Sunday, August 31, 2008

Gustav

I honestly don't know whether Gustav is National News. I have to assume it is, but I haven't talked to anyone outside of Texas lately, so I'm not sure. If you do not know, Gustav is a Category 5 storm that is following the path of Hurricane Katrina and is expected to hit New Orleans as a Category 3 Hurricane tomorrow (Monday). There has also been some concern that it may hit areas of the Gulf Coast in Texas.

We are approximately a 3 1/2 hour drive from where the storm may make landfall. We are expected to get lots of rain on Tuesday. We are just far enough inland to be safe from destruction and have, therefore, been designated the first stop for evacuees. In fact, the State of Texas has made Tyler the official staging area for The Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

In an effort that is the polar opposite of the preparations made for Hurricane Katrina, evacuees began hitting Tyler Thursday. This is four days prior to when the storm may hit. I continue to say 'may' because it really is difficult to predict what a hurricane will do - especially 24 hours out. In fact, one reason that Katrina became such a disaster was the refrain "If we evacuated every time someone cried 'hurricane' we'd be constantly leaving." The fact that many storms were predicted to hit New Orleans and either didn't or caused little problems kept many people from evacuating during Katrina.

We are praying that this will be one of the times a false prediction has been made. In any case, however, the residents of New Orleans are taking action this time. One million cars left the city yesterday. All special needs residents have been evacuated. Many of those are here and our Sunday School teacher (a doctor) has been tending to a group of them since 3am. One building of our church has been shut down in order to house those who have evacuated. Many of our fellow Sunday School classmates have friends and relatives from New Orleans staying with them. Two cities in Texas that are very close to Louisiana are now under mandatory evacuations.

That is what is going on here. We will keep you updated and will continue to pray for a very safe end to all of this. And having duly noted the Current Event occurring during this pregnancy, the next post can be devoted again to all things Baby.

Update - Gustav has now hit (it is Monday). It actually landed a little South of New Orleans and was down to a Category Two at landfall. There are power outages in Louisiana and there will be some flooding, but there will not be the destruction that was Katrina. Part of that is because Katrina was a Category Three and part is the fact that there were few, if any, humans left in Louisiana at the time that Gustav hit.

The interesting thing is that Gustav is now expected to take a path West of its originally assumed course. This will bring it directly over Tyler where CNN has stated that it will park itself as a Tropical Depression for several days this week. Although Tyler's paper is having a field day with this and we have been duly instructed to stock up on flash lights and bottled water, I assume this is overkill or the Red Cross and Salvation Army would be moving their evacuee centers elsewhere. We are, however, a little concerned that CNN has mentioned that North East Texas (where we live) is at severe risk of flooding and none of you have called to check on us. We're fine, by the way. :)

Friday, August 29, 2008

Thank you!

We love your comments! We love the funny ones and we really appreciate the suggestions. They are needed and definitely taken advantage of! I am especially thankful to have people who had actual solutions for the fact that I can't wear my pants.

Another suggestion that came through this blog was a website listing licensed at home day care providers and their complete histories. I utilized this yesterday and have a prospect to call. We will keep you updated on this situation.

Other than that there is not much to report. We are going to be home this entire long weekend and we will probably work on little home projects. I am ready for the baby's to start looking like a baby's room!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Other Women

Other women are very excited that I can't wear my pants. They coo about it. They remind me there is a baby growing inside of me. They wax nostalgic about their own pregnancies. They marvel about the miracle of child birth. They get sentimental about the changes a pregnant body goes through. They do not offer suggestions regarding what I may be able to wear during this exciting time when I CAN NOT WEAR MY PANTS.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I Can't Wear My Pants

I can't wear my pants. I can put them on, but I should not be wearing them in public. Not to mention that they are not comfortable. It is amazing to me that I haven't gained many pounds but my body has changed drastically. And I can't wear my pants. I have no idea what I am supposed to wear. I am not quite ready for maternity clothes. And, even if I was, no one has given me any yet. Since I have maternity clothes being loaned to me from a few people, I don't want to buy any until I see what I'm going to have available. My skirts still fit. Panty hose are super uncomfortable, though. And my legs are WAY to white to go without. I tried a spray tan which has worked well in the recent past, but it didn't end up looking good this time. I am wondering if those darned hormones interfered. I don't know. It's a dilemma. I can't wear my pants.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Changes

What a big week! On Tuesday I noticed for the first time that I was "showing". This is different than the general thickness of four extra pounds, I can definitely see where the baby is forming. Yesterday, someone at work pointed out that I now have a "pooch". Since I was bothered so much by the extra weight and the general thickening of my waist, I am surprised by how comfortable I am with showing. I guess because I am starting to look pregnant (and people know I'm pregnant) versus fat it is exciting rather than disturbing.

We took a picture of me in workout clothes Tuesday night. We will put it on this site so that you can see the little pooch. We will do this every month to chart the change. We are going into the fourth month now. We didn't take pictures the first three months which would have been helpful for comparing, but none of this was brought to our attention until this weekend...we need so much guidance!

I also got on Iron Supplements Monday. What a huge difference! I am still more tired than I was prior to pregnancy, but it is a normal tired that comes with forming a baby. It is not the overwhelming exhaustion and the lack of ability to form any coherent thought. I am also taking a calcium supplement and have added a scoop of protein powder to a smoothie once a day. Both of these are per my doctor as extra insurance that I am getting everything Little One needs. I really am eating very healthy, but I don't have a huge appetite and I still gravitate towards fruit (and away from meat) and these supplements are just rounding things out some days.

This week (today, actually) we finally did what I said we would do a few weeks ago and got on all the daycare waiting lists we need to be on. I still want to look into home care, but if we were to go with a daycare we definitely needed to be on wait lists. One of the daycares we are guaranteed a spot in. It is fine and I like it, but it's not in a church which is my preference. The other two wait lists are for daycares in churches. One is generally known to be the best daycare in Tyler and the wait is averaging 14 months. We went ahead and got on it in case (1) we happen to get in or (2) we want to move the baby when a spot opens. The last daycare is at the church we have been attending. It also has a massive wait, but we will move up the list if we become members of the church. We will likely become members in the next three months. The fact that we have lived in Tyler for six months and are not yet members of any church is a story for another day. Maybe I'll have Jory write that one.

Finally, we have gotten SO many presents this week! And offers for baby showers! And offers for babysitting! It is wonderful how many people love this unborn miracle! The high chair still has a big bow on it and is now covered with cards of Love and Congratulations. We are so blessed with so much love from family and friends. And Little One is not going to be lacking for loving hands anxious to cradle the baby! We love you all and are so thankful for all of your support, advice and care. Thank You!

Monday, August 18, 2008

I don't see 4 extra pounds!

Here is the picture we took on Saturday before the Lyle Lovett concert. Sara claims she has gained four pounds, but I sure don't see it.


Let's not start the college war quite yet

I'd like to call off the college gear war before it starts. Sara has made mention on a couple of occassions that we are starting to accumulate some Aggie things for the baby. She has sent out the SOS to those affiliated with Ohio State for a proportional response. Let's all keep our heads about us. I'm afraid we are going to set off a powder keg that will be referred to in history textbooks as "The Great 21st Century College War". This isn't a simple, friendly confrontation between the Aggie backers and the Buckeye backers. This could escalate into a major inter-sectional confrontation! I can imagine a doomsday scenario where we have a flood of items bearing all kinds of logos and mascots. My dad will be sending an Arkansas Razorback Hoghead, Becky will be sending Ole Miss gear (which is OK with me since I am a Rebel from Richland High School), Ben will be sending Bucknell stuff, Ryan will be sending Texas Tech stuff, Toby will send a Bob Stoops OU visor...and the Fishers and John Curtis will send t-sip crap. For those of you unfamiliar with the term I just used, a "t-sip" is a fan of the texas longhorns, or t.u.

So let's all agree to a cease fire before this gets ugly. And let's all agree to shield the little one from t-sip crap. Thanks in advance for your support.

Gifts and Friends

We went to Fort Worth this weekend and saw Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Bass Hall. It was an amazing show. We took a picture before the show to chronicle what I look like at three months pregnant. We will post it soon.

Being in Fort Worth, we got to see Kim and John which is always good, but now has the added bonus of including baby gifts! Kim had pulled out a beautiful blanket that Jory's great-grandmother had made for him when he was a baby! We got that and two adorable outfits that were John's when he was a baby. We also got an A&M Teddy Bear and A&M Booties. Note to Susan, Jim and all my relatives in Ohio - we are 12 weeks into this thing and the baby's room is overrun by Aggie Gear. Someone throw me a bone here!

I finally got to talk to Erica Fisher this weekend. She has been traveling since our announcement was made and though she has followed this blog I have not been able to hear her excited voice. It was so good to talk to her and get so many helpful hints for pregnancy and birth. Mostly it is wonderful every time we get to share our excitement with one of our friends or family members and hear how excited you are for us.

As far as pregnancy progress goes, I am holding steady at 4 pounds gained and am still having an uneventful pregnancy. HOWEVER, exhaustion has truly set in. Typing this blog (between thinking of what to say and actually typing it correctly) is taking me much longer than I care to convey. That is the way everything is right now. My doctor mentioned at our last visit that if I started to feel overly tired, I should add an iron supplement. When my pre-pregnancy blood work was done, my iron level fell at the lowest end of the normal range. So, there was some chance that I would need a supplement anyway once the Little One started sucking up my iron stores. Compounding that, though, is the fact that I have lost any desire I had for meat prior to becoming pregnant. Most of you know that desire was spotty at best, so my meat consumption has become almost non-existent. Don't worry - I am getting plenty of protein from eggs, peanut butter, etc. and my doctor is not concerned about my protein intake. I will just likely need to add iron. I am going to plan to get a supplement today and hope it takes effect quickly.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

So Tired!

I am exhausted. I know this can be a symptom of pregnancy, but in this case I think it is just a symptom of life. Last week, our a/c was out Sunday and Monday which did not lend itself to comfortable nights of sleep. Thursday night, we spent the night in Fort Worth and I just didn't sleep well at all. Usually, I would catch up on the weekend, but we were in Gruene with friends and were up late both nights with early mornings and no naps - lots of fun, but not enough rest. It has all definitely caught up with me. I am struggling in the mornings and my nerves are all but shot. Jory and I went to tour a daycare today and I about cried! I keep thinking I just have to make it until Saturday when I can sleep in. Of course, we are going to Fort Worth again Saturday and have a late night that night with a concert at Bass Hall. Then we are driving back on Sunday and there is a good chance there won't be naps on Saturday or Sunday again. I have to catch up, though- for everyone's sake! Luckily, after this weekend, we are HOME for many, many weekends. The Gruene weekend and the Fort Worth weekend had both been planned for a while and happened to be back to back, but towards the end of this month, I should get some much needed rest!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Apologies

This is for everyone who works in Public Accounting who had a child during busy season. For every time I said or thought "Can't they plan better than that? Don't they know what causes that?". Yes, to all of you, I apologize. I sat in my Managing Partner's office yesterday and informed him that I was due to give birth on March 3. Since I manage the Administration Team (you know, the group that processes tax returns), this is not ideal.

To give Tony credit, he took the news exceptionally well. This is likely due to the fact that exactly one year ago, two female employees told him the same thing. I appreciate them paving the way. There is no doubt, however, that the man is thinking "for all their education, how can these accountants not figure out how to give birth between April and November? I mean, that is 3/4 of the year that they have to work with there!"

In any case, the news is out at both my office and Jory's and everyone is very excited and supportive. And thanks to the two aforementioned employees, I have maternity clothes coming to me!

An update on yesterday: I did call the daycares. One basically said it wouldn't happen in less than a year, but we are going to go ahead and get on the waiting list anyway. If that is where we are supposed to be it WILL happen, so we'll go this afternoon and put down our $25 for the daycare lottery. The other center (which I have heard good things about, as well) said they could guarantee a spot at 6 weeks if we came in now and got on the wait list. I plan to do that today. Jory keeps reminding me that this does not mean we are going to use daycare, so I think I'll be okay to go and put my name on a list - we'll see! Regarding in-home sitters, our church does publish a list of certified care works and we will examine that, as well. We'll keep you updated.

We did go to Babies R Us. We did NOT buy anything. We spent quite a while in there, though, examining everything and talking about what we wanted and didn't want. We got hung up on Halloween costumes for some reason. Jory was fascinated with those and didn't seem to notice that they are rather irrelevant right now. He also found a diaper bag he liked, but he is reserving his decision until he sees all of his options. I don't think he's going to go with the Buckeye one, Susan, but I am counting on you for enough Buckeye baby items to counter the onslaught of Aggie items already invading our home. I mean, we want this to be fair and all!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My very own diaper bag?

Many of you may read Sara's last post and wonder, "Why did HE suggest they go to Babies R Us? Has he lost his mind ALREADY?"

Well, without answering that last question, I'll try to explain my rationale. One is that I feel like I need to start getting some sort of a handle on all of the stuff we will have to acquire over the next 7 months. It may lead me to go on a heavy drinking binge, but I would rather deal with a known than an unknown. Secondly, it has been decided that I get to pick out and have my own separate diaper bag. This is big for me, because I am envisioning the one that Sara picks out will not be too, um, masculine looking. So I can pick out my very own cool, masculine looking diaper bag. After all, this is all about ME, isn't it? I have my eye on a camoflauge one I saw in the Cabela's catalog, but am anxious to see what else is out there. Hopefully I'll wind up with something big enough for all of the necessities- extra bottles, diapers, change of clothes, six pack of beer, valium....

It Rained!

A lot! We got six inches! This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm pregnant, but it is very exciting! As a side note, I realize that about half of the people who read this live in Ohio and do not get all that excited about rain. However, the rest of you probably understand our joy. Our area has had significantly less rain fall than average this year and we are on burn bans and many places are on water restrictions. So, even though the thunderstorms kept me up last night, we are very thankful for the rain. We are less thankful for the fact that our kitchen floods when we have thunderstorms and we need to have some drainage work done, but that will be a story for another day...

On the baby front, Jory suggested we go to Babies R Us tonight. I am very excited! I am less excited about the fact that I have to call daycares today. We have not decided what we will do following the birth regarding my work and child care. However, the daycares in this area have a significant wait (one is 14 months!). So, if there's any chance we may use a daycare I have to get on a waiting list now. Just thinking about putting our baby in a daycare has caused me significant anxiety (which is why we are not yet on a waiting list when we have known about this situation for quite some time). There is no logical reason for me to freak out when I think about calling daycares, but I panic anyway. I was told this weekend, though, that this anxiety is VERY normal. I was told that by two mothers who may be lying to me, but it made me feel a LOT better. They also reassured me that there is no harm in getting on a wait list (which is logical; logic just isn't playing a huge part in some of my brain activities right now).

So, stay tuned. Tomorrow we should have some new purchases and be on a wait list or two.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Moving Right Along

I think everyone has received the news by now - it certainly didn't take long once we told a few people! It is wonderful to share this with all of you and we LOVE how excited everyone is. It makes it even more wonderful and exciting for us! The sonogram pictures are a huge hit! If you haven't seen them yet, don't worry! We take them with us everywhere, so you will see them the next time you see us!

I am 11 weeks today, so the first trimester is wrapping up. I have gained four pounds which is right on schedule. It's annoying, though, since I don't look pregnant yet - I just look like I gained four pounds! I am still craving fruit - kudos to all of you who have it ready for me when I come to your homes! You are awesome!

We spent a very relaxing weekend with our friends Toby and Leslie who have 3 year old twins and John and Terri who have an eight month old. I got a lot of very good first hand information regarding pregnancy, birth and the weeks following. That was very valuable to me. My husband also received information, but I think it mostly involved warnings of volatile hormones!

All in all, things are going very well here, so there's not a lot to report. I am anxious to start shopping, so we may head out to Babies R Us this week. Other than that, there's just not much going on. I'm eating a lot of fruit and complaining about the four extra pounds!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

AMAZING Day

We have just returned from our sonogram appointment. Our little one is alive, well and VERY active! The baby showed out for the sonogram - moving around like crazy. There is a very strong heart beat and the measurements exactly match how far along I am (10 weeks as of Monday). The doctor said I am very healthy and all is well. She sees no problems and doesn't expect any. Our parents have all been called again and given confirmation of the good news and I got to talk to my brother Doug who was very excited. We are thrilled and amazed! We did not expect so much at the sonogram! There are already hands and we could really make out all of the body parts. And to see all the movement was incredible!

We will now begin what I am sure will turn into several days worth of phone calls and e-mails and various other forms of announcements. As I know that many of you will be seeing this blog for the first time soon and will be coming here looking for details, I will go ahead and answer what I guess will be the most common questions:

1. No, I have not been sick. I have also not been overly tired. I feel wonderful and healthy and extremely blessed. I have really been spared most of the signs of pregnancy. I have had cravings. I crave fruit. I crave all fruit all of the time. I crave a lot of fruit.

2. It will be another two months before we can tell the sex of the baby. However, we don't plan to find out. That decision is not set in concrete, but for now we plan to be surprised. We have no preference on whether it is a boy or a girl and we don't think any of the grandparents do, either. Just give us a healthy baby. The room that will become the nursery is already yellow (it was that way when we bought the house) and we are going to go with that.

3. I am due March 3. Normal delivery will occur anywhere between February 17 and March 17.

That's all I can think of for now. I am anxious to share the news with all of you and we will keep this site updated.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Starting to Spread the News

As of this past weekend, all of our parents know about our exciting news! Everyone seems to be very pleased and excited for us, and that means a lot to both of us. Tomorrow is our sonogram appointment, and if all goes well, we can start spreading the news to more family and friends. That will be very exciting for us! Amazingly, Sara is still feeling great with not a single sign of morning sickness. We are truly blessed that her health has been so good thus far.

We had found an antique wooden highchair at a re-sale shop in town several months ago that both of us thought was really neat. When we checked back in there yesterday they still had it, so it's now ours! We both love it. The store owners estimate that it is from the early 1900's, which is amazing given what kind of shape it is in. It is very sturdy and in immaculate shape to be that old. The lady at the store made a pretty bow to go on it (white, since we aren't going to find out whether it's a boy or a girl), which made Sara very happy when I brought it home last night. My mom remembered Sara mentioning it a few months ago, and said that she wanted to buy it for us as her first contribution. Thank you, Mom! We love it and can't wait for you to see it!