Doctor Appointment Updates

Well, tomorrow marks the 6-7 week countdown. Hooray! Scary. Excited. Anxious. Nervous. Overwhelmed. Ecstatic. These are the emotions I feel daily.

I am down to two week appointments. I have one next week, and in two more weeks...THEN, it is down to one week appointments. Do you know how close that makes me to holding my little baby??!!

Here are two little pregnancy related stories: Mr. Uncomfortable Moved In.

Number 2: (Cullen will get mad I am calling him out, but....) This week, Cullen woke up early to cook me breakfast before work. This is the first time on a week day that he has done this. He did it because he remembers how nice it was when he was growing up and his mom always had breakfast ready before school. He said, with a baby one the way, he needs to get in the habit of cooking breakfast in the morning for his baby. How sweet is that??!?!

Mr. Uncomfortable Moved In

Let me preface this blog with, "I know I am an unusually happy, optimistic pregnant person. In fact, I hit annoyingly happy." However, this blog is not a fun one.

Mr. Uncomfortable moved in this week. It started on the way home from Denton this weekend. Between my restless legs, and my achy back, the 2.5 hour ride home was NOT fun. That is okay, I was in good company and I knew it was temporary. The rest of this week has been full of aches and pains in my back, near my pelvic bone, and generally all over. Meals are harder to eat, AND I get fuller MUCH faster because I am running out of room. Sleeping is getting increasingly more difficult. My allergies are terrible. And, to top it off, I think I am coming down with a sinus infection.

With all that said, tomorrow morning marks the 6-7 week countdown. I am so excited and so nervous. I am getting nervous about our future and how our little Peanut will change our view on life. I am so anxious to hold him in my arms.

Rocking Chairs...

I am looking for a good rocking chair for the baby's room. Do you have any suggestions??

Nesting.

Nesting, defined as the basic and uncontrollable urge to clean your house, and generally go crazy doing all sorts of things that will prepare the 'nest' for the new member of the family. I GOT IT. I AM DEFINITELY NESTING.

Is it too soon to be nesting?? Everything I have read says this is a sure sign that labor is just around the corner. I hope by "just around the corner" the experts mean 7-8 weeks away. Today, I woke up feeling the need to clean. I, who would almost always rather sleep in, and cuddle with my Love Bug and the puppies, got up, cleaned around the kitchen while Cullen cooked breakfast, emptied the dish washer, helped Cullen clean up breakfast, ran the dishwasher, emptied the dishwasher, did laundry, bleached the counter tops in the kitchen, washed all of Noah's clothes, burp clothes, bibs, wash clothes, socks, everything. I wiped down all of his furniture, cleaned up and sterilized his bottles. I rearranged a cabinet in the kitchen just for Noah's bottles, formula, dishes, etc.

We went out of the house for a while today. When we got back it was back to cleaning. After dinner, I helped clean the kitchen, wiping down and disinfecting the kitchen table for the third time today. I put more of Noah's stuff away. I rearranged the drawers in his room because I was have drawer-stocking remorse.

Sheesh. I don't have the energy to keep up this pace for the next 7-8 weeks. Let's hope this nesting was a weekend phase, and leaves me alone for a few weeks. Otherwise, Cullen is in for a real shock...a wife that cleans all the time. He may need therapy. ;)

I am In Love.

Today, Sunday, was spent with my dear hubby. We woke up early, we laid in bed with our puppies. He cooked me pancakes, he went to hit golf balls. I washed baby clothes and sorted through baby gifts from a WONDERFUL shower this weekend. When he came home, we spent HOURS out and about looking at homes, walking through homes that are not finished and just breathing in the beautiful sunshine.

I am in love with weekends. I am in love with my little family. I am in love with Cullen Mills. Today was a PERFECT day; I wish everyday could be like today!

Chelsea Handler

Here is a small plug for my friend, Chelsea Handler. {Yes, I like to think we are real friends}. If you need a good read {and by good, I mean laugh until you cry and people around you think you are crazy}, please pick up one of Chelsea Handler's three books. They do not need to be read in order; just read them all. They are so funny. You can thank me later. :)

Brief Synopsis of all three books:

• My Horizontal Life
• Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea
• Chelsea Chelsea, Bang Bang!

There you have it. Guaranteed to give you at least one good laugh per every time you pick up her book!!

31 Weeks Down, 9 Weeks To Go!!

I thought I would never be in the single digit (weekly) countdown. We are here!! Noah will be here in less than 9 weeks. LESS THAN 9 WEEKS. And, because I am a super planner, I have over-planned and over-booked the weekends to make these next nine weeks FLY by. I have heard that these last weeks are excruciatingly s...l....o...w!!

Here are some things on our calendar before Baby Boy arrives:

• Baby shower this weekend! {It is a join shower with my great friend Chyla Jane, who is due in June!} It is hosted by a mutual friend, Terra. I can't wait to see everyone.
• Easter next weekend; Seeing both sides of the family. One of the things I am looking MOST forward to, is seeing Dustin and Ashley, cousin's on Cullen's mom's side of the family. They are our age, and expecting a little Smalley around Thanksgiving!!
• Baby Shower for me the following weekend in Austin!! It is being hosted by three of my MOST favorite girlfriends ever. I am so excited for this shower; most of my mom's sisters are coming, and anything is better when they are around!!
• CHELSEA HANDLER THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND with my girlfriend Lauren! Short of the Restless Leg Syndrome that I know will commence about 3 minutes after I sit down for the show, this is something I am SO LOOKING FORWARD TO.
• The last weekend in April, {which puts us one month out from Noah's arrival} is the wedding of Chelsea Conrad and Jacob Anderson!!

These are just some of the events on the calendar. May is AS BUSY as April. The only difference between April and May, is May ends with the arrival of Mr. Noah Thomas!!

Dearest Baby Boy: You are getting so big. You roll around in my tummy like a wild man. You have stopped kicking me, and starting stretching your limbs right into my ribs and bladder!! I love you so much, and love watching you move my tummy like you are a little alien. Your daddy has started to hold my tummy and feel you move around more. He talks about you everyday. I can't wait to meet you. In 9 short (excruciatingly long) weeks, I will hold you in my arms and be the happiest mommy in the whole wide world!!

Contest Time....

Linda Schilberg Photography is giving away a free session of your choice! http://www.lindaschilbergphotography.blogspot.com!

Noah in 3D

This morning was our 3D/4D ultrasound to see Noah. I was as nervous as I was excited. I have always had my reservations about 3D ultrasounds; let's be honest, the pictures you get from these usually make your "cute baby" look like a disaster. And, rightfully so, your fetus is still growing.

I was also internally struggling because at our 20 week ultrasound, I have a picture of Noah that is his ONLY face shot, and he is scary. For the last 10 weeks, I have felt like the world's worst mommy...How can I think my baby is ugly, and I haven't even met him?? Well, it turns out Noah just needed more time to grow into those skeletal bones. He needed time to get fat, and fat did he get!!

Our appointment started in 2D. Prior to our tech turning out the ultrasound machine, I asked her two things: 1) I would like to confirm the sex again.... God forbid, our little Noah really be a Noatte. It turns out that he is still a boy, thank GOD; The appointment before ours thought they were having a girl, and it turns out they were wrong... they are having a boy. I said an extra prayer that that wouldn't happen two appointments in a row! And 2) I told her that I am really wanting a profile picture of Noah. All mommies have a profile picture of their little Peanut from early ultrasounds...not me. He usually covers his face and goes to sleep. She said she would try. Little Noah was not only cooperative, but, it was the first picture he gave us. He was laying just right, where when our tech turned out the machine, we saw his little spine, and boom, our profile picture of Noah. Not only did we get an outstanding profile picture, he was kissing mommy's tummy!!

Our Tech regularly switched between 2D and 3D to get the best pictures. Here are the cutest ones, with descriptions:

Look at how defined these pictures can be; Two little eyes, a perfect little nose, and pouty little lips. The flat pancake looking disk next to Noah's chin is my placenta. It is in all the pictures; apparently, my placenta is on the top of my uterus - which is no big deal for the pregnancy, it just made pictures slightly more difficult to take. No matter what, he is cute to me!!! Look at this cute little button nose and that sweet little half smile.
Here, Noah is opening and closing his mouth. He did this quite a bit through the appointment.
At one point, he streteched real big. It was weird to feel this on the outside, and see it on the inside. She captured a picture just as he was stretching his neck. I know it goes without saying, but he is such a little human already. (Duh!) He does things that little humans do. It is so weird to think that over the last 30 weeks, Noah has gone from nothing to this adorable little something.
In this little picture, Noah is sticking out his tounge. I know it is hard to see. If it helps, his fat bottom lip isn't a lip, that is his tounge. It was much easier to see this in the actual video.

This is our little Noah pouting. Yes, it did come coincidentally when our tech was agitating my tummy to get him to move, but, he did start pouting. Isn't that the CUTEST little pout you have ever seen??

This is a picture of Noah sleeping; just being adorable and peaceful!

I am madly in love with my little boy... more than I was before, and I didn't think that was possible. We were able to see his beautiful features, cute little feet, CHUBBY little cheeks (sorry Noah - that is genetics.), and perfect little profile. He yawned; He smiled; he moved and kicked; he pat his face, sucked his thumb grabbed his feet. He was PERFECT. I could have watched him all day.... In fact, I have. I have watched his little 4D video twice today already. I am not positive I won't watch it again.

I love you little Noah. Thank you for cooperating, and thank you for being so very perfect. I can't wait to meet you; and I am so happy that it is only 9 weeks away!

Noah in 3D

This morning was our 3D ultrasound. It was SO MUCH FUN. Go to Noah's blog: Growing A Peanut, to see his beautiful pictures!!

The Anticipation Is Killing Me

Killing me, I tell you!! Tomorrow morning, Noah, Cullen and I have a 3D4D ultrasound scheduled!! This is one whole hour of looking at our little baby. We are not measuring skull size, or counting kidneys... we know he is a healthy baby - now we just get to stare at him!!

I will post pictures ASAP! Do not be worried if he looks like an alien... I am expecting him to, a little!!!!!

30 Week Belly Pic.

I took the weekly Belly Pic tonight. I decided to only share the clothed ones from here forward. If you are interested in seeing THE belly, email me: mills.erin@yahoo.com, otherwise, enjoy!

Today marks 30 weeks!! I feel like I can really start counting down this pregnancy. 30 weeks. 30 WHOLE weeks. Has it really been 30 weeks??? I am 3/4ths of the way through this marathon. I woke up so happy this morning. Noah was kicking me, telling me, "Good Morning, Mommy." I rubbed my tummy back, and said, "Good Morning, Baby Boy. I can't wait to meet you!"

Thirty whole weeks of growing, developing and growing. 30 whole weeks of becoming a little human.

Here are a couple links to what is going on inside my womb this week:

• The Stork
• About Pregnancy
• Baby Center

Oh, I am so happy to be 30 weeks pregnant. 30 whole weeks pregnant. Let the countdown to Little Noah's delivery begin!

Does Spring Break Kill the Blogging World?

Is Spring Break the kryptonite to the blogging world?? Where are all my blogging friends?? While I too have too much to do on these beautiful days, I need something to read when I am sitting at the tire shop for an hour!! :)

Today is THURSDAY, which is great, except it means Spring Break ends in 4 days. That makes me sad. :( I have REALLY enjoyed this week off.

...and I am trying to convince Cullen I need to be a stay at home wife. Turns out, he thinks otherwise! :)

I Don't Want My Children To Be Happy...

My friend Staci sent me a link to a blog post. I Don't Want My Children To Be Happy. If you have a spare few minutes, it is an excellent read. Enjoy!

Thanks Staci!

Dear Noah:

{Yes, this is my second blog entry this morning, and yes, it is 5:34 a.m. I woke up thinking about my baby. I woke up thinking about 1000 different things. I have been doing this a ton lately. I have been texting myself small notes in the middle of the night so I don't forget things AND so I can go back to sleep.}

I have wanted to write a letter to Noah for quite some time. I want him to know how blessed I feel already that God trusts me enough to be his mommy. Cullen and I feel so special to having not only made his this life, but now get to raise him in a loving, God fearing home.

One of my favorite things right now is feeling him move. Yes, Noah has been moving and kicking for a while. I remember feeling him for the first time. I remember crying the first time Cullen felt Noah kick. It was our first moment of feeling like a family.

Now, he moves around; he is big enough to feel on both sides of my tummy. He rolls around and pushes on my tummy. I feel hard knots on the outside of my tummy; baby parts...as if I am growing an alien. Nothing makes me smile bigger than to hold my tummy and watch/feel my baby move around.

When people ask me what my favorite part of pregnancy is, I will forever tell them, "feeling Noah move around." Cullen thinks it is so weird to feel him squirm, as most men do. I can't wait until Cullen gets to hold his son, and Noah can squirm on Cullen instead of my inside my tummy. I think that will be my favorite moment, post pregnancy.

I will start working on that letter to Noah... I hope I can get to it - not because I will not find time, but because I am not sure I can find the words to tell him exactly how I feel about him joining our family. He already personifies perfection, and I haven't even met him.

A room for Baby

Well, we are ten weeks away from our little Noah being here. A common question I have been asked recently is, "How is the nursery? Is it ready for Noah to come home?" The bold answer. NOPE. We ordered our furniture a while back; it's been sitting in our garage ready for the baby's room for a couple weeks.

Finally, we decided it was time. This weekend, we spent a wild and crazy Saturday night taking apart our office and putting together Baby Peanut's room. Our furniture came fully assembled (except our crib - which was SIMPLE to put together), which made me feel so great about the quality of furniture. It also made it so easy to figure out where we wanted our furniture in the room.

I can comfortably, confidently say, we have a room for Noah to come home. We have a few outfits for him to wear, and a blanket for him to lay on. However, we have a LONG way to go before we are truly READY for baby Noah to come home.

This week is spring break. My goal this week is to make our home more baby friendly, more ready for us to bring baby home. Let's see how far I can get on our to-do list...

Busy Schedules

I wrote in a post a while back that my life is full of countdowns. I have milestones that help me get through exciting things that.....seem......to.....never......get.........here. I remember getting engaged. I thought that nine months of planning was perfect. Most women I know wait a year or more because of all the planning that needed to take place. I thought if I pushed everything that takes most women a year or more into 9 months, we could get the wait to seem shorter; we could get the wedding HERE. It worked. I felt like we were hardly engaged. It was the best, shortest 9 months in my life!

Pregnancy on the other hand is the LONGEST nine {scratch that...TEN} months of my life. I have always wanted to be a mommy....I have the BEST MAN EVER TO SHARE THAT WITH... and now I have to wait. The first 6 months seemed like an eternity. I was not showing, I was not sick, I was not having any symptoms of being pregnant. While I am truly thankful for such an easy pregnancy, it was hard to "feel" pregnant, which made it seem so much longer. So what did I do....set milestones. I would tell myself "get to this date, get to this event, you will be so much closer." I am to that point. I am very much showing. I am very much glowing. I LOVE being pregnant. I have weekly milestones to help pass the time.

Many of our friends are getting married or having babies. Between showers for weddings and babies, throw in a few weddings to attend, and one free weekend....our little baby will be here before I know it. As of right now, We are 10 weeks away (at max!!) from meeting our little bundle of perfection. As of right now, we have been invited to an event, or two {wedding, shower, party, benefit, etc.} every weekend until our baby arrives. It makes it seem slightly overwhelming, but, it sure will make the next 10 weeks FLY by.

Spring Break

When I graduated from UNT, I realized I had had my last spring break ever. It was bittersweet. Everyone needs a week off in March to revitalize, and push through the end of ..... well in this case school.

Three years have passed. No Spring Breaks. My teacher friends try not to rub it in too much that they are doing NOTHING but having fun in the sun for 9 days (including weekends.) This year is very different. This year, I have a Spring Break - and it officially starts today at 3:30. I love my students. I really do. BUT, they need a break from me, and I certainly need the break from them. :)

Unlike the good ol' days, my priorities have shifted. Instead of lounging poolside, beachside or lakeside, with cute colored, umbrella affixed beverages in hand, I will be cleaning out my office and preparing for my baby's nursery. I will be washing baby clothes for his drawers. I will be taking my dogs to doctor appointments, getting them refills on heartworm and flea medicines. Wow, how life changes when you have a baby (well two furry babies and one (who-I-hope-is-not-furry) baby on the way!)!!

I also am spending a significant amount of time shopping for others over spring break. Before the baby gets here, I have 3 weddings and at least 4 showers to attend. So, let the gift buying begin!!!

Well, Well, Well.....

The verdict is in..... NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES FOR THIS LITTLE MOMMA. Although, she did say that I am borderline, which means I need to watch what I eat, but not be OVERLY concerned with every calorie/carbohydrate that goes into my body. AND, I need to start exercising more. I can handle that!! All in all, an excellent report.

I start two week appointments now. FANTASTIC. In my mind, that means we are down to the home stretch of Baby Noah's extended stay in Mommy's Tummy Hotel. Although, he has been a wonderful little guest: Doesn't eat too much, doesn't ever make a mess, and doesn't keep me up at all hours of the night! :)

Gestational Diabetes Update.

I go to the OB today at 4:00 - It is the first for 2 week appointments, (which marks the downhill slope of pregnancy!!) and I get my update about my Gestational Diabetes. Let's pray Dr. F tells me that I just had a bad first test, not full blow gestational diabetes.

I went for my second round of tests on Monday for Gestational Diabetes. This test was a three hour tolerance test. It was awful. I look like a heroin user. I have three bruises on each arm from blood draws. I only cried once, never broke out into anxious sweats.... nor did I ever feel the urge to faint. Looks like I am improving on my Aichmophobia (a fear of needles).

Results will be posted soon - until then, say a little prayer that this little Momma does NOT have Gestational Diabetes!! :)

A Short Wedding

Noah attending his first wedding this weekend!! He was a dancing machine. He kicked me all night - I loved it. AND, Little Noah got his first kiss from an older lady!!

This weekend was the incredible Short Wedding. Adam and Ashley got married at Barton Creek County Club in Austin, Texas. It was so fun to watching these two love birds tie the knot. Their vows were very unique, original and perfectly Adam and Ashley.

Cullen and I tried hard to take a good picture together at the wedding... turns out, every picture looked the exact same. I look like I have a huge belly; which is a fact. So, Here is the best one:

Five On Friday...

This week has been B-U-S-Y! Here are five little snippets that have happened in the life of Cullen and Erin Mills:

• Tuesday I took my Gestational Diabetes test that is required for pregnancy. Two days later, I found out I failed. Here is more details on that story: The GD Saga. I have more testing to do this coming Monday.
• Cullen is NOTORIOUS for being clumsy. To spare a ton of details - Cullen ran into the bed again this week. (Yes, I said again.) He was asleep, got up to go potty, came back to bed, and WHACK. Cracked his shin on the bed frame. The real unfortunate part...this is not the first time he has done this EXACT thing. I felt like a semi-terrible wife. After realizing it was not his toe he busted, but his shin AGAIN, I laughed. HOWEVER, I did make sure he was okay first. Then I laughed. Hard.
• This weekend is VERY BUSY for the Mills' Family. Tomorrow, I have a JSL event called Spring Into Safety. It is an event that promotes child safety in the community. Sunday, We are going to see Fiddler on the Roof in Austin with my parents. They were tickets given to us for Christmas from my parents. AND Tomorrow is my pledge sister, Kendahl's birthday!
• Tomorrow is also Cullen's and my 7 YEAR anniversary together. Yes, seven years. Seven years to grow up together, get through rocky stages together, learn to be adults together, love together, marry and now raise a family together. It has been the best 7 years of my life. I went from a silly little girl to a strong, married grown-up woman in these last seven years and he is the reason for it. Seven years is a long time. When I think about the rest of my life with Cullen, seven years seems like just the beginning. The best is yet to come, and that is hard to say - because the last have been so incredible. God blessed me with one amazing man.
• Tomorrow is also......ADAM AND ASHLEY'S WEDDING DAY! Cullen and I are spending the entire weekend in Austin going to one of my favorite couple's wedding! Adam and Ashley, I cannot, CANNOT wait to see you two become Mr. and Mrs. Adam Short. Ashley is so lucky to have Adam as her husband forever. And, well, Adam couldn't have found a better lady to be his wife.

Gestational Diabetes....

Dear Gestational Diabetes: Oh, how I loathe you. Sincerely, Erin Mills.

Tuesday, I had my gestational diabetes test. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gestational Diabetes, it is defined here: DEFINITION. I didn't study much - as I didn't think it was a test to study for... turns out, I should've. BECAUSE I FAILED. I got the call today from the doctor's office saying my blood sugar numbers were out of the normal blood sugar levels significantly. This meant two things from here forward: A) I have to take another ridiculous glucose test to take on Monday. The first one took one hour, one 8 ounce drink, and one needle prick. The second one will take 4 hours, one 8 ounce drink, fasting for one day before, specific dieting for three days before, and FOUR NEEDLE PRICKS. I could die. and B) NO SWEETS, NO SIMPLE SUGARS THROUGH THE END OF PREGNANCY! I could die.

There is one pro to gestational diabetes, due to the side effects of gestational diabetes (usually newborns run on the bigger side of normal) my doctor schedules early inductions or c-sections (if necessary) because she is cautious about the size and safety of delivery for both Noah and myself.

This has caused me a lot of unnecessary annoyance today. However, My pregnancy has been a CAKE WALK thus far. So, if this is the worst thing that happens to me, he is so worth it.