Christmas Eve

We sure did start our Christmas holiday off with a bang!

On Sunday morning I woke up with the stomach flu. We ended up spending 7 hours in the hospital because I couldn't keep anything down and I got very dehydrated. So they gave me an IV of fluids which I had no idea how difficult an IV could be when you are dehydrated. But I have the bruises to show how many times the nurse gave it a try before calling anesthesia.

The funniest part of the day was when the doctor was doing the ultrasound to make sure everything was ok with Baby G and James asked, "Is it a boy?" The doctor looked for a little while and said, "It is for sure a girl or either a very unfortunate boy." We both died laughing. (If Baby G reads this blog one day, I promise your dad is not disappointed you are not a boy. He is very excited to be having a daughter. It has just taken him some time to get over the shock factor of having a little girl.)

So now that I am feeling better, James has gotten sick and we are headed to New Orleans tomorrow night to see the fam. Let's just hope that James is not the one throwing up in the airplane bag this time.

We will be spending Christmas day with the pups tomorrow before heading out of town. Toby is ready for Xmas and to open some gifts!

Boy or Girl???

James wanted me to title this post Karma. So take a guess what we are having....

If you still aren't positively sure than you will be after I tell you this: I wish I had a camera, when the sonographer told us the big news, to capture James's face. It was priceless! He literally just sat there blank for five minutes. All I could do was laugh. If only I could have been inside that head to know what he was thinking. I guess he was just shocked because he said he just stopped thinking for a little while.
So that is right....

We are having a GIRL!

While this ultrasound was very much anticipated and exciting to find out the sex, it was also important to have Baby G's anatomy scan. She is all good! She has two legs, two feet, two arms, two hands and many more important parts.

Isn't she adorable.

 

Here she is opening her mouth. James said she is probably already talking back.
 

Doulas

James and I have had a very busy week!

After making the decision to have a doula help us through and attend the birth of Baby G, we got busy emailing doulas that we were interested in interviewing. We had several interviews last weekend and still a couple more to go.

Before I talk about the meetings with our potential doulas, I may need to tell you what a doula does just in case some of you may not know. A doula is a labor coach, someone who is present during the birth to support both the mom and dad. In case you want to read more about doulas, here is a couple links:
http://www.childbirthinternational.com/faq/birth_doula.htm

Here is a link to Doulas of North America, talking about what doulas do.
http://www.dona.org/mothers/index.php

So after meeting with the first doula, James and I agreed that we both really liked her and thought she would be a great fit. James said he did not want to meet anymore doulas, that she was the one. I told James we can't just go with the first one without meeting the other doulas. I told him that it is like a girl shopping for her wedding dress. The first one you put on, may be the perfect one that you end up buying but you have to try on others to make sure. So we met with two other doulas and James was right, they were not as great of a fit for us as the first doula we met.

We have one more doula to meet before we make the very important decision of who will support us through the birth and help welcome Baby G into the world! We will keep you posted.

Let's Compare

Let's compare and see how much the baby bump has grown since the last time we took a belly shot.

16 Weeks

Almost 19 Weeks

18 Weeks

At five and a half inches long and five ounces in weight, Baby G now may be large enough for me to feel him/her twisting, rolling, kicking, and punching his/her way around the womb. But while at the doctor the Monday before Thanksgiving, she told me that my placenta is in the front of my belly so I may not be able to feel Baby G until 20 weeks or after.

As for my body: joint-loosening pregnancy hormones are wreaking havoc on my muscles and ligaments, adding up to me feeling like an old lady every day saying, "Oh, my hip!" Oh and the heartburn is horrible. I swear I just think about food and get heartburn.

This is what Baby G should be starting to look like at 18 weeks.

Thanksgiving Day Traditions

On Wednesday, Nov. 21st we drove in to Michigan just in time for our annual Thanksgiving day traditions.

We woke up bright and early on Thursday morning to get to downtown Detroit for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everyone was out because the weather was so great! Great meaning 60 degrees instead of 20 degrees. While all the kiddos stood in the back of a truck and watched the parade, the adults spent time catching up and enjoying some delicious beverages that I was not able to partake in this year. Even though I spent most of the parade chatting and sharing the great news about Baby G, I was able to get a shot of the gigantic Mr. Turkey.

 

I can't wait for Baby G to go to his/her first Thanksgiving Day Parade next year in Detroit.

 

To keep the traditions going we stopped by the Town Pump before heading to the Lions game. It is a tradition that every year I take a picture with the Firefighters who are dressed like clowns and a picture in their clown car. The only thing missing this year was my wonderful friend Kelly. This was the first year she was not bartending at the Town Pump.

 

 

 

After this awesome photo, that is for sure going to have to go in the baby book, we headed to the long Lions game where of course it did not end in their favor. Then we headed back to James's moms house after the game so James could deep fry the turkey. After spending time with the family and a delicious Thanksgiving meal we were off to bed. It was a very exhausting and fun day!