The Davis Family

2+ months worth of pics & updates

2010-09-04T15:09:00.019-04:00

I'm sure you can tell by my lack of posts that things have been crazy busy around here. Here are highlights from the last 2+ months:

- Carrigan & I went to my cousin Rachel's wedding on July 10th. It was such an awesome time for such an amazing couple. We hitched a ride to MD/PA with my parents and had quite a roadtrip. We stayed a B&B near Williamsport PA owned by friends of my Uncle Sam & Aunt Karen. We got to see my Aunt Denise, Uncle Pat & cousin Danielle in Hagerstown as well as visit with folks from my dad's side of the family in town for the wedding. Carrigan got to meet her Greatgrandma & Greatgrandpa Meroney. How special!
- The week after the wedding we ventured to Carolina Beach for 3 nights. My parents came down a day after we did. It was hectic & hot, but alot of fun. Carrigan decided to quit sleeping so well through the night, but she gradually got back to some semblence of a routine the week before I went back to work.
- Speaking of, I went back to work on July 26th. It was nice to see everyone from work, but let's just say a 12 week backlog of work was a shock to the system. My first week back was made easier by my mom staying with us. She watched Carrigan & cooked all of our meals. What a blessing. I have an awesome mom, and everyone knows it.
- Carrigan started rolling from her back to her tummy on Friday July 30th. We weren't expecting this milestone to come so soon. It scared mommy a bit at first, and we even had to get a dr's note so they could let her flip to her tummy and sleep that way at school. What a big girl!
- Carrigan's first day at daycare was August 2nd. She's attending a different school than Brady for right now. We had a few bumps in the road since I'm a Mamma Bear who wants everything perfect, but so far, so good.
- A wonderful summer cold (snicker inserted here) passed through our home & is still passing through. It started with Brady who had a cough for about 2 weeks, hit Carrigan with a stuffy nose and watery eyes, made it's way to Rocky who ended up on steroids & breathing treatments, and ended with me who just got a stuff nose & a small cough. Carrigan eye's were so watery her teacher thought she may have had pink eye. After an unsuccessful trip at 7 pm to Minute Clinic who failed to tell me on the phone when I called that patients must be atleast 18 months of age, we made our way to a Duke Urgent Care and finally got home around 9 pm. It reminds me yet again how thankful we need to be for our generally good health.
- Yesterday, Carrigan had her 4 month check-up, and Brady had his 3 year (sniffle sniffle) check-up. Brady weighed in at 37 lbs & is 38 inches tall. The nurse declared, "he's gonna be a tall one!". Carrigan weight in at 14 lbs 3 oz & 25 inches long. Funny thing is, I looked back at an online growth chart I keep for Brady, and at 4 months he was the exact same length & only 1 oz more than Carrigan. Somehow, I just don't remember him having the rolley polley belly and things like she has. Carrigan did great with her 2 vaccines & Brady was a champ with his finger stick, eye exam, and his first ever "pee in cup". 2 healthy kids makes for a very happy mommy & daddy. In the past week or two, Carrigan has also started scooting around combining multiple rolls with an inchworm motion to make her way around the bed or floor. So big!

So that's the long & the short of it. I want to get back to more regular blogging. Brady says funny & sweet things to me every day that I need to write down so I don't too soon forget. His latest is telling me every night while I'm tucking in him and rubbing his back that he thinks my hair is pretty. However, before today's nap, he said me liked my hair, my shirt, my necklace, but that he really liked my teeth more than my nose. :) It's been a fun albeit tiring past couple of months, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

3 Weeks Worth of Updates

2010-06-25T17:21:00.016-04:00

The time just keeps flying by. Carrigan will be 2 months old next week! She seems to grow overnight sometimes. She's smiling alot lately which you'll see in the pics below. The one of her in the pink onesie is actually the first time I caught her giving me a "real smile" (versus the gas/sleep inducded kind) on camera. As far as her sleeping habits go, this past week she has been sleeping around 9 hours at night in 2 chunks. The first chunk has been around 6 hours, but Wednesday night she slept 7 hours + 2 more hours and last night she slept 7.5 hours straight (although it took her 2 hours to go back to sleep versus the usual routine of nursing and going right back to sleep)! Some days she seems to stick to a sort of schedule, especially in the earlier parts of the day where she'll be up about 1.5 hours followed by a 1.5 hour nap, but days like today she was up for 1 hour, slept for only 30 minutes, nursed, and wanted to nurse again only an hour after starting the last nursing session. Brady seemed to want to nurse constantly while I was on maternity leave, so I've been spoiled by Carrigan going every 3ish hours during the day. It's much easier to bathe, eat, etc when you're not a human pacifier! :) I know these harder days have been few & far between, and that she'll be Brady's age before I know it. I also know that once I go back to work I'll miss getting to nurse her during the day, so I really do try to keep it all in perspective.

Brady is doing great & has made serious strides in potty training. We started giving him one M&M every time he peed in the potty over the weekend. Brady, being the smart young man that he is, decided he should then try to pee a little every few minutes. Hmm. We had to help him understand that it's better not to strain, but rather to go when he feels he needs to go. He's had a few days this week with no accidents in his big boy undies all day at school. The Marvel comic & Disney Pixar undies have been a big hit with Brady & he's excited to get to wear them. As to be expected, there have been accidents (read- pee in the chair at the kitchen table, at school, in his playroom & often in the bathroom on the way to the potty), but we keep encouraging him. He's also really enjoying the summer. Every Wednesday they have Splash Day at his daycare where the kids can run through sprinklers, use watering cans, and splash around. They also have Bike Rally Day on Thursdays (which they do all year) & he's also been a big fan of getting in the pool be it at Grammie & Papa's or in our neighborhood. We are planning a trip for some time in July, most likely to the beach. It's hard to plan a trip now with 2 kids in the summer since we have to be careful keeping the kids out of the crazy hot heat. We can't really cram into a hotel room since there's no point of us all waking each other up due to our variety of sleep schedules. I think we'll end up renting a condo for a few nights. Even though it's been since last May, Brady saw his bucket & shovel in the garage last week and said, "Daddy, we got that for me at the beach." What a good memory he has! He has since been asking about going to the beach and playing in the sand. I hope we get to go because there is nothing I love more than seeing my kids smiling and having a great time.

3 weeks ago, we went to High Point and Carrigan got to meet her Uncle Bobby, Auntie Shaunda and cousin Tanner. One of the pics below if of the three cousins together. So cute! I'm sure they'll have many good times together in the future. Nothing else new to report from the last couple of weeks. We're just continuing to enjoy being a family of four although it definitely has many challenging, stressful, and sleep deprived moments. It's been awesome seeing Rocky with a newborn again & he continues to impress me every day with how good he is with the kids. It's all a balancing act now, and we know it will get easier over time.

1 Month Come & Gone & 5 Years of Love

2010-06-03T16:06:00.010-04:00

I can't believe Carrigan is 1 month old today. She went for her check-up and all is well. Her weight is now 9 lbs 10 ounces & she's 21.75 inches long. In the dr's words "she's perfect" and told me to keep doing what I've been doing. Brady gained 11 ounces the first month of life & she's gained 18 ounces, so I'm hoping that means I have a better milk supply this time. Rocky & I are so happy that she's doing well. What more could we ask for? The pics of her are from the last week and the last two are of her today. I think in the one of her & me she's thinking- quit taking my picture mom! Brady is also doing great. We're hoping his interest in going potty will pick up soon, and he really enjoyed wearing his big-boy undies for an hour last night. He was going potty fairly consistently right before Carrigan was born, but has regressed which is to be expected. He continues to try a few times a day at school, and we ask him often at home about going. He seems excited to wear undies, and he'll tell us that he's already gone potty, but we want him to tell us before he goes and then the undies are all his! The pictures of him below are from Memorial Day. Rocky had bought him a slip-n-slide pool. Brady wasn't so sure about it at first. He'd slide down & hop out but after a few minutes he was very excited about it. I'm sure we'll get alot of use out of it this summer & I'm pretty sure it will be worth more fun that the wopping $25 it cost.
We're planning on going to visit my parents in High Point this weekend as they'll be returning from Jamaica tomorrow. Auntie Shaunda, Uncle Bobby & Tanner will also get to meet Carrigan for the first time. Brady will likely get some pool time & I'm looking forward to seeing the family and enjoying what is sure to be a tasty meal of some sort. I'll have some pics to share next week.

Last for certainly not least- Rocky & I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary last Friday. Wow! I cannot believe half a decade has gone by since we said "I do." We spent most of the day in Fayetteville where we went to pick up my new car. I am now the happy owner of a 2011 Toyota Camry. We got an awesome deal on it making the trip to Fayetteville worth it. Carrigan was a trooper and was agreeable most of the 6.5 hour it took to go there, get the car, and come back. Brady's been asking where mommy's other car is & I explain to him that we got a new car to give us more room. I couldn't get the stroller in & out of the Saturn, and I could barely fit my hand behind Carrigan's carseat making it very difficult to get the seat out. While it's not so fun to have a second car payment, we managed to put about half down on the Camry & Rocky has since re-financed the Highlander to over 1% interest rate lower. Nice one hunny! Now if I could only get a raise at work so I could bring home more than $100 after paying for daycare. I won't hold my breath.

Time Flies

2010-05-25T16:25:00.012-04:00

Wow- time flies when you've got a newborn in the house. I can't believe Carrigan will be a month old next week. She's doing great so far. She's slow to gain weight, but Brady was exactly the same way & he's turned out to be quite the sturdy 2 year old so I'm not so worried. At her 1 week visit on 5/11 she weighed 7 lbs 14 ounces which was only 1 ounce gained from 4 days prior. However, right before her weigh in while I was stripped her down to her birthday suit she had quite the poopy. As I was taking her diaper off, I heard some tuties going on so I held off for a second until it sounded like she was done. However, once I'd removed the diaper, she proceeded to commence pooping which shot all over my right arm, up her leg, on her arm, and all over the exam table. Whew! I can't tell you the last time I laughed that hard. Rocky & my mom were there and got a good chuckle out of it too. So realistically, she may have peed & pooped out 3 ounces so her 4 day weight gain wasn't so bad. They still suggested I bring her back 3 days later for another weight check. The NP we saw that day is also a lactation consultant. She said it may be possible that Carrigan wasn't emptying my boobies enough so I could pump after a feed to see if she's leaving too much. I could also try pumping before a feed to remove some foremilk (watery milk for hydration) forcing Carrigan to get to the hindmilk (fattening milk) before she quits her feed, and this hindmilk will help her gain weight. I pumped after a feed later that day, and there was only .25 ounces total left so I think she usually empties them pretty well. What I do now is after a midday feed, I wait 2 hours and pump for about 10 minutes. This gives about another hour before her next feed and has allowed me to freeze milk for her to have once I go back to work to supplement what I pump at work if need be. Friday 5/14 she weighed 8 lbs even so she had gained 2 ounces in 3 days. The nurse practioner recommened another follow-up in 1 week, but I decided just to monitor her weight at home using our scale. She goes back for her 1 month check-up on June 3rd, so we''ll see what her official weight is then. Brady only gained 11 ounces the first month, and the pediatrician wasn't concerned and didn't suggest supplementing with formula so I'm thinking all will be well even if she's just over 9 lbs.
As far as nursing goes, she's definitely alot more laid back than Brady. He would nurse vigorously for about 45 minutes total every time he nursed at this age. Other than her first 2 feedings of the day which are more spaced out, she pretty much wants to only nurse about 5-10 minutes on each side before dosing off. I have to really keep her agitated to make sure she doesn't fall asleep before atleast 15 minutes on the first side. The longer she nurses the more hindmilk she gets which was another thing the NP/LC suggested. Her first 2 feedings of the day I try to get her to nurse 20 minutes per side. The other feedings of the day (about 5 more feedings most days), I try to get her to do atleast 15 minutes on the first side and atleast 10 minutes on the second side but of course she can nurse longer if she likes.
I think overall, Brady has always been a great sleeper. As a newborn, he just wouldn't nap well during the day. Once we were up for the day, we were up. Carrigan has managed to sleep better than him at this age so I'm much better rested as well. For example- her routine is roughly asleep at 10:30, up to nurse at 3:30, back to sleep from 4:30-8:00, nurse & back to sleep by 9:00, and asleep again until 11-12. Crazy I know! I get 8.5-10 hours of sleep each night in about 3 chunks which has been awesome. During the day, I try to make sure she doesn't sleep too much but I also don't want her to get overtired by not napping. I've been keeping a sleep log which helps me know if she's slept too much early in the day so I can try to keep her up more in the afternoon. She's usually up about 10 hours a day which apparently is still more than the average 6-8 hours I've read that most newborns are awake. She's not a fussy baby so I'm thinking she's sleeping as much as she needs. Who knows if she'll continue to be as good of a sleeper as Brady (he was sleeping 10-5 by 7 weeks), but I'm definitely feeling pretty well rested so I can't complain.
Brady continues to excel as being a big brother. He wants to touch her & kiss her and talk to her alot. The first time I brought Carrigan to his school, naturally the other children were curious. They approached her car seat and Brady had alot to say about that "No touching. She's my baby sister. You can't have her!" Wow! Protective big brother for sure. We talked about sharing and how they are interested in babies. 2 kids in his class have siblings on the way, so we talked about how they're excited to learn about babies to get ready for them. I feel that overall he's adjusted pretty well. I've taken him & Carrigan to Chick-fila the past 2 Tuesdays which was part of our routine while I was pregnant. I've also taken them both to Barnes & Noble a few times which Brady really enjoys. Rocky gets Brady ready for school on his own since I'm usually sleeping or feeding Carrigan, and he also takes care of him on the weekend mornings while I sleep. Bathtime for Brady is usually left to Rocky as well since I'm generally feeding baby girl then. Overall, I think Brady is doing great, and I can't wait to see them be able to play together once she gets older.

Here are some pics from the past few weeks. She's been able to meet Rocky's dad and stepmom and a few of my friends as well. I also included a picture of her first bath at home along with some cute pics of her & Brady. You can see how much he loves her & it was so sweet to see him "reading to her".

And then there were 4!

2010-05-08T14:20:00.023-04:00

So the evening of May 2nd after writing the last blog entry, I went into labor! Brady had predicted that baby sister would come on "2 May", so he was right in that she started coming on May 2. It started around 6:15 p.m. while we were having a family dinner at Carrabbas. Contractions were 10 minutes apart on average so around 8:15 I called my parents and they thought they should come that night. Contractions slowed from 10ish until 12 a.m. when I laid down to get some rest. They then went from 7 minutes apart to 4 minutes apart. Around 1:15 we headed to the hospital (I delivered Brady & baby girl at Durham Regional) since they'd been 4 minutes apart for an hour. I went upstairs and kissed Brady before leaving & absolutely lost it. Being in labor made me think back to giving birth to him & how much he's changed since then and here I was about to do it all over again. We got checked into our room around 1:45 with contractions still around 4 minutes apart. The evening got really interesting around 2:45 a.m. Monday morning. I was laboring in a rocking chair & had a very intense contraction followed by a strange pressure sensation. Rocky & I heard a loud POP! and my water broke. When I say it broke, IT BROKE! It took 2 large towels to sop it up & I need a new gown and to be dried off. Usually the water breaking causes labor to quicken, but for some reason, my contractions slowed to around 10 minutes apart, although they were very intense. At 3:45 I was checked and found to be 4-5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. Also, there was a bit of meconium in the amniotic fluid, but not enough that they were worried. A pediatric team would be on board to assess her right after birth. I was checked again around 8:45 and had not progressed at all. What the heck! Contractions were very painful but not doing anything. I was told to go for an hour walk. I walked for about 45 minutes, but between the lack of sleep, being soooo hungry, and the pain, I was getting dizzy and feeling like I was going to pass out. I was checked again and found to have made no more progress. At this point, my parents were there with us. I was emotional & feeling like I didn't know what to do. Babies need to arrive within 24 hours of water breaking so I didn't want to stay 4-5 cm all day long. I had originally wanted a natural, drug-free childbirth, but with the reality of pitocin right around the corner, I knew that probably needed to change. I was nauseous with contractions & feeling quite discouraged. I was told I could try walking some more get an enema to stimulate labor, try nipple stimulation, or get some pitocin. None of those ideas sounded appealing. I had already tried walking & it hadn't worked and I was afraid of passing out. The enema sounded the least appealing for obvious reasons. Around 10:15ish I told my nurse I wanted some pitiocin, but only after I received an epidural. She hung the bags of IV fluids & by 11:15 I had my epidural. Can I just say that anethesiologists are some of God's angels on earth? Hehe! The placement of my epidural hurt because I felt the pressure in my spine & I also had 4 contractions while sitting there like a pretzel. However, the epidural provided almost instant relief. By 2:15 p.m.- I had gone from 4-5 cm dilated to 10 cm dilated- not bad for 3 hours worth of labor. I started pushing right after 3 p.m. and Carrigan Lin Davis was born at 3:23 pm. ONLY 20 MINUTES OF PUSHING! What a change from the 3.5 hours of pushing with Brady.

So here are the stats:
8 lbs 7.5 oz & 19.75 inches long
Brown hair & blue eyes (atleast for now)

Looks alot like Brady did when he was born

No ill effects from the meconium- Praise God!

After being all cleaned up, I got some food (best boxed lunch ever) and was moved into my post partum room around 5:30ish. My parents brought Brady to visit and he finally got to meet his baby sister around 7:45. Wow was he smitten. He was quite sad to leave that night without her & we decided it'd be for the best to not have him come visit again between being sad to leave her & mommy and also because the room was so small (i.e.- stir crazy 2 year old) with lots of buttons to press & things to get into.

I was raveneously hungry after having her & ate alot of hospital food & food brought to me by Rocky during my 2 night stay. The process of recovery seemed to be going much easier this time. My only complication is the whole "not being able to pee predicament" that I experienced with Brady. If the bladder becomes too full, it causes the uterus to not be able to clamp down which can cause a serious hemorrhage. I let them know that I needed to be cathed & preferred a foley since I didn't want to be straight cathed every few hours & they agreed. When they cathed me at 8:45 p.m., I instantly filled up 2 liters of pee! What relief! No wonder I'd been so uncomfortable before that. They took the catheter out Tuesday & I showered and tried to go many times to no avail. It was replaced & taken out again on Wednesday. After having it out about 2 hours, I was able to pee. I have never been so excited to pee in my life. The nurse said there was no need for a bladder scan to check the volume, but I told her it'd be fine to do one especially since she'd mentioned some nursing students who wanted to learn. Bad news- bladder had 850 ml & it's ideal to only have 350 ml. A few hours later they checked again & it had risen to 999 ml! What the heck! I'd been peeing up a storm. My nurse got my Ob on the phone on her drive home who agreed to let me go home under the conditions that I try to go every 1-2 hours. I asked to take one of those fancy pee hats home so I could measure and get a visual idea if it was getting better or worse. As of today, things are going fine in that arena, so I'm glad I chose not to come home with a foley. (I apologize for using the word "pee" so many times there!)

It took us until Wednesday to officially decide on her name. We spent alot of labor discussing it. She just didn't look like a Charlotte or Gretchen. After she was born, Rocky said "She's such an exquisite little thing. She needs a really special name." We had already decided on Lin as a shortened version of Linda, Rocky's mom who passed away almost 7 years ago. It felt good to finally fill out the birth certificate paperwork with her name. I cried once it was official.

She has a bit of jaundice, but nothing they wanted us to do anything about. As far as breastfeeding went, in the hospital, she didn't even want to nurse every 3 hours even though the nurse brings the breastfed baby to the mom every 3 hours at a minmum. Tuesday during the night I finally told them to wait to bring her to me when she woke up or around 4 hours. So I got to sleep from 4-7:45 am. It was awesome. I hadn't slept much Monday night. My room was right across from the nursing station & at one point I had to call my nurse in to have her tell them to quiet down. Tuesday night went much better since Rocky brought up my fan & it drowned out all the noise. She now eats about every 3 hours, but has periods of cluster feeding as well.

We got to come home Wednesday around 7:30, and it was so nice to bring baby girl home at last. The first night home went well with her being up from 1:30-2:30 and 4:45-5:30. However, Thursday night she was up from 2-5:30 a.m. and last night she was up from 12-4 a.m. Whew! She'll fall asleep after nursing but will wake up either right after I put her in her Moses basket or within a few minutes. Luckily, I'm taking atleast 1 2 hour nap during the day while she sleeps so it hasn't gotten too bad yet. Last night I went to bed at 9:45 when she did, so the 2 hours of sleep before the 4 hours of being awake felt really good. As far as diapers go, she is not a fan of being changed. I think it's the whole being cold thing that she doesn't like but I'm just happy she's peeing & pooping enough. That's always a good sign. My milk has come in much better than with Brady & I tend to leak after 3 hours if she's not up yet. I'm happy about this & hope it's a sign that pumping will be more productive than last time.

And now, what everyone really wants. Pictures! Of course we think she's beautiful & we feel so blessed to have a happy, healthy girl.

Patiently Waiting

2010-05-02T11:08:00.003-04:00

So it's the day before my due date with baby girl. Still pregnant as you can tell my the post title and the fact that this post isn't about her birthdate, size, name... I still feel pretty good, but I'm excited to get this show on the road. I've had contractions randomly for days now. I had an hour this morning where they were 10 minutes apart and now I'll have them about once an hour or so, but I'm not calling my doctor until they're 5 minutes apart for atleast an hour. The plan is to also call my parents at this point so they can come and stay with Brady. I had a strange dream Friday night where my parents were here, but we all left and went to the hospital, and right before I started pushing I realized Brady was at home alone. They got home & he had just woken up and wanted to know where everyone was. I think this is my subconscious fear about Brady feeling somewhat neglected when I have the baby. I know he'll be shown plenty of love my Rocky, me and our extended family and friends, but I still wonder how he'll feel not being the only center of our attention anymore. The dream was also wierd because all of Shaunda's family (aunts, uncles, cousins) were in the room while I was in labor. I have no idea what this part of the dream meant. The last part of the dream that was bizarre is that she only weighed 7 lbs even which I think is pretty much impossible at this point. Hmm... As far as progress goes, at my 39 week appointment last Monday I had gone from 1 cm to 2 cm dilated and from 25% to 70% effaced. I have my 40 week appointment tomorrow morning if I'm still pregnant, so maybe I'll have made further progress. I know that it's not really an indication of when I'll go into labor, but any free dilation is fine by me! Brady has been saying for months that baby sister will come on 2 May, even before I told him I was due in May, so I've been hoping he'd be right. That'd be really special that he knew when his baby sister was going to be born. Rocky had been saying April 29th for months & my mom had a dream that she was coming on April 30th, so Brady's guess is the next one that could come to fruition. While I don't think she'll be 8 days late like Brady, that would still only be 9 days from now. We're very close! I will definitely post when she arrives. In the meantime, my last official day of work was Friday. I could go in this week if she's not here, but with all of the random contractions and feeling more tired each day, I will probably take this time to just relax since it will be quite some time before napping & relaxation are introduced back into my life. This past week went by really quickly & this weekend is going by pretty quickly too. I was nice & busy at work and also met up with Rocky twice for lunch & with Nicky as well. This weekend, Rocky got up with him both mornings (6:45 yesterday and 6:15 today- YIKES!) so I could sleep in, and I took Brady to B&N and McDonald's yesterday before naptime, and then we all had dinner & went to the park after dinner last night. Who knows what today will hold. I'm not really in a "put on makeup and leave the house" kind of mood, but maybe after Brady's nap & mommy's nap I'll feel more up to it.

Tick tick tick!

2010-04-25T17:25:00.003-04:00

I feel like I"m a ticking timebomb waiting to go off. At 38 weeks 6 days, I could be holding baby girl in my arms today or up to 3 weeks from now (let's hope it's not that long). I am still way less comfortable than I was at this point with Brady who insisted in sitting on all kinds of nerves to cause sciatica & pelvic pressure. The one uncomfortable thing I notice this time that I didn't have before is random contractions. I'll have a few an hour & then it stops and then I get some more in a few hours or not again until the next day. It's been like that on & off for over a week now. At my visit last Monday I was still only dilated 1 cm but had gone from 25% to 50% effaced. I have my 39 week visit tomorrow & am hoping I've made a little more progress. I know that progress doesn't mean she'll pop out that day, but for some reason, progress seems encouraging. The pics below were taken at 38 weeks 3 days (complete with new stretch marks and all. It's funny- Brady gave me the ones below my belly button and baby girl has given me the ones above my belly button. Territorial siblings already? Hehe!). While I don't think she'll be as big as Brady as 9 lbs 1 oz, I do think she'll be atleast 8 lbs. Finding out her weight & length are just some of the wonderful surprises awaiting us. Hair color, eye color, facial features, and oh yeah- her birth day are some other things I can't wait to find out. Brady is still quite excieted to begin his role as big brother. He was kissing my belly today and shook his finger telling baby sister "You not gonna watch Harry Potter". When I asked him why not, he said "Cause it's too scary." Perhaps he's already practicing being protective of her?

Full Term!

2010-04-15T12:21:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that as on Monday, baby girl is considered full term. It still would feel so wierd to have her this early, but it's comforting to know that if that happens, her lungs should be good to go. I had my last appointment on Monday. They offered to check me again if I wanted, so I said sure thinking perhaps I'd progressed from 1 cm the week before. Not so much. Still 1 cm & about 25% effaced. It kinda bummed me out, but I know that being dilated or not really means nothing at this point. My belly measured 37 cm at 37 weeks so I'd grown 2 cm in a week. The exam caused my back to hurt for a few hours that day along with 1, yes only 1, strong contraction. I go back for my next visit on Monday. If they offer to check me, I still may say yes. Kinda hoping it may get things moving along. I feel really lucky to not be uncomfortable at this point as opposed to having some seriously achy pelvic, hip & leg issues with Brady from about 8 months on. The only pains I've been happening are actually upper back pain. Strange, I know. It happens throughout the night & I think I'm just sleeping in a not-so-good position or something. It's not unbearable & I'm still sleeping fairly well, just getting up 2-3 times a night to go tinkle. I'm getting really excited to go into labor (wierd but true), experience childbirth again, and meet my daughter. It's neat that her birthdate, weight, length, eye color, hair color, features, everything will be a surprise. I packed up some toiletries for the hospital & have work stuff pretty squared away too (out-of-office written & ready to be activated and out-of-office voice mail ready to be activated too). Last night I sterilized the breast pump parts too. I am really looking forward to nursing again as it's one of the best things I've ever done for Brady. There's not much I can do now to keep him healthy other than regular dr's & dentist check-ups, but I gave him such a great start in life by nursing him for 12.5 months. It was a huge sacrifice, but I started off right (no bottles, no paci, etc) and followed my guy by not supplementing him with formula early on despite his slow weight gain, and I think it all paid off. I've posted pics below of me at 36 weeks 5 days from last Saturday. She's still growing & I'm enjoying the ever-blossoming belly. On a side note, we took Brady for his first dentist's appointment this morning. He definitely was scared since it was much like a doctor's office, but the dentist was great. She managed to brush, clean, and put a flouride treatment on his teeth. What a brave boy! He continues to be such a joy & I have no doubt he will be an exceptional big brother to baby girl. Oh, he's also decided that her name should be Charlotte! We had some families over to our house this past weekend including 5 girls ages 1-7 and one's name was Charlotte. Apparently he loves her name because he patted my tummy Sunday night multiple times & said that baby Charlotte was in there. He'svery insistent that she not be called anything but Charlotte. I think Charlotte Lin Davis has a nice ring to it, but we've decided to still wait and see how we feel about it when she's born.

Easter Fun & Baby Girl Happenings

2010-04-06T12:58:00.009-04:00

We enjoyed a nice Easter weekend. I had a sore throat and earache Friday(never panned out to be anything, so I'm guessing it's due to the yellow haze of pollen outside), so I stayed home from work, but thanks to napping all day Friday & enjoying a nap Saturday while Rocky & Brady went to breakfast and the park, I felt well enough Saturday evening to meet up with my parents & John in Burlington for Thai food & a trip to Barnes & Noble. Sunday started off with Brady enjoying the goodies in his Easter basket- little bit of candy (including his favorite- M&M's- see pic below for a shot of his chocolate smeared face), Spiderman tattoos, Cars stickers, Spiderman book, Kung Fu Panda DVD, Sesame Street socks (he's sporting them in one of the pics- but since they'd been buried in the pack-n-play for so long, we soon discovered they are too small- baby sister will love them!) and a Disney watercolor book. Rocky had found the watercolor book the night before at B&N. Brady loves it! You put water in the marker and it "colors" the paper. But as the paper dries, the color goes away so you can draw on it again. Very cool! He'll be loving that one for a while. After basket time, I took Brady to Barnes & Noble where he read alot of books and then we went to McDonald's for lunch (his request) where he gobbled up his nuggets & apple dippers and then headed off to play in their play area. The one at Brier Creek has a really nice outdoor play area, complete with shaded tables for the parents to sit at. We then headed home for his nap time & that evening we had a nice dinner at Outback before heading to the park. What a fun weekend! The pics below are just a glimpse of how much he enjoyed it all.
It seems as if no blog post would be complete without an update on baby girl. I had my 36 week appointment yesterday. This included the swab for Group B Strep. Basically, if a mom tests positive, she is given antibiotics during labor to prevent transmission to the baby since GBS can make babies very, very sick. My belly measurements proved the fact that she had dropped which I already knew since I can breath better due to her no longer being lodged in my ribs. At 34 weeks I measured 36 cm and now at 36 weeks I'm only measuring 35 cm. I have never measured behind at all with either pregnancy, so this was proof that she had headed south. Since the doctor was already "down there" for the GBS swab, she checked my cervix & found that I am 1 cm dilated. I was dilated for 2 weeks before I had Brady, so it doesn't mean much, but it is 1 cm I don't have to dilate during labor. She instantly felt the head & said that it was nice & low. They won't check me again until I'm 39 weeks or if I think I'm in labor, but I'll still have weekly appointments from here on out to check my urine for sugar & protein, weigh-in (Oh Joy!), check my blood pressure (a nice 116/68 this week), measure my belly, and listen to her heartbeat. This is all becoming more real. Rocky has serious doubts that I'll make it until May. He's going to install the carseat bases this weekend. Other than that, most of the things I need to do are more for me than for her- haircut for Brady & me, oil change for my car, order breastpump parts, etc. I'm starting to wonder more & more what she'll look like- it's the daydream phase of pregnancy where my mind drifts off & I picture having a sweet baby girl in our house as we go from a family of 3 to a family of four. Even if I hold off having her until as late as I had Brady, that's only 5 weeks. Seems like 5 weeks ago was just here yesterday.

My pregnancy may expire before my yogurt

2010-03-25T18:11:00.007-04:00

Posted- 3/29/10 (can't get the post date to change from 3/25/10 when I drafted it). We're getting closer to meeting baby girl. I noticed this morning that the yogurt in my fridge expires on May 3rd (my due date) and the milk doesn't expire until May 16th. I will for sure have a baby before the milk goes bad (granted with a 2.5 year old in the house it will be gone by next week for sure). For some reason, this all really excited me. When will she come? Who will she look like? How big will she be? All unknowns & very exciting. Other exciting news- as of my 34 week visit last Wednesday she's not breech! Hallelujah! Also, I watched what I ate from 32-34 weeks and actually lost a pound which didn't alarm the doctor since that still puts me up 35 lbs. It was by far the best dr's visit of this pregnancy because it quelled my fear's of an external version or scheduled c-section- 2 things I had been fretting big time. I had an U/S to confirm her position & she's definitely head down. They estimated her weight at 5.5 lbs which would put her on track to be 8.5 lbs at 40 weeks. Look at her taking after her big brother already by being a big baby. Her femur length measured at 32 weeks so she may be a short, chubby baby which would be super cute. The pics below are my favorites from the U/S. In the 2nd one you can see her sucking on her nummy fingers. Seems that she already loves her sugar sticks just like Brady did. The 3rd pic down cracked us up because she looked like she was either smiling or passing some gas. I think she looks alot like her daddy in the 4th & 5th pics and just like Brady as a baby in the last one (although Rocky thinks she looks just like me in that one). I've also included pictures of me at 34 weeks 1 day. My belly is definitely more than a bump at this point. Our doctor's office didn't get their 3D machine until right after I had Brady so we have no 3D pics to compare to although I'm sure she'll look atleast a little bit like him. This past weekend I washed up her NB & 0-3 month clothes, blankets, and her crib sheet. Her crib is ready to go although she probably won't sleep in it for the first month or so. I was really happy to find a Moses Basket at Homegoods for $20. My mom is going to make a mattress and sheet to coordinate with the basket lining fabric. It's starting to seem more real now. I'm finally starting to feel a little more tired. I even came home from work yesterday, napped for 2 hours, slept for 8+ hours last night, and was still tired and in need of coffee this morning. This pregnancy has gone by much quicker & has been alot easier on my body than the first one (probably because she's stayed pretty high and off all of those nerves that caused me pelvic, hip & leg pain before). Let's see if she's as good of a baby as Brady was. No matter what, we will love our little girl. What a blessing!

Go Canes

2010-03-25T12:24:00.004-04:00

We had a great time as a family at the Canes game on Sunday. All we told Brady when we left the house is that we were going to a surprise location. He kept saying he thought we were going to Chick-fila, but realized we were going to the hockey game once we were in the parking lot & he saw all the flags & people walking around with jerseys one. "Hurricanes!" he kept yelling. His jersey was waiting in the back of the car & he was oh so happy to match daddy. Once we got our tickets from willcall (after many phone calls to Rocky's boss who bought them under his account), we went inside & Brady was so excited. He was a bit concerned over the noice (see below pic of him covering his ears from the cheers of the Buffalo fans who were there in obnoxious supply), but overall had an awesome time. Daddy & him even took a trip to The Eye & got Brady his very own Canes hat. Brady decided he liked wearing it backwards. He's been asking when we can go back & loves to her me say the word "Zamboni!" which he repeats with some degree of giggling.

You hurt where? Your head is where?

2010-03-16T10:25:00.014-04:00

So there has definitely been alot of crud going around lately, mostly colds & a nasty stomach bug that's hit my co-workers, their kids, or my friends' kids. Last Thursday night about 30 minutes before bed, Brady kept saying he didn't feel well. It was pretty sudden & I started to wonder if a tummy bug was coming on. Friday, I went in to get Brady up & ready for school to find him laying in some throw-up. Oh boy! Rocky had a scheduled vacation day off & I really felt like Brady needed his mamma, so I stayed home too. This was the first time Brady had ever been sick & really acted sick, laying around, not wanting to play, needing extra rest. He even fell asleep on my bed at 10:30 instead of his usual naptime of 1ish. Later in the evening he fell asleep on the couch at 5:45 with his head down in the crevice between the backboard & armrest. Pitiful muffin! I asked him throughout the day what felt bad, and he would touch his mouth and say "My mouth hurts". I'd asked him about his tummy & he'd say that didn't feel good either. He was drinking very little fluids & Rocky had gone and gotten him Gatorade & Apple Juice. I know most sites on the internet say to stick to pedialyte with tummy bugs, but Brady has had one other bug & he refused it. In his defense, that is some nasty tasting stuff. On Friday, he never once got sick or had a poop. I didn't understand how he could have a stomach bug without these symptoms. I offered him fluids throughout the day & he would take one sip every so often. I offered him foods- applesauce, yogurt, pancake to which he would take one bite and declare he didn't like it. It was so hard to see him not eating & drinking well since he usually eats anything & everything and drinks alot. Rocky went to Target and got him Monsters Inc & Cars, and I had gotten him 7 new books at the Kids Everywhere Consignment Sale the day before, so this helped Brady pass the time while not really wanting to play. Close to 8 pm, Rocky suggested we look in his mouth since Brady kept mentioning that it hurt. Rocky shined the flashlight in there & we both let out loud gasps. His tongue & throat looked like a petri dish, covered in nasty white stuff. He'd also gone from a 99.7 to 100.7 to 101.7 degree temperature so I felt this ruled out thrush. Seemed to be strep throat to us. This explained the not wanting to eat or drink, and we think he may have thrown up due to be tired, fevery, and in pain. Poor little guy. At urgent care on Saturday morning it was confirmed that he had strep so he was started on penicillin. Penicillin tastes pretty yucky even when berry flavored & the ibuprofen burns his mouth because of the sores, but we're making sure he gets his much needed doses 3 times a day. By Saturday afternoon he was asking to go to the park, but the dr said he needed 24 hours of doses in order to not be contagious any more. He woke up 3 times during the night on Saturday, but went back to sleep each time. Rocky was up with him & I didn't even know about this until I woke up in the morning. Sunday I managed to get him to eat a whole pancake despite him wanting to be done after 3 bites. He wasn't fevery any more & was cleary wanting to get out of the house. I took him to Barnes & Nobles, and you could tell how much he loved being able to play again. He managed to eat a small amount for lunch and went down for a nap. I went out to run errands and came back to find that Brady had already been up for an hour and was being quite fussy. We figured he was hungry since he gets pretty crabby when he's hungry. We thought about what we could give him that he'd eat more than a few bites. Golden Corral it was, since we could offer him lots of mushy options- baked apples, rice, sweet potato casserole, macaroni & cheese. To our delite, he ate a full plate of food! I cried at the table I was so happy. From there we went to the park, and it's amazing how some food & time to run around changed his attitude back into being a much happier boy. He went back to school yesterday & ate all of his food there. He ate a decent dinner at home last night too. He's still fussier than usual, but I think he still needs to catch up on his sleep. Last night he told me "Mommy, I'll make you feel better. Lay down for me. Here's some bubblegum. Here's a Thomas sticker for your arm." The bubblegum was referring to his flavored medicine, and the sticker is the highlight of any trip to the dr's office. I was happy to know that he understood that we do all of those things to try to make him feel better. This experience made me realize how much I appreciate when he is healthy. It also gave me a new respect for parents whose children are "really sick"- those with chronic health problems that need constant care. It is so hard to see your child not feel well & know there is only so much you can do.

On the baby girl front, we get to see her again next Wednesday! Last Tuesday I'd gone ahead and booked a 3D/4D scan at Prenatal Peek, and we were going to get a 30 minute DVD of her. I thought it would be something neat to show Brady & the grandparents. Baby girl had other plans. I went in for my routine 32 week appointment last Wednesday. I hopped on the scale to find out I had gained 6 more lbs in 2 weeks. I was worried about this being a sign of pre-eclampsia, but my blood pressure was great at 110/68 so that was ruled out. Dr. Duncan came in, asked how I'd been feeling, to which I replied "I feel great, but I'm not sure why I'm gaining so much weight." At this point, I'd already gained 36 lbs, while I only gained 31 lbs the entire pregnancy with Brady. He said this was a concern since me gaining more weight would make her gain more weight. He measured my belly at 33 cm which is fine for 32 weeks. Brady would even measure 2.5 cm ahead. He performed the Leopold's Manuever (feeling around on the belly) to determine her position. The doctors who saw me at 28 weeks & 30 weeks had done the same and said they couldn't tell if she was head down. This 3rd doctor said he couldn't tell either. He said, "No worries. We'll just do a scan next time." He said they really need to determine her position & also to check her weight since she could be getting quite large since I'd gained that much. I felt crushed & once I got back to work and called Rocky I broke down. It's not a vanity thing, so that's not why I care about the weight part. I'd just hate for her to get so big that they suggest an induction or c-section. I do not believe in inductions unless a woman is quite past due (around 2 weeks), since I feel like if there is such a dire situation (high bp for example) then the baby should be delivered immediately via c-section. I also think it's nuts to offer a woman one just because she is tired of being pregnant. I think your body usually knows what is best. It also seems like so many inductions end in a c-section anyways. Brady was quite large, but since they never checked his weight via U/S, they never suggested any other option than me going into labor on my own. My other concern is that she is breech. There are times when I feel a hard ball up high & it makes me think that her head is what's up in my ribs. Dr. Duncan said she is very high up in my ribs which explains my shortness of breath. However, Brady was so low that I had all of the hip, pelvic, and leg pains, so this is much preferred. I asked Dr. Duncan if she does appear big on the U/S if they would suggest an early induction & he said not necessarily, but my brain was already thinking of all of these things and getting panicky. I went to check out & book my next appointment. The receptionist told me they did a scheduled c-section for her since her baby was so high. Not what I wanted to hear! I want her to be head down, drop nice & low, and for me to go into labor on my own. I will never forget the magic of going into labor with Brady & knowing my body was doing such an amazing thing. I have to remind myself that when it comes to pregnancy, it's not really about what I want. It's about what is best for getting baby girl here safe & sound.

Baby girl- I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing us call her that. She still doesn't have an official name. We thought we had it figured out, we tossed in another name, and we've recently started talking about another name that I've liked for some time. I think we may end up naming her once we meet her. I'm getting more excited every day, and I'm gonna start organizing her stuff this week by doing some laundry & putting her clothing in the pack-n-play and moving Brady's clothing up to his bedroom. I bought some NB diapers this past weekend and almost cried thinking about having a new baby who will be so tiny, especially in comparison to her big brother. I feel like I know Brady so well & it took me a long time to feel like I knew him. Soon I will have baby girl who I know nothing about & that experience of getting to know my child will happen all over again. I know it will be different since she will have her own personality and her own ideas about sleeping, eating, and all of her likes & dislikes. I look forward to getting to know her, getting to know Brady better, and getting to see them enjoy being brother & sister.

Baby Girl Shower

2010-03-11T20:03:00.013-05:00

I had an awesome time at my baby shower last Saturday hosted by Maeghan Sutton & Jamie Tjalma, 2 of my sorority sisters from college. I've posted lots of pics below. I was truly honored by the generosity of all of my friends and family (mom & Shaunda) who were there. We got tons of clothes for baby girl in sizes 3-6 months so she will be one stylish little lady. We also got cups, blankets, hooded towels, a handmade baby blanket, and my mom made her first granddaughter bibs, her first doll, and a quilt. Maeghan & Jamie also did a crazy good job with the food. The sub tray was awesome since they thought to get veggie for me since deli meat it off limits while pregnant, there was a delicious pomegranate punch, pasta salad, hummus & crackers, and the most delicious cupcakes I've ever had from Bliss Boutique Bakery. Lucky for me, Maeghan sent me home with 10 of them. We enjoyed them for days! The decorations were super cute too, enough so that I just had to take pics to share. Another highlight of the shower was having Mandee, another sorority sister from college & one of my bridesmaids, surprise me by coming to the shower all the way from Knoxville. I let out quite the scream when I got to Maeghan's apartment and saw her standing in the kitchen. Later that night, Maeghan & Mandee came over to hang out with me, Brady, Shaunda, and Tanner. Rocky went to pick us up pizza & we chatted for hours. It was like the good ole days with all of us being a little older, a little wiser, and a big ole baby belly on board. It was an awesome day & I really felt so special.

Let the Estrogen Fest Commence

2010-03-05T14:42:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post to say how much I am looking forward to my baby shower tomorrow. 2 of my sorority sisters, Maeghan Sutton & Jamie Tjalma, are hosting it in Chapel Hill, and I CANNOT WAIT!!! It's an all girl event, unless my friend Sue brings her 9 month old Stough which would be great, so there will be a plentiful supply of estrogen. I'm excited to spend time with friends and to celebrate the blessing that is my daughter. I will post pictures of the festivities, hopefully this weekend. I was originally going to wear a black & cream geometric printed dress but decided I wanted something more colorful and quite honestly something that would photograph better, so I ventured out at lunch today and found a navy & aqua floral dress with matching teal flats. I've learned that maternity dresses should actually be called "moo-moo's" so I opted for a non-preggo dress in a size up from what I usually wear. And let's be honest- since I didn't have navy or teal shoes, it was the perfect opportunity to add some to my collection. Also, it's quite possible this will be our last baby, so I'm trying to savor every moment (side note- despite this attempt, this pregnancy is going by way too fast. When I was pregnant with Brady I never thought I'd say that a pregnancy would feel as if it went by too fast, but this one definitely is). I also felt like it was okay to splurge on a new head-to-toe look since again, it may be my final baby shower ever. I know we'll all have a great time and if the adorable invites are any indication, I'm sure the shower will be girly & perfect. Since I'm pregnant, there's no shame in me admitting how much I'm looking forward to the food too. Apparently, so is Brady since when I told him yesterday that this weekend I was going to a party for baby sister while he spent time with daddy, Papa, and baby Tanner, he asked if I'd bring him back some cake, specially Shrek or Spiderman cake! I'm thinking it will be something more along the lines of a pink or purple cake or cupcakes, but I promised I'd bring him some anyways.

Little Bunny Foo Foo

2010-03-02T11:44:00.008-05:00

My favorite posts are those where I can weave a story that includes elements of both Brady and Baby Girl Davis. This is one such post. It's no secret at this point that the name of Baby Girl is a secret. When I arrived at Brady's school yesterday, one of his teacher's approached me and said "Brady's been saying his sister's name today." My heart sunk thinking that Brady had let the cat out of the bag by letting the name slip out. All I could do was smile & reply, "Well, what was he saying?". "Oh, he's been saying her name is Bunny". Silent sigh of relief on my part. I just laughed and confirmed that her name will definitely not be Bunny & said something about never really knowing what Brady's going to say. She asked what the baby's name is going to be, and I told a LWL (Little White Lie) when I said we weren't even sure yet. I say it was a LWL versus a BWL since technically we're not 100% sure what her name is going to be. We think we know & Brady calls her a certain name, but we're leaving it open in case when she arrives we can feel free to pick something else if she just doesn't look like she should be called by this name. Next, I ventured out to the playground to find my sweetie pie who was busy at the tire swing. Two more of the 2 year old teachers said he'd been very talkative about his baby sister today. They had also heard the name Bunny thrown around along with something that sounded to them like Dawn. My honest thoughts about Bunny Davis & Dawn Davis are that they both sound like perfect names, but only if one would like to pursue a career in some adult industry if you know what I mean. So for all those who are interested, you can cross Bunny & Dawn off the list of name possibilities.

Another Brady/ Baby Girl hybrid story is one that took place last Thursday. The spirit moved Brady while we had some tunes playing on the tv & he hopped up to dance. Near the end of his booty shaking he informed Rocky & me that he was "dancing for baby sister." I'm telling you, when he says things like this my heart really does melt. I asked him what she would think about his dancing, and he stated matter of factly that "She will love it". I will make an attempt later today/weel to post the video to the blog, but I'm not sure how that will go due to my still limited knowledge of all things blogging. While I'm getting more excited by the day to meet my sweet baby girl, I'm equally as excited to see Brady's experience being a big brother. I know he will be as good of a big brother as he is good at everything else he does & I know that the first time I see them together I will use my fair share of Kleenex. I've been asking him what he will do the first time he meets her & he tells me that he will give her hugs & kisses and tell her "I love you baby sister." Let's see how long this loving feeling lasts before he asks mommy & daddy to send baby sister back to wherever she came from. I'm sure it will be quite the adjustment for him since he's had all of our attention for over 2 and a half years.

I've posted 2 pics below of Baby Girl in all her glory at 31 weeks 1 day. I'm not a huge fan of how huge my cheeks look, especially in the top picture, but I know it's just part of this final 2 months of pregnancy. I'm actually quite happy being a chubby cheeked mamma to a (most likely) chubby cheeked daughter. I was talking to Rocky the other day about the fact that having a daughter will make me more aware of how critical I can be of myself. I need to be careful not to criticize my hair, skin, weight, cooking, etc in front of her because that could lead to my daughter having lower self esteem, and this is the last thing I want. I want to be a positive role model for her and raise her to know that she is a beautiful girl & then a beautiful woman who can do & be anything her heart desires. I can't believe my due date is only 2 months and 1 day away. Rocky thinks there's a good possiblity she won't hang out that long, but I like to thing that I have the Taj Mahal of baby caves (I was told this by my gal pal Nicky while pregnant with Brady) & she may make a Mother's Day appearance on May 9th or even May 10th which is Uncle John's birthday.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...

2010-02-25T12:44:00.004-05:00

Twice this week Brady has asked to play with playdough after dinner. I love watching him make things & telling me what they are. Earlier this week, most of the things he made were "birthday cakes for papa". Who cares if Papa's birthday isn't until the end of May?! It's so neat to watch him be creative & use his imagination. It's a great way to get some insight into what goes on in the mind of a 2 year old. Well, last night while playing with play-dough, Brady kept asking me to make certain things- beetle, castle, duck, etc that ended up pretty much all looking the same. I decided to exercise my inner creativity (ala Grammie Robin) and make a person with a hockey stick & puck and tell Brady that it was him playing hockey. It looked much like all of the other things I'd made. :( Oh well. I asked Brady who he thought it was to which he replied "That's a testicle!" REALLY!!!!???? I asked him again to make sure I'd heard correctly which apparently I had. Rocky & I both laughed until we were on the brink of tears. Who knows if Brady really thought my rendition of him looked like a testicle or if he was just trying to make us laugh. Either way- we did! This is one of those stories I will have to share with friends one day- you know, like when he's a teenager. :) The pics posted below are from Monday night's playdough extravaganza while making the cake for Papa. The bathtub pic is from Tuesday night when he was channeling his punk rocker side.

Won't You Be My Darlin'?

2010-02-22T21:18:00.002-05:00

Brady has gotten into the habit of "reading" a book first before letting me read it. It's amazing how with some books, he clearly understands the story and tells his own version of it. With other books, he simply says certain things he sees on the page. Well tonight, he's in the middle of reading "Things That Go" and looks up at me and says in a sing-songy voice, "Won't you be my darlin!?" Now where did he hear that line? For some reason, I think it's from an old song, but I'm not so sure. I asked him where he learned it to which he answered "I don't know" and then sang/said it again, this time accompanied by some serious giggles. This prompted him to say it many times during book-reading. He knows when I find something clever & takes much pleasure in making mommy smile. During our tucking in to bed routine, he likes for me to make up stories about his favorite characters- Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Mickey Mouse. I made sure to weave the line "Won't you be my darlin'!?" into each story tonight which he loved.

Speaking of darling, here's a great time to bring up something interesting going on with baby girl. Rocky & I thought we had settled on a name a while back. We decided not to officially debut it and keep it a surprise until she gets here. Glad we did, since just last night, we started seriously discussing a new name. If her "other name" had been announced, we would have then been bombarded with "why are you changing it" and "oh I like ___ better", and it would be impossible for us to make up our minds on our own. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to meet her, look at her, and say "Oh, she definitely looks like a ___". It's funny because Brady's name was Brady before it had been confirmed that he was a boy. Our daughter will most likely remain nameless until her TBD birthdate. Can't believe how quickly her birthdate is approaching. I'm 30 weeks along today & had another check-up that was uneventful- blood pressure of 110/60, her heartbeat sounded good, and I measured right at 30 cm. Brady always measured ahead, so maybe just maybe she won't hit the 9lb 1 oz mark of her big brother. Strangely enough, I'm within 1 lb of gaining as much weight as I did my entire pregnancy with Brady. Wowser! I'm definitely not excited about this fact, but quite frankly, there's nothing I can do about it, and as long as she & I are healthy, I'll worry about the pounds once she's out & about. The doctor didn't bring it up, so I didn't either. I go back in 16 days for my 32 week check-up. 32 weeks, 34 weeks, and 36 weeks are the "measure & listen" time check-ups. After that, I go every week until I have her and will have the option of being checked to see if anything is happening down there. I say option because really, whether or not I'm dilated/ effaced/ she's at whatever given station is really not that important. It's an uncomfortable exam that yields not useful information. I started dilating at 38 weeks with Brady & he decided to stay in the cozy baby cave until 41 weeks 1 day. I'm thinking I'll just avoid those exams until perhaps 39-40 weeks. We shall see.

Is that a baby in your tummy or are you just happy to see me?

2010-02-18T09:12:00.004-05:00

The answer is: both! There is definitely a baby girl in my belly & I'm feeling quite happy these days. No major aches or pains to complain of, sleeping pretty well, no swelling, enjoying feeling her move alot. I'm really trying to relish the joys of being pregnant since this may very well be our last baby. It's not a certainty, but kids aren't free & we want to provide our children with everything we can, so it may be that 2 kids are the perfect number for us. More kids would mean a bigger house, bigger car (for me anyways), bigger college funds to be put away, etc. Okay, enough about what may or may not happen. Here are some pics of me at 29 weeks 1 day. Mind you, these were taken after a full day at work, so I'm looking a little tired, but I really do feel pretty darn good to be this far along. She has definitely grown since my 27 week pictures & I know my baby cave will continue to provide her with an evergrowing home. According to stats online, she's roughly 2.5 lbs and 15 inches long right now. Her main job in the upcoming weeks is to gain weight & increase her lung maturity. It's a hard job being a fetus!

So glad to see you....Chick-fila

2010-02-17T12:50:00.002-05:00

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourselves & things in life- either because it's genuinely funny or because it just plan keeps you sane. Let's discuss our weekly trip to Chick-fila that Brady & I took last night. When we get to there, and I go to get Brady out of the car, he says "So glad to see you" as if it's been a while. Wherever did he learn such a grown-up phrase? It made me laugh & I asked him where he'd heard that before, only for him to laugh and say "I don't know" in the sweet little way that he does. Turns out, his very own Papa tells him that every time he sees him. I guess Brady just wanted to appear as if he was the clever one & had come up with it on his own. Next up on the night's agenda- while waiting in line, I have Brady hold the P-sauce to keep him & his hands busy while we waited for our food. I told him to hold on tight so he wouldn't drop the P-Sauce & C-Sauce on the floor. He's a very literal child to the point that he held on so tightly that it exploded all over his jacket, pants, and the floor. This allowed mommy to hold up the line while she wiped him off & wiped the floor up with entirely too many napkins. While dining, Brady dropped his cup on the floor, spilling milk & more importantly, exposing him to Chick-fila floor germs. Well- I guess it will just have to toughen up his immune system. After eating, we proceeded to the play area where I realize his shoes have been on the wrong feet all day! I told Rocky about this once we got home because it was so funny & his response was "Woops!" I'm happy that Brady has a daddy who dresses him, changes his diapers, takes care of him when he's sick, things that some dads just don't do- but should do! Anyways, times like these further solidify how much I love being Brady's mom- there's no one else I'd really want to wipe sauce off of or clean up after their messes. Here's to more date nights for mommy & Brady at Chick-fila. I'm sure they will come with more interesting stories & eventually will include Brady's partner in crime, his little sister.

Beer & Tacos

2010-02-15T11:59:00.002-05:00

Brady went to stay with his Papa & Grammie (my parents) this past weekend. As always, they had lots of fun things for him to do & lots of tasty food for him to eat. After leaving the science center on Saturday, they headed to lunch at Positano's, a fabulous Italian eatery in Greensboro. After browsing through the menu, Brady had made up his mind & told everyone, "I'll have the chicken taco!" Why in the world would he be thinking about chicken tacos at an Italian restaurant?!! I cannot even tell you the last time we've had chicken tacos. However, upon hearing this Mexican food request, Papa got in the mood for Mexican so they made a trip to Mi Pueblo for dinner. Now, on to the beer part of the story. Uncle John had given Brady his old boxed set of the Toy Story. Instant hit! He wants to watch it at our house now, but he does have a bit of a problem saying Buzz Lightyear. At Target last night he saw some of the Toy Story figures. He proceeds to declare for all of the aisle to hear, "Mommy, I want the Bud Light!" Nice! Not sure if I was more embarrassed that he was asking for beer or that he was asking for cheap, disgusting beer. :) While it's nice to have a weekend for just Rocky & me, it's always wonderful to have Brady back & experience his silliness firsthand.

My budding artist

2010-02-12T09:17:00.003-05:00

Brady has been very interested in painting & drawing at school lately. He made 2 very special pictures this week. His daily email on Wednesday said that he drew a picture for "my baby sister". When I was picking him up from school I asked Brady who he drew his latest picture for at school & he said "baby sister." Then as we're walking down the hall he says "you should put it in your tummy so she can see it". I love how literal children are at this age. He totally takes after me in this respect as there have been reports from my parents that I was quite the literal child as well. The picture for baby sister will be proudly displayed in her nursery (Brady is very excited about helping me hang it up at some point). Yesterday at school, he told his teachers that he was drawing a picture for "my beautiful mommy". That made my heart just melt. Ahhh, more examples of what a sweet & silly little boy we've got on our hands. He is so precious to me & so full of love for his family and for life. We are so blessed to have him.

He said/did what?!

2010-02-10T12:37:00.013-05:00

A day in the life of a mother of a 2 year old is never dull. I've been saying for a long time that I need to start writing down all of the funny/cute things he says & does. Everyone tells me if I don't write them down, I won't remember them when he gets much older. Here are some tidbits I found that I'd used as posts on Facebook. Glad I now have alot of these goodies written down in one place. Enjoy!

9/17/09: While riding in the car, I turned around (Rocky was driving) to see him with the English muffins pack in his hand as we had just down a bit of grocery shopping. I see him chewing and think he's eating the plastic wrap. I yell "spit it out" and turn on the light only to find him with 1/3 of a muffin in his mouth. The bandit had busted open the pack and had gone to town on one poor english muffin.

9/29/09: Brady's daily email. His teacher said he was so excited to "put tinkles in the potty". He goes at home, but has never gone at school. What a big boy!

10/8/09: While Rocky was holding him this morning I asked Brady for my goodbye hug. He said "No, I want big hug" and turned to grab Rocky's neck, then my neck, and squeeze us all together for one big family hug. To top it off, he sang "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family...". I teared up for sure.

10/11/09: At breakfast he looks down and says "whatcha doin doggy?" A few minutes later when he couldn't see the dog he said "i miss the doggy." Guinness- thinking he was gonna get food- came up only to have Brady say "move away doggy" since he knows he's not supposed to feed him.

10/11/09: Brady singing "All the single ladies, all the single ladies" to Guinness and then when Guinness started barking at him he told him to "Hush doggy!"

10/13/09: I was leaning forward on the couch so he wedged himself behind me & started playing with my hair. Then he said "Mamma, you're pretty. You pretty mamma!" I told him he was a sweetie and when he started playing with my hair again, he said "Love you mamma. Love you." Wow! What a sweet boy!

10/15/09: I was getting ready this morning & heard Brady awake upstairs singing "BE NICE TO EVERYONE!" from Yo Gabba Gabba about as loud as he good. That boy cracks me up.

11/4/09: Brady pointed to my jewelry sonicator and said "What's that?"- his new favorite sentence since he likes to know what everything is. I told him it was a jewelry cleaner only to have him say "Mommy, it's a sonicator". I mean really?!

11/8/09: I asked Brady if he wanted to go play with the trains & he said "I want to go to Barnes & Noble to play with the trains". I don't know why he randomly decided to call it Barnes & Noble because he's never said that before. That boy continues to amaze me every day. Ok, done with my Brady bragging for today.

11/21/09: Brady started singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on the drive home today. We've never even sung that song to him before. I love the randomness of children.

12/4/09: Brady suggested the names Cracker, Firetruck, and Barbeque for the baby. Cracker Davis? Yeah, that's gonna happen!

12/18/09: Brady's sang his version of "You Belong to Me". Wednesday on the drive home from work, he randomly sings "I like t-shirts, I like t-shirts" to the tune even though it wasn't on the radio. Okay, so the words were a little off but that's how a 2 year old makes a song their own.

12/20/09: I was wrapping presents with Brady last night. After I would write out the gift tag, Brady would "sign it". We got to Papa's gift and he asked if he could draw on it. So I handed him the tag & he said "I draw B.R.A.D.Y. for Papa". He spelled his name outloud!

12/21/09: Brady holds up his milk & says "Fill up my cup. Mazel tov". Thank you Black Eyed Peas. Then we were out shopping & as I'm putting him in his carseat he sees an older woman walking toward the car & says "That's gramma. She got run over by the reindeer." I almost peed my pants laughing.

1/23/09: Brady has been laying down for over an hour trying to take a nap, any every time I've checked on him, he says he's ready to go to Nick's house. Too excited for a birthday party to sleep!

1/30/09: We got 5 inches of snow today. Brady woke up talking about building Frosty outside today, he only wanted to stay out 10 minutes because he said "Daddy, it's too cold for my hands!"

1/31/09: Brady did this strange little squat tonight that looked like a 5 second dance move. I asked him what his new move was and he said "FART!" After I corrected him & told him that the correct word was toot or poot, I realized about 30 minutes later en route to bed that the fart, toot, or poot was actually a surprise in his diaper.

Whew! So there is almost 5 months of Brady's silliness. Granted, this only includes what I thought to write down at the time. He makes us laugh every day. Sometimes, he's trying to be funny. Other times, it's just funny to hear how a 2 year old views the world. And some times, he's just being sweet and it's so cute that I can't help but include it on the list.

Happy Birthday Rocky

2010-02-09T11:18:00.005-05:00

It's a special day at our house- it's Rocky's birthday. Contrary to what he says, he's very hard to shop for as far as getting him a birthday present goes. He always says he needs nothing & that there's not anything he wants. Erggg! Realistically, if Rocky or I want something, we usually just buy it (within reason) so if he really wanted a particular video game, for example, he would buy it & I wouldn't have any idea which one he would want anyways. We do always go out to dinner for everyone's birthdays. Rocky decided last night we should go to Moe's since he received an email for one free entree. Really, of all the places we could go, he wants to go get a free burrito? Fine by me. I like it all! He also got a coupon for one free drink at Caribou Coffee & since his caffeine source of choice is soda, I get the free drink. Yum! Brady made daddy a birthday card on Sunday that he'll give him tonight. Brady & I were gonna make a cake, pie, cookies or something, but Brady said he wanted to buy something for daddy. So we went to Lowe's last night and got him a Boston Creme Pie. Confession- we dove into said pie last night. It was sitting there staring at us in the fridge & since it is for Rocky's birthday, if he wanted his pie one day early, who was I to say no? And of course, I was polite and ate my slice too as Brady & Rocky enjoyed theirs. :) This morning while taking Brady to school, Brady told Rocky "Happy Birthday Daddy! You need a Spiderman cake with a blue candle." Funny boy! I'm so happy to spend this 6th birthday in a row with Rocky. Hope he has a special day as he turns one year older. We love you Rocky!

Excellent Big Brother in Training

2010-02-08T15:44:00.003-05:00

Every day at work I receive an email from Brady's school teachers called a "daily" that lets me know when he went to the bathroom, what he ate, when he slept, what they did for small group, and what they did for outdoor exploration for that day. Here's the small group excerpt from today: "This week our focus will be love & friendship. We began a disscussion about how we treat and care for our friends. Our friends shared several responses on how we care for our friends. Examples: Giving friends hugs, kisses, saying I love you, sharing with friends and more. We took time to draw pictures for our friends. Brady wanted to draw a picture for his sister." Baby sister is still so hypothetical to Brady at this point & yet he's already thinking about her & wants to draw her a picture. I seriously almost started crying at my desk. I know the first time I see my two babies together I will be a crying, hormonal mess. Brady will look so big up next to her & will seem so very grown-up. I'll also be faced with the realization that Brady's not my only baby anymore. I'm excited, nervous, and anxious all at once. I can't believe she'll be here in 3 months or less. I hope Brady is as happy to meet her as he seems to be now. I have no doubt he'll be an excellent big brother.

Oh Heavens!

2010-02-06T21:26:00.002-05:00

I always find it refreshing hearing the perspective of a 2 year old, namely Brady. Talking about death is never easy & I think it's important to talk about things in a different way with the little ones- I don't like to baby things, but I can't be too philosophical either. He oftens asks about his Grammie Linda who passed away 6 1/2 years ago (before I even met Rocky). Rocky & I have shown him pictures of her & explained that she's Rocky's mommy just like Brady's other Grammie is Mommy's mommy. He pretends to call Grammie Linda on the phone sometimes & will ask about her & if she can come to the zoo with us, if she gave him one of his Christmas presents, etc, etc & today he asked where she was at. So how do I explain her passing to a 2 year old? I told him that Grammie Linda went to heaven even before mommy met daddy. Being an inquistive 2 year old & following in his mommy's footsteps by asking TONS of questions, he asked where heaven was. Hmm, another tough question. So I told him heaven was not on Earth & that it was a good & special place to go when you're not on Earth anymore. He thought about it for a second (we're actually in the car at this point) and from the backseat I hear him say, "I think she took a rocketship to get there!" I guess in his mind, one way to leave Earth is one a rocketship. I told him that's not exactly how it works & decided to leave it at that. He said "it was fun for Grammie Linda to ride the rocketship." Well Brady, Grammie Linda is in a better place, but there were no rocketships involved. One day he'll understand. In the meantime, I think it's important he knows who is Grammie Linda was, how much daddy still loves her, and how she would have thought the word of him. Just like all of his other grandparents.

Fun times with Brady

2010-02-03T20:20:00.001-05:00

Time to post some of my favorite recents pics of Brady. While he's only ever been for one "professional" photo shoot, I try to take alot of pictures of whatever we're doing at home or out & about. He is such a fun, sweet boy (most of the time!) and I love it when pictures really capture that. Here's just a taste of the silly boy at work.

Oh Sharoney!

2010-02-03T11:49:00.000-05:00

So friends have been joking with me about calling the baby Sharoney- a sort of Shannon Meroney hybrid. It started because I confessed that we have a name picked out but have decided to wait to debut it until she's born. A friend threatened to start calling her Sharoney for unless I told, but I'm sticking to my guns. Anyways, here are all the belly pics I've taken thus far. Can't wait to see how I continue to grow as she continues to grow.

14 weeks 2 days

18 weeks 6 days

21 weeks 4 days

23 weeks 5 days

27 weeks 1 day

I've already been asked if I think Baby Girl will be as big as her big brother. I'm thinking it's definitely a possibility especially if I'm 8 days past my due date like I was with Brady. Perhaps I'll have a better idea in the upcoming weeks based on how I measure at the doctor. Only time will tell. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by since I'm busy spending time with my sweet 2 year old & I now have a job that keeps me much busier. My 27 week appointment was rescheduled until next Monday at 28 weeks because of the office closing due to the snow. That visit will include the always anticipated drinking of the glucola and my RhoGam shot.

Pics of Baby Girl

2010-02-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I"m already 27 weeks 1 day pregnant- aka 6 months along. I love going back and looking at the U/S pics we've had and seeing what a miracle life is. From 6 weeks to our last scan at 23 weeks, she went from being a dot on the screen with a yolk sac (a gender neutral dot, mind you) to being a teeny tiny version of a full-term baby that is most definitely a girl. I thought I'd post pics from each scan. From top to bottom: 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 week, 19 week, and 23 weeks. See what a difference a little time makes in the life of an embyro/ fetus!

Blogging here I come

2010-01-31T19:49:00.001-05:00

I've been wanting to write a blog for quite some time (since I was pregnant with Brady) and procrastinated until now when he's almost 2 1/2 half and #2 is on the way. I hope to post lots of goodies about the kids, our family, and whatever else crosses my mind on any given day. Here's to reading about the things in my life that matter most.

Much Love,
Shannon