed to happen is that I would be on IV antibiotics throughout my labor, especially after any rupture of membranes.

Of course I was unsatisfied with such a small amount of information so decided to risk the scare-factor and do some online research. Turns out that about a third of women are carriers of the virus, which is only occasionally active and can lay dormant for long periods of time. With antibiotics during labor, there is only a 1 in 4000 chance that the baby will contract the virus, and even then only about 5% of those rare cases have any serious consequences. Even without antibiotics the chances are relatively small (I think it was about 1 in 300). While I had heard of the virus screening and knew I would have it done in the late third trimester, I had no idea that it was such a common occurrence. I wonder how many of us will turn out to be Strep B positive?

I was a bit disappointed at first to have to be hooked up to an IV, and of course worried about even the tiniest chance that I could get my little one sick, but my mom reminded me to look at this as a lesson. There will be plenty of things during labor, delivery, taking care of a newborn, and of course raising a child that will be unexpected or anxiety-inducing. Our job as new parents are to make the decisions that are best for our child and roll with the punches as they come. We might not always be prepared or have read the latest book or online article telling us exactly what will happen next, but we can start to trust our instincts and know that we are empowered to make choices that will shape the lives of a new human being! And while sometimes I'm sure that will be terrifying, it is also, for lack of a more articulate way of expressing it, really cool.

-Greer

Oh the joys of the 3rd trimester...

Well, I woke up Thursday morning with the worst leg cramp I have ever had in my life. It lasted at least a minute or two (which doesn't seem like long now but at the time seemed like an eternity). Not a great way to start off the day. After being doubled over in pain for several minutes, and then barely able to walk for a few days because my leg was so sore, Tom reminded me that this is just a leg cramp and I'm about to go through childbirth. I guess I'll be needing that epidural after all!!!

Also, I cannot seem to focus on ANYTHING these days. I'm normally a list person, but now I have to have like three different lists just to keep everything straight. I'm constantly starting something and then not finishing it because I get distracted by something else and totally forget what I was originally working on. I actually went to the grocery store recently with a list, carried the list all the way through the store, and then still forgot something that was on the list the whole time! I really hope this does not continue post-pregnancy.

--Amanda

Overwhelmed

Adam and I figured that now that we know we are having a little boy, it was time to register! I kept going over in my head what a fun day it would be. I was trigger happy 6 years ago for our wedding, and now I get to scan my little heart away with cute baby things. What could possibly go wrong!?! It wasn't that anything went wrong. It was just all so overwhelming! How many washcloths do we actually need? Will we go through that many sets of crib sheets? Do we go with the stroller system or a normal car seat? And baby proofing! I didn't even want to think about how many outlet covers we would need for this house. I ended up completely overwhelmed with sore feet and a feeling of inadequacy that poor Adam had to deal with the rest of the night (and into this morning.) I'm sure it will all work out, and luckily I have you all to bounce ideas off of. Let me know if there's anything you regret registering for, or that you wish you could go back and put on a few more items.

On a very happy note, our baby boy has a name! Isaac Bishop Coleman. He is a very active little man. Like clockwork he starts practicing his golf swing at 9:15 every morning. His favorite spot is with his feet right up at the top of my tummy. I'm sure that when he's bigger he'll be kicking my ribs to no end. It really is the coolest feeling though. I can't wait until Adam can feel it also. I'm sure any week now he'll get to feel his little gymnast in action.

~Andrea

Speaking of songs....

I was thinking that I might want to put together a play list to have in the delivery room with me. For all I know, I could want complete silence but I'd like to make 2 playlists so I have options. One will have upbeat, sing-along music to keep my spirits high (this sounds more my style) and the other will be very relaxing, soothing music. If you have any suggestions for the playlists please let me know!

p.s. I heard one story, I don't know if it was real or from a tv show, where the woman delivering was singing at the top of her lungs, "The lion sleeps tonight." I can just picture myself pushing this child out of me going, "A-wee-ma-way a-wee-ma-way OOOOOOOOOOooooooo a-we-um-um-away"
:-D

-Em

Lullaby suggestions

I'm starting to compile a list of lullabies for our little baby, and I'll hopefully be recording a cd soon with all our favorites. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some great songs to sing to the baby. So far, my list has

Baby Mine (from Dumbo ~ it always makes me cry! I don't know how I'm going to get through recording it.)

Over the Rainbow

The Prayer

Brahm's Lullaby

Good Night my Angel (Billy Joel's Lullaby Song)

Twinkle, Twinkle

If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them so I can record the cd. Thanks for your help! Also, we have a name!! It's totally set, and we'll be announcing it any day now.

~Andrea

Thanks, Hormones!

Well, we are 5 pregnant women, so I'm sure the hormones we have between us could scare anyone away! But my poor husband was not expecting tears the other day. I am coming to realize that I have always prided myself on not being a needy or unreasonable woman. Todd always seems to get defensive before he realizes that I'm not actually going to bite his head off like it seems someone in his past has. :-D He actually tells me that he expects me to be unreasonable and then gets surprised when I'm not. Not saying I'm perfect....I've had days here and there where PMS comes through but for the most part I'm pretty level-headed.

That's why the 3 days during these past 7 months that I've just started crying or gotten so defensive have totally thrown me off! Just the other day I was having a conversation with one of our buddies about how non-PMSy I am and then the next day I come home and I'm just off. You all know what I mean. I warned Todd but of course he probably could have told me I looked pretty and I would have heard 'why's your butt so big?'

I don't really have any reason for this post other than to ask if it gets worse as I get more into my 3rd trimester? Hopefully after this beautiful baby is born, I will be back to my old self. But I guess 3 off days out of 7 months isn't really so bad and Todd should be grateful! :-D

-Emily
(p.s. we should probably always sign our post either at the end of in the title since there are 5 of us!)

Labor and Delivery is no fun!

So last week on my way to my OB appointment I ended up getting rear ended. Nothing major, in fact, if I wasn't pregnant I would not have even thought to call for assistance. Needless to say, pregnant women and accidents do not sit well with anybody, so I was dramatically taken to Labor and Delivery via ambulance. My poor husband, once he found out I was in a wreak hung up the phone with me before finding out any of the story to tell his boss he had to leave NOW! He had to call back to find out where I was being taken to and to make sure I was really OK.

First of all I am fine and the baby is fine, and there is only minimum damage to the car. But I thought you guys might be interested to know what it is like in L/D. I had to be there for a minimum of 4 hours, but they did allow me to drink water while I was there. However since I had an early lunch, and this happened late afternoon, I was not a happy camper around dinner time. I was set up to a monitor that records the fetal heartbeat along with any contractions you might be having. I am sure you have seen this machine on TV or with friends. They just tighten two belts with a beeper size sensor on it to monitor you while you are there. It was nice to hear the heart beat and to see that he was not in any distress. I was really fascinated with the whole contraction monitor thing being a first time mommy and all and thinking to myself "no, you cannot come yet...I still have so much to do before you are supposed to be here!".

Apparently I am having contractions, but nothing painful as of yet. The nurse said that that is common for as far along as I am (34 weeks the day of the accident) to be having some. And that second time moms can usually register these contractions since they know what you are looking for the second time around. In the past couple of weeks I have been feeling the baby ball up and tighten but to me it felt like a butt or something... but could really have been contractions. SO now I am just playing the guessing game. "Is this a contraction? Or is it just the baby moving?" My husband just thinks it is funny. He said it is going to be a long month ahead if I am getting excited about "maybe" contraptions now.

I went for a follow up OB appointment the next day and the heartbeat still looked good. I don't go back until next week, but after that appointment I will start going every week! It is heard to believe that next week is going to be my last full week at work before my little man comes. Hopefully nobody else has an unexpected visit to L/D, but hopefully it will not be a scary experience and everything runs smoothly for them.

Andrea

Well, I'm the last due, and the last to post. I'm Andrea Coleman, and my wonderful husband Adam and I are expecting our little boy in late February. Like most of the other prego ladies, I am hoping for an early arrival, not because I don't like being pregnant (other than weeks 8-12, its been great,) but because I can't wait to just cuddle with my baby!

Adam and I met at Florida State University about 10 years ago, and have been married since 2003. I'm from Memphis, TN, and Adam is from Jacksonville, FL and now we live in Charlotte, NC. My husband worked with Emily's husband here in Charlotte, and that gave me the opportunity to meet the lovely Mrs. Duncan. I knew after a Wii party we hosted that both Emily and her husband were keepers. I'm just hoping that their life journey brings them back to NC!

I myself own a small business where I teach piano and singing lessons. Emily's baby girl is already on my wait list for 2015. I truly love what I do, and I feel so fortunate that it is something I can continue while primarily staying home with our new arrival.

I'm so excited that we are having a little boy. I can't wait to dress him like a mini Adam, and I think Adam is excited about having his own golf partner for life. I grew up with 3 brothers and no sisters, so the rough and tumble life of boys is awesome to me. We're down to 3 solid names that we actually agree on, so I'll post soon with an update on our sweet little boy's name.

Until next time!

Amanda

Well, I met Emily a few years before Todd came into the picture, and she actually went on a date with my husband before I did! Emily's friend from high school lived on Tom's hall. About 7 years later I was on a conference call at work and a guy from Commercial Defeasance introduced himself on the phone as Todd Duncan. I thought, "that name sounds familiar, is that the guy Emily is marrying from her wedding invitation?" At that point, I had heard lots about him, but had not ever met him. I called him back after the conference call and asked him if he "happened" to know Emily Leonard, and sure enough it was Emily's fiance! Finally got to meet him at their beautiful wedding, and I'm so glad Emily and I are now experiencing our first pregnancies together!

Tom and I met our freshman year of college, I was actually dating another guy that lived on his hall at the time, but he did not seem to care and kept asking me out anyway! Once we finally got together, that was it, and we got married the summer after graduation. We have been together almost 10 years now and married for 6 years. We live in Atlanta with our dog, Deacon, who I have a feeling is not going to be happy about losing his position as center of attention in the family.

I am due to have a baby girl on December 22, and we are sincerely hoping we don't end up in the hospital on Christmas Day. But we will be happy whenever she decides to make her appearance into the world. I have been feeling great the whole pregnancy, except that lately she seems to like to wake up any time that I am trying to go to sleep. So she has me in training with respect to coping with sleep deprivation. Last night she was moving around so much it was nauseating! Meanwhile, my husband was snoring peacefully beside me--there will be paybacks!

Hi, I'm Greer, and I'm pregnant. (Hi, Greer)

I first met Emily and Todd at an event given for incoming students in the UGA MBA program. I am not much for large social gatherings and had relatively low expectations for meeting anyone that we would form any kind of bond with outside of the school. During my husband Joe's first year in the program, he was working full time and I was teaching ballet at night, so our social life was rather limited. I assumed that the same would happen in the 2nd year. Until we met the Duncans! After somehow discovering that all 4 of us loved to play board games and then exchanging cell phones numbers, my hopes were higher that perhaps we had stumbled onto an actual honest-to-goodness friendship. Fortunately I was right, and it has brought the 4 of us even closer now that we are experiencing our first pregnancies together a mere 2 months apart!

Joe and I met in high school in Augusta, GA but then went our own ways for college (him to UGA, me to Berry College in Rome, GA). Our friendship stayed intact, but it wasn't until my senior year that we re-kindled any kind of romance. It wasn't long after that, though, that we realized that we were in this thing for the long haul and we were married in April of 2007. Joe has been in Athens since he came here for his undergrad, and I moved here shortly before we got married. After completing his MBA last year, the insurance company he works for offered him a promotion and raise which we gladly accepted, which means we will remain in Athens for the next few years at least before re-evaluating and deciding where to settle semi-permanently. Our first "children" have been our two fabulous rescue mutts Libby and Baxter, who are going to make excellent furry siblings for our little one!

Our baby is due on November 14th, but like Melissa I am hoping that it decides to debut a little sooner than that. (As I'm sure you've noticed from the ambiguous pronouns, we are not finding out the gender of the baby!) I have also been measuring about a week or two big, and I am also not sure how much more my body can handle, especially since I am still teaching ballet 4 nights a week. I am finishing out the month at the dance studio and then have a sub coming into for me until after the holidays.

I am so excited to share this process and journey with all of you and can't wait to hear about everyone else's stories and lives. Here's to the beginning of a beautiful blog-ship!

(Joe and I entered into our pregnancy journey a little differently than most, but that is a whole other story that would take up a lot more room, so instead I'll link you to my own personal blog entry from April when we found out.)

Hi, I am Melissa from Emily's past...

Well, Emily certainly has a better memory then I do. I met Emily at Myer's Park...I couldn't remember which school since I attended two high schools growing up, but since I know I didn't go to AG for middle school, it made it easier to figure out :) Thanks Em!

I am 29 years old, and I am currently living in Charlotte NC and work at UNCC. My husband Joey and I moved here about 2 years ago and are still trying to get settled in. It probably doesn't help that we have moved three times since coming to the Queen City, but I think we are going to stay in the condo we have now for at least a few years... I grew up in Charlotte and went to ECU for my undergrad where I met my hubby. We have been together for almost 8 years, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. He was one of those people I saw across the room one day and knew I just had to meet him...so the next day I made my move and we have been pretty much best friends ever since!

This is our first baby, and currently I am the only one on this blog that is having a boy. I always imagined having a girl, probably because I grew up one of three girls in my family, and in my extended family girls out weigh the boys...even our pets are girls. But I am super excited about watching our little man grow up and become more and more like his daddy. Plus it helps that all my girl friends have little boys so I am anticipating hand me downs galor. And something that I wouldn't have thought of initially is that I feel like there is a special bond forming between my MIL and myself since she shared her little boy with me and now I have the chance to share our little boy with her...

I am due on Thanksgiving, but hope that he comes a little early. He is measuring about 1.5 weeks ahead and I am not sure how much more my poor body can handle. Plus I would rather him have a birthday that is separate from the holiday. But as long as he is happy and healthy I will be happy whenever he decided to make his appearance.

I cannot wait to hear about all of you guys and see our similar our stories become once our little ones arrive and learn from each others' experiences.

Emily

Hello ladies! I am Emily (Leonard Duncan). I know you all have known who I am at some point in my life but I'll give you all a quick recap so you all know who I am now!

I grew up in Charlotte, NC. I met Melissa, I think, at AG Junior High and we also went to Myers Park High School together. She also lived in the neighborhood behind mine so that was convenient! I probably haven't seen Melissa in about 10 years and am so thankful that Facebook :-D is allowing us to reconnect, especially at such a special time in both our lives.

I went off to college at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC and got a bachelors degree in Psychology. While there I spent much more time at Wake Forest where I met Amanda. She is part of the group that I have my college reunions with so I normally get to see her about once a year at weddings. Now that Todd and I are in Athens, and she and Tom are in Atlanta, we see each other a little more often.

Fast forward a few years and I'm back living in Charlotte. My parents have since moved up to Mooresville. I moved back to Charlotte to pursue an associate's degree in Interpreter Education. While in Charlotte, I met the love of my life, Mr Todd Duncan. I'll spare you all the details but of course we dated and eventually got married. Todd started working at a company called Commercial Defeasance in Clt where he met his now good friend Adam Coleman. Adam's wife Andrea and I met and instantly hit it off! We were very sad to leave the Colemans when we moved to Athens.

Todd decided to go back and get his master's in business so we made the trek to Athens, GA for him to attend UGA MBA school. Before we even moved here, we made an instant connection with Greer and Joe Caldwell (through our love of board games!!) Greer and I have experienced the excitment of planning to start a family together and are so fortunate that we are experiencing this miraculous event at the same time in the same city.

Currently I am a sign language interpreter at an elementary school and middle school in Athens, GA. I absolutely love my job! I will be going back to work to finish out the year after the baby comes but don't know if I'll work next year or not. We'll just have to see where we're living at that point (Todd graduates in May).

We are having a baby girl and she is due January 15th. (my birthday is Jan 5th and my only hope for when she comes, is that it's not on my birthday!) We are planning to keep her name a secret until the day she is born though that is a lot harder than it sounds!

Ok, so this post was a lot longer than any of your posts need to be but I thought I would let you know how everyone is connected. I am so excited to be sharing this time in my life with you ladies. Feel free to post an 'about me' post and then we can all start sharing our insights and complaints and questions. And pictures!!!