A Face a Mother Already Loves

Well today marked another milestone in the Nelson Baby Journey. We had our 3d/4d ultrasound. It was an experience I was a little skeptical about but my mother really wanted to see an ultrasound for her birthday.

Well, I have now seen our son and I think he has Lane's cheeks, nose, and lips. Aunt Sonya disagrees. She thinks he has my lips.

Well, whomever he looks like, I have already fallen deeply in love and have looked at our pictures more than 10 times. You might not agree, but I think he is a handsome little devil and I can't wait to actually meet him!

Things that Make Me Cringe

The whole idea of labor and delivery makes me feel a little funny inside, and not in a good way! Well, all I have to say is thank goodness I live where I do and in the time that I live in. Hospitals and their ugly, impersonal rooms seem like a cake walk in comparison to the gift I got at a white elephant gift exchange...
Behold the "Mexican Birthing Chair"! Lane keeps wanting me to sit in it, but I am afraid even that will send me into labor or that I will just fall out of it. I have to wonder what sadistic man thought this up and gave it to some poor woman to use.

Speaking of things that make me cringe... I love my pregnant belly, but all of a sudden this week I have had multiple people comment on how big I have gotten. I even had one person ask how many babies am I having. I understand that my belly is big, but really people, think about what you are saying to the big ol' pregnant girl.

I'm a Little Worried....

I know Lane and Robbie are good friends, but this picture has me a little worried.
Is it just me, or am I not the only one expecting a new addition this winter?

Molly's Favorite Place to Sleep

Molly has decided that this baby thing is okay for now. She likes the permanently placed pillow on my lap. She doesn't even seem to mind when Junior kicks her, she just twitches her ears a little and keeps right on sleeping.

Mother Nature Stinks!

Well, it is official. Mother Nature has no regard for pregnant women and their baby plans. It snowed all over the place yesterday and because of road conditions we are not going to Oklahoma for my very first baby shower and our 3d/4d ultrasound.

Needless to say I am quite disappointed and words don't really do that disappointment justice.

I am giving myself another hour or so to be extremely sad, and then I will put my big girl panties on and deal with it.

Snow Day

Well, I am home from school today, which as a kid makes you insanely happy, but as an adult I am just thinking about cleaning the house to keep myself from being bored!

Usually I love snow. I love sitting at the window watching it falling and the anticipation of a heavy snow makes me a little giddy. We already had interesting weather yesterday with ice and sleet and late this afternoon we are supposed to get a heavy snow.

Any other time I would be thrilled. But not today.

I am supposed to have my first baby shower courtesy of Vicki's amazing friend Miss Sally Marie on Saturday in Oklahoma. Well, with all the snow and gross weather, the chances of us actually driving to OK this weekend are rapidly diminishing by the second.

This is seriously disappointing and it isn't a good thing to disappoint a pregnant woman whose hormones have made her a basketcase, I like cried 4 times yesterday!

Plus, my mother wanted to see me get an ultrasound for her 60th birthday, that's right, Grandma's gettin' old! So, we have a 3d/4d ultrasound scheduled for Saturday night at a place in OK. I was pretty ho-hum about the whole 3d/4d experience, I personally find them a little creepy. But as it got closer and closer I started to become really excited about actually seeing the little guy.

So, long story made not quite so short. This sucks in a major way and for the first time in my entire life I am praying that it doesn't snow like they say it is supposed to and we will be in Oklahoma come Friday night! You can help me out and say a little prayer too if you don't mind :)

Happy Thanksgiving (a few days late!)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Kansas City with Lane's family. It was an interesting experience being so pregnant and trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner. I kept joking with Lane that I was going to strap the turkey to his stomach and make him cart it around for a few hours, then he would know how I am feeling!

Our meal was very good, if I do say so myself... I am in love with the website allrecipes.com . It is where I got a recipe for the "Perfect Turkey" and the "Most Fabulous Green Beans" and they both turned out as advertised! I have done several recipes off this website now and I have had nothing but good luck.

I must say thanks to soon to be Grandma Vicki, or as we call her, Granny Bop. She was a great help on Thanksgiving Day. The meal wouldn't have been as great with out her!

In other news... birth prep classes have begun! It is a total experience being in a class full of very pregnant women and their very clueless husbands. We have only gone to one class so far, but it was eye-opening! No gross videos luckily, but there was plenty of anatomy photos. Lane has been very nice to me after seeing what all is going on the inside of my body to make room for Junior. I really enjoyed last week and can't wait to go tomorrow and find out even more wonderful and somewhat scary/disgusting facts!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Ahh... is their anything more precious and more annoying after a while than a brand new parent and all the pictures they have to share. Well, Lane and I haven't even birthed this little one yet and we have pictures to share!
Here is Lane and our great friend Robbie putting together Junior's little home.

Here is the fabulous crib put all together, we owe a big thank you to Robbie.

Here is my favorite part of the nursery so far, the glider:)

Here is me and my favorite chair!

And here is a side view of Junior's current home:)

Good Morning, Sunshine!

So, I am not the most graceful of people. I danced when I was little because that is what little girls are supposed to do, not because I had any particular talent.

I am also not what you would call a morning person. Anyone who truly knows me, knows that I am not really awake till about 9:30. I can make do and function within my classroom, but I am not little miss sunshine and I am not really all that aware of the world around me.

I tell you all this to help you understand my happy morning at school today.

I had what we call "triage" at school today. Basically that means that I have door duty and have to joyfully greet children as they walk through the door at 7:30am. Well, Thursday is Bagel day at school and I wasn't going to miss my bagel because I had to greet kids. So, I jetted off to the cafeteria for my bagel with peanut butter (yum) and hurried to be upstairs on time. On my way up the stairs (while holding my bagel and a big cup of oj), I greeted children happily like I was really awake and glad to be up and around at 7:30am.

Then it happened...

My gracefullness and my lack of awareness caught up with me and bit me in the butt.

I tripped (over nothing)

And fell

HARD

Luckily I caught myself

On my chin

Three hours later I had sticky hair from the oj, a second visit to the er (it is starting to feel like home), and 7 brand new stiches in my chin.

Junior was fine, other than kicking really hard because he was annoyed that I didn't actually get to eat my bagel or drink my orange juice.

In His Own Words

On Saturday morning we had a great home cooked breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and oj. Junior usually becomes very active after I have eaten, so I laid down and had Lane come see if he could feel Junior. Usually the baby stops moving as soon as Lane tries to feel him but on Saturday we were lucky and just as Lane put his hand on my tummy, Junior gave him a big whack!

The reaction of my husband to feeling for the first time his son moving:

"That's creepy".

Charley Horses and epidurals

I woke up last night with a horrible charley horse at 3:00am. I started crying and woke up Lane it hurt so bad. I think I scared him a little because at first he didn't even know what was wrong with me.

So, while that was painful it is not particulary interesting in our baby world... but the thoughts it led to are very interesting baby thoughts because they show that I am a big baby.

All I could think about after the pain started to go away was if a charley horse turned me into a blithering mess, what is labor and delivery going to do to me? I panicked a little bit as I laid in bed and tried to get back to sleep but I continued to think about the delivery (which are thoughts I had been trying to avoid). I realized I might not be as tough as I would like to pretend I am and an epidural might not be that bad. Those of you who have talked to me about the actual birth know that I am FREAKED by the idea of an epidural. The big long needle sticking into your spine, the numbness, it all just doesn't sound like something I want to experience. So, I have been saying that I think I want to try natural labor. Now, I'm not changing my mind necessarily, but my reaction to a charley horse has made me realize that an epidural might not be that bad.

Junior's Room

Well, last night was exciting because the bedding we ordered this past weekend arrived. I was like a giddy little girl, ripping into packages to inspect and coo over all the baby stuff.

I have posted a picture of the bedding on top of the rug we got, with the two toned green wall in the back ground. Our walls are only that color till a little more than 1/2 way up, and then they are just white. I just think it looks like such a little boys room and Lane really likes it.

If it had just been me, Junior probably would have gotten a much more "baby" room with cute little animals or so on the bedding, but Lane was really against the cute factor. I figured this was something I could compromise on and I really love this bedding now that it is in the room.

I saw this online today(another mom who is expecting in February is getting this set for her child) and I just said a prayer of thanks to God that Lane did not see this before we ordered our bedding. Follow this link to see what would have been my husband's ideal baby room and my worst nightmare baby camo bedding.

The Belly Is Here to Stay...

... At least for the next 3 months. My parents came to visit this weekend and it seemed my mom couldn't get over how pregnant I looked. She had seen me just a few weeks ago, but I guess my pregnancy has gotten even more pronounced.

I think one of my favorite things about pregnancy is my belly. I have never had a really big pronounced belly... boobs, butt, thighs, all of those things I have in abundance, but never a belly. I have been so excited to see my belly grow because it is a sign that there really is a baby in there. I love to rub my belly and imagine that the comfort it gives me is also being given to Junior.

I may not be so fond of the belly in a few more months, especially as it continues to grow. But right now, I have a lot of belly love!

Insert Clever TItle Here!

It is late... and I should be in bed. But, my husband is still at work and I have been wandering all over the internet looking at baby things.

Sadly, in my wandering I checked out the baby set that I like at Pottery Barn and discovered something horrible. The quilt is no longer avaliable. Being pregnant and stupidly emotional, I cried and then cried some more (I'm ready for these hormones to stop messing with my life)!

It is my own fault. I have not bought one single thing for this baby, other people have bought things, but I had yet to make that step. For some reason, I continued to hesitate, and now the quilt is gone.

It is a sad, sad night it Junior's nursery. Oh well, I guess the search for a nursery set must begin again.

Strollers and Bottles and Car Seats, Oh My!

I officially registered Junior at Target this weekend. I did it online (mainly because we are too lazy to go to a store and do it). I am pretty sure I put too much stuff on there, but it was fun.

It was a little overwhelming to really start to look at all the "stuff" that babies need. However, I have come to the conclusion that the baby's "needs" aren't so much an issue as the momma's "wants". For instance, does the baby really need a bottle warmer. I don't really think so.... but I know for sure momma wants one!

Lane's biggest contribution to the registry was to ask if he could register for a Nerf toy and to look at Consumer Reports to see what they had to say about the strollers and car seats. We took all that information and then tried to make the best decision. I'm starting to realize that all you can do as a parent (which I guess I have become, scary, huh) is try and make the best decisions you can but realize you can't control everything.

Which is hard, because I really think the world would be a lot better place if I controlled everything :)

Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

I love Halloween. I especially love carving pumpkins. There is nothing more fun than getting to pick out a pumpkin and create something spooky or goofy or happy or sad. It has just always been one of my favorite parts of Halloween.

Today I got to go to the pumpkin patch. I had never been to a pumpkin patch and boy have I been missing out. It was so much fun! There was a petting zoo (complete with baby bunnies), a corn maze, a hay fort, a hay slide (which yes, me and my big 5 month pregnant belly went down) and a really neat pumpkin patch!

I can't wait till Junior is old enough to go and pick out a pumpkin with Mom and Dad! I especially can't wait to see him and Lane negotiate the pumpkin canon.

Yes, that's right. I said the pumpkin canon. In case you're confused, a pumpkin canon is a canon that you can aim and shoot pumpkins out of. I have to say, it was one of the coolest things I have seen lately. There is nothing more exciting (especially to little boys) than a huge orange pumpkin flying though the air and then exploding upon contact with the ground.

In fact, I have a feeling that after I tell Lane (my very own grown up little boy) about the Pumpkin Canon, we just might be making a trip there this weekend!

A Sign of Things to Come

Here is a shot from our sonogram on September 29. You can see the resemblence between Junior and the artwork "The Scream". Is this a sign of what life is going to be like around the Nelson household this February? We thought it was appropriate that one of the first pictures of Lane's offspring looks a little like a horror movie!

In other news, we signed up for our birthing classes. They start in Mid-November and I am really exicted to go to them. We are taking them a little early, because otherwise they would fall during the Christmas season when we would most likely be in Oklahoma for the Holidays. Oh well, can't ever prepare too early for this sort of thing!

Also, a good bit of news. I was under the assumption that my maternity leave was only 6 weeks, but I was wrong. I will actually get a full 12 weeks off! I was so glad to learn this. With Lane's paternity leave and some help from the grandma's, we should be able to get through the school year without placing Junior in daycare. This took a huge weight off my shoulders!

Well, it is rainy and cold outside today, the perfect chili weather. So, I have the chili simmering on the stove and now I am off to make some cornbread! I hope everyone is happy and healthy!

The Wait is On...

I decided to take the bull by the horns (so to speak) and start this blog, without Lane's help! Uh-oh! He will be home from work in about 30 minutes and I am curious to find out what has to change and to get his help putting pictures, etc. on the blog.

Life with a husband who is a designer can sometimes be frustrating, nothing is ever good enough, but it is also rewarding because I know in the end this blog will be the better for it.


FYI:
-We have pictures of the baby's sonogram, which hopefully we will get on here sooner than later. I'm excited for our baby boy to show off his goods!
-No, we don't have a name picked out and we won't till after he is born. So, from now until his birthday, our baby is known as Junior.
-The expected due date is officially February 14th, but they have said he is measuring big and we could go earlier than that.

Now, for some baby news:
Junior is sleeping right now but during a meeting earlier he would not stop moving. I'm still having trouble distinguishing between baby movements and indigestion but I have decided to believe that all funny feelings in the stomach region are Junior making his presence known.

I am feeling much better right now than this time last week. My trip to the ER for dehydration and nausea is something I hope never to repeat. However, the dreaded pregnancy curse of heartburn has started and is in full force. I have been told to make "Tums" my best friend, but I am trying different foods to see if I can fix this problem just through diet. However, so far it has not made a difference what I eat, I still get heartburn, yea:)

I think I have picked a nursery set that I really like. It is the bright striped boys patchwork bedding at the bottom right of the page. I don't really like pottery barn prices, but I love their stuff. So, I've decided the extra money is worth it. Lane didn't really want anything too cutesy, so I thought this was a great compromise.

We are working hard at getting things organized in this house, but our list of to do is so LONG, I'm not sure it will ever get done before this baby is born. Oh well, all you can do is try!

Well, that is life in pregnancy land today!

In the beginning...

In the beginning there was just the two of us,

Lane and Laura.

Coming this February two will become three! We are excited about welcoming our new little one, and we were SO excited to learn that our new little one is a

boy!
I hope you enjoy reading about the life and times of the Nelson family as we make this big change! Laura's posts will be in purple (meaning you will get to read lots about surviving pregnancy) Lane's posts will be in black (he will have lots of meaningless, fun things to say and will share about the trials of being the husband of a pregnant woman) and family posts will be in green!