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!!