Where does the time go?

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated our blog! I guess because I don't visit it daily, it's easy to forget about... And it's hard to find time to post!

Max is now 4 months old! He is just the funnest little boy in the world and I love spending my days with him. He brings so much joy into our lives and it's so entertaining watching him learn and grow! I have so much to bring up to speed here...

He's been rolling over from his tummy to his back since he was about 2.5 months old... he HATED tummy time! So, it didn't surprise me that he figured that one out as quickly as possible! He started doing it from his back to his tummy at about 3.5 months... and now he's seriously dangerous! He's so quick... if I turn my back for one second, he's flipped onto his tummy. The really dangerous part? He's silent. Lucky for us, his changing table has nice tall rails on each side, but now he's even throwing he legs over the side... like he just can't wait to jump down and run after the dogs! Danger! Danger!

He has started solid foods... although, I'm sure he's been thoroughly disappointed that the rice cereal doesn't taste like cookies. His doc has given us the go ahead to start feeding him solids more frequently and to add more variety! So, I'm sure we'll have some funny pictures to come!

He is laughing up a storm! He really is such a different baby... He's SO happy! Most of the time, anyway... He's always smiling and it's getting easier and easier to get him to have a giggle fit! We got him going last night and it was so adorable... You just can't help but laugh yourself when you hear a baby giggle like that! It's probably my favorite sound in the world.... Baby giggles.

He occasionally drinks out of a sippy cup... He's been reaching for our drinking glasses for the last month and taking sips out of our water, so I decided to get him a little cup of his own! He pretty much likes to chew on it (I'm sure he's teething) but he's starting to figure it out.

He loves doing things on his own. He's just so independent in that way... you can see the wheels moving when he's working on something. He knows what he wants, but he just doesn't have the motor skills figured out all the way yet.

Had his four month appointment a few days ago and he's growing so fast! 14 lbs 7 oz. 25 inches long... His weight isn't going up like they expect it to, but they think it's mostly because he's so active. He's still thriving and developing ahead of schedule! The doctor couldn't believe him... he was rolling all over her table and he is always wanting to stand... she thinks he's burning all his calories away. So, we're going to be feeding him even more and she thinks that adding more solids will help.

The holidays are well underway! It's been so fun to get Max out there experiencing all the things we love! We went to get his first Christmas tree last weekend... we cut our own down. James actually went up into the mountains and brought one home, but it wasn't quite what either one of us wanted. So, we just went to a farm and cut our own. We're getting all decorated and going to my hometown's "Winterfest" tonight... we'll go see the town tree lighting and Santa's arrival. I think the last time I did this was probably 15 years ago. I can't wait!

We're looking forward to seeing James' family in a few weeks for the holidays... We really wanted our entire families together for Max's first Christmas and it's going to be so fun. His cousin, Crystal, and her hubby, Chris, are coming up from California to spend the whole week with us. She's like a sister to me and is Max's Godmother and this will be the first time she'll meet him. I can't wait to see her!

Looking forward to so many things in the coming months... I'm sure Max will be crawling in no time! Looking forward to more babies (not mine...) Max is really starting to show interest in other little people now, so it's going to be fun to see him with his new friends!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughter, happiness and really good food. :) I really need to work on keeping this updated more frequently... a New Year's resolution, maybe?!

5 weeks old already... going on 52...

Max is growing faster than I can keep up... at least that's how it feels sometimes!

He's starting to "talk" now... Lots of coos and gaga's! Lots of smiles and he wants to be standing all the time! I know that when he becomes mobile, I'm going to have my hands so incredibly full... I almost don't want to think about it! I am probably going to be spending my days chasing after him. He already pushes himself up to the top of his changing table... I have to really keep my eye on him or he'll bonk his head! Crazy kid...

He's officially out of his newborn clothes and we also had to adjust his carseat to the next level up... he was so squished in there! We figured this out yesterday on our way home from our first roadtrip... he was much easier to get along with after we made that change!

We decided pretty last minute on Friday that we wanted to head over the mountains. We haven't been over there all summer long and we really wanted to see some of our friends and family. That was an experience I will never forget! We have yet to upgrade to an SUV, so we had to smash all three of us, plus the dogs, and all of our bags in the car. It actually wasn't too bad... If you don't count how inconvenient it is to have to deal with the rear facing carseat. Yes, it's safer, and I'm all for that, but it really is a pain to keep an eye on the baby.

Max did great... with the exception of his ears bugging him during the trip up over the pass. Coming back down probably caused a little bit of pain. He screamed and screamed for ten minutes and all of a sudden, he stopped and fell asleep. Poor little guy. He had been changed and fed, so it had to have been the pressure on his little ears. :( I was worried about that.

The dogs did great... with the exception of Buddy puking in the backseat on the way over and then walking and laying in it. Gross. We have no idea how long he had been sitting in his own vomit, because he doesn't make any noise when he throws up. Once we came over the pass, I started smelling dog food... sure enough, he had expelled his dinner. It never fails...

We spent the first night in a hotel in Wenatchee and it was a nice little getaway. We didn't get to do much for our anniversary in July and haven't done anything since Max was born, so a night in a king bed and having someone else clean up after us was a treat! The second night we spent with James' grandparents... this was their first time meeting Max!

I can only imagine what his dreams are like right now. He met so many new people and saw so much more of the world around him! I can't even imagine what it's like for him to process all of this... No wonder he's been sleeping so well! I'm just so proud of him... he was such a trouper during this trip. Happy and content and he handled the heat really well. Something tells me he's going to be a master roadtripper, just like his mommy and daddy!

We had such a nice time away, but we're glad to be home. Now if I could just figure out how to get my baby to stop growing... it just keeps going too fast.

Growing like a weed!

Max is 3 weeks and 3 days old today! It's going by so fast... too fast. We had another postpardum appointment with the midwives a few days ago and we got him weighed... 9 1/2 pounds already! He gained 22 ounces in two weeks... right on schedule. They want to see babies his age gaining between 1-2 ounces per day... so we're right there! He's out of newborn diapers and almost too big for his newborn onesies...

I can hardly remember, or recognize, my life before he was born. Before I was pregnant, even. These last ten months have been a time of extreme change for both James and I. I am still me, but a different me. I'd like to think a better version of me. I feel like this is what I was meant to do... my life has new meaning and purpose now. All I want is to be the best mommy I can be!

Mine and James' relationship is very different now... I didn't think it was possible for me to love him anymore than I did before Max came into our life. I have fallen in love with him all over again. He's just as handsome to me as he was the first day I met him, if not more! I look at him and I see our son... I look at Max and I see his daddy. It's a beautiful thing.

James is a wonderful father and an even better husband. He's been so understanding and helpful. He grew up around babies (all of his siblings are at least ten years younger,) so he remembers what they're all about... he's been so reassuring. Sure, I've spent time around kids, but not a lot of time with newborns, so his reassurance is just what I need... sometimes I feel like I'm doing something wrong, so to hear from him that I'm not and that the struggles we have faced so far are just bumps in the road, both Max and I are learning how to work together. I am so blessed to have him.

Life is so much more beautiful now. The world is more beautiful now. All because of my beautiful boy... I wonder how I got so lucky?! I must be doing something right...

Here's the song I've picked out as "Max's Song." Since he's our little "Beatle," it's fitting that it's a John Lennon song. The first time I heard it, I knew it was Max's. It couldn't be more perfect.


"Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon (this version by Celine Dion)

Close your eyes, have no fear
The monster's gone, he's on the run
And your mommy's here

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful boy

Before you go to sleep, say a little prayer
Every day in every way
It's getting better and better

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait to see you come of age
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient

Before you cross the street, take my hand
Life is what happens to you
While you're busy making other plans

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Darling, darling, darling
My beautiful boy

Our little Beatle

One week old! :) Lovin' my little man...





Us... Family of three!






Super Baby is one week old!






Daddy and his son. Loves his boy so much.






Max, 2 days old!

Max is finally here... So here's our birth story.

Our son finally vacated the womb on July 27th at 5:39pm after overstaying his eviction notice by 8 days! And we couldn't be more over the moon in love.

On the 27th, I woke up at about 1am with contractions that were lasting about 45 seconds and coming every 7-8 minutes. After an hour or so of making sure they were actually real contractions, we made a few phone calls to our moms and drifted in and out of sleep for a few more hours, knowing we'd probably need the rest! At about 5:30, we got up and started tinkering around the house... making coffee, eating breakfast, picking up around the house. James' mom got to town about 6:30 and my mom came over at about 8ish and we just hung out, enjoying each other's company. Nothing was progressing. My contractions were the same.

We were starting to wonder if maybe it was false labor. James' mom even contemplated going back to Wenatchee! Good thing she didn't.... ;) So, our mom's took off to run errands. My contractions started to get even further apart and shorter. I was getting discouraged. James drug me out of the house at about 10am for a walk... in the 85 degree heat! Still, no progress. So, when we got home, he made me a smoothie and I took a nap.

At about 1:30pm, I woke up with really strong and intense contractions. They were lasting about a minute and a half about every four minutes! I knew this was it. We called our moms to come back over and called our doula, Mary. An hour later we were still waiting for Mary and James' mom to get back and the contractions were so intense that I was already having the urge to push. James made an executive decision to pack up the cars and leave. As he was getting things ready to go, Mary showed up. She hung with me through one contraction and we got in the cars and took off.

The birthing center is about 10-15 minutes away from the house. During the drive, the contractions got even closer together... about every 2 minutes. We got into our birthing room at about 3:30 and I worked through a few contractions with James, my mom, Mary, James' mom and his Aunt Kim. Then my midwife, Heike came in to see where we were. I was dilated to 6 centimeters and during my exam, I had a contraction... and that took me to 8. I had a short break before another contraction started and my water broke with that one. One more check and guess what?! I was fully dilated to 10 centimeters. I went from 6-10 in about ten minutes, which is pretty uncommon... general rule of thumb is one hour per centimeter. Yeah, it was crazy intense.

After that, we started the pushing! James was right by my side, as was Mary. My mom was right in front of me and I honestly don't know if I could have done it without her there. She was my focal point after contractions... and it was hard to come back and focus after pushing. An hour and 40 minutes of pushing and Maxwell Dean Barnett was born at 5:39pm! He weighed 8 pounds and half an ounce and was 20 inches long. He has ten fingers and ten toes. Two ears and a bellybutton. He has his daddy's big head (yeah, that was fun for me... lol,) feet and nose. He has a ton of brown hair like his mommy, my eye shape, ears and maybe the Montemayor chin. We still don't know what color his eyes will be, but they're blue right now. He is absolutely perfect in every way.

They immediately put him up on my chest for me to hold and I can't even describe the feeling. To have him inside me for ten months and then to suddenly, in one instant, be here with us was the most euphoric and surreal feeling I've ever known. Everything else in the world faded away and it was just the three of us all crying together. He came out screaming... he was probably pleading with us to not ground him for being so late! ;)

Things didn't go exactly how I'd planned. I was planning a water birth, but because things were progressing so fast with labor, every time I had a contraction, Max's heartrate would slow down. It would immediately pick back up afterwards, but Heike wanted to be able to constantly monitor during each contraction. No tub for me. But, that's okay. I remember it being full when I got there, but I had no intentions of getting in... My mind was in another world.

I had to use oxygen because of, again, the intensity of it all... I didn't have much time in between contractions and the oxygen helped Max's heartrate stay up. After the birth, I was also bleeding a little more than they were comfortable with. They never once used the word "hemmorage" but I did have two shots of pitocin in my thighs to get my uterus to contract to control the bleeding. After everything, I was the happiest girl in the world. Even if it didn't go exactly as planned, I couldn't be any luckier or pleased with the experience. It was beautiful.

We went home after about three hours and we're all doing great. Max is such a blessing and a joy. He is my favorite person after James. I just can't imagine being any more in love with my boys. I didn't think I could love James any more than I already did, but seeing him with our son and I fall even deeper in love with him... Almost like we're falling in love all over again.

I feel like a different person. I guess I am now. Like a better version of who I was before. I just can't believe that I created this little person. That he's healthy and strong and beautiful. He gives my life new purpose and new meaning. I can't wait to teach him things and to watch him grow up. I never thought anyone would ever have steal my heart again after James, but I was wrong. I feel like I could burst with happiness. Life is good. Thank you God for this incredible gift you've given us. We are blessed!

10 hours into official overtime.

Go figure!
Yesterday was my due date and no baby! I know the statistics, so I was prepared to go overdue, but I was really hoping that since both James and I were early that maybe Max would be, too! Nope. No such luck. So, we are officially 10 hours into overtime right now.

James and I both got some serious nesting done yesterday. He got the yard all cleaned up, I got the bathroom spotless (except for the tub and floors... I can't bend like that right now.) I'm almost done with all our laundry and will work on the kitchen and the rest of the house today. Not much left to do, I just have the urge to have everything perfect.

Our birth bag is packed, the birth plan is written, my labor music is downloaded and I just need to get it transferred to the iPod, food for labor is bought and ready to go, the cradle is all set up in our room, so now we're just waiting! I really hope he joins us this week! Yes, I want my body back, but I'm so incredibly ready to meet my little boy and to move forward with our new journey! I can't wait to see James holding his son. To explore his little face and tiny fingers and toes. To hug him and smell him and love him. I can't wait to be his mommy!

We don't even know what we're in for, but I'm ready for the unknown. I do know that this is going to be the hardest adventure we've ever embarked on and it will be the most trying and rewarding job we've ever had. Like my dad said yesterday, the hardest job you will ever do is raise your kids to be respectful of others and to not hate you. ;)

So, I go in to see my midwife tomorrow and we might have her strip my membranes. Hopefully this isn't too much information, but what it is is basically a pelvic exam where she will use her fingers to separate the bag of water from the cervix, essentially causing prostaglandins to be released. We'll probably give that a shot. I was going to take castor oil yesterday, but my midwife advised against it. She said that it might just make me uncomfortable and not help bring labor on... and then labor could slow and I might need to be transferred to the hospital. So, we won't be doing that. I'm going to work with some acupressure today and see if that might help.

That's where we are. Just taking it one day at a time and trying not to focus too much on being overdue. I don't want to force my body to do something that it's not ready to do yet, so I'm trying to be patient! I think James is more ready for him to be here than I am... which blows me away! I think maybe he just wants that week off of work.... lol! We just can't wait much longer! We want to meet our little prince!

And I know he'll never read this, but I do just want to thank James for being there every step of the way. He's been so incredibly understanding and forgiving... I haven't exactly been the easiest person to deal with at times. But, he continues to love me and prove to me how important I am to him. I am so blessed to have him as my husband and the father of my child. If I went back 4 years, I would do this all over again... not a doubt in my mind. So, James, if you do ever read this, know that I love you so much. You are my rock. My best friend. My world. My everything. I would be lost without you and am so glad you chose me. We might slip and fall, but we definitely have it all! I will love you forever.

It's almost time, right?!

No baby yet. He's still as snug as a bug in a rug. ;)

I'm 38 weeks and 5 days along today... I can hardly believe that he'll be here in no later than 3 weeks (although I'm hoping he comes sooner than that!) It's so exciting and I just can't wait to meet him! I can't wait to hold him and make sure he's okay. To hear his cry and to see his little face.

I can't wait to be able to roll over in bed again without it being a major production. To look at my feet and recognize them again. To be able to bend over to wash my own legs. I want my body back... even though it won't be back to normal, having this big ol' hard belly gone will be nice.

Pregnancy has been such a journey! The first four months pretty much sucked. Between the "morning" sickness I had and being absolutely exhausted, I was pretty miserable. Crying all the time. I thought it would never end. Then, the second trimester came and things eased up. I was able to eat again, even though I couldn't stand the thought of ground beef or pizza (and still can't.) I had lots of energy and was pretty happy, for the most part! Started to feel him move around... What an incredible feeling! I watched my belly get bigger and bigger and my hips wider and wider (didn't think they could GET any wider!) I watched my husband get a bit of a sympathy baby belly himself and learned just how much I depend on him.

Now that we're so close and that Max is running out of room in there, we don't get kicks as much as we get pushing and rolling. I mentioned to James last night how cool it was when we were first able to feel him from the outside... How hard we had to concentrate to feel him, at first. Now, I'm begging him to get those feet out of mommy's ribs or I'm pushing his little knee back from my side. I swear, I'm worried that this kid thinks he can get out by poking a hole in my tummy! No sense of direction... just like his daddy. ;)

I can't help but wonder if he's going to have the hiccups as much on the outside as he does on the inside (that must be from mommy.) If he's going to be a night owl, considering he tends to get active right about the time we bunk down for the evening. I wonder how big he's going to be and how tall... I think he's going to take after his dad and papa. I still wonder every day what he's going to look like. My ears? James' button nose? The dimples that I've loved on his daddy from the day I met him?

It's just this waiting game now. I still have to pack our bag and get it ready, because he could arrive at any time now. His clothes are all washed and put away. We will install the carseat tonight (how weird is that going to be... driving around with carseat and a "baby on board" sign?!) We'll do a slight rearrangement of the bedroom so we can get the cradle in next to our bed. I'll get our birth plan written up today. Next week will be our last prenatal appointment until we're officially overdue. We'll have our last date night this weekend (to celebrate our wedding anniversary!) So, we're going to be 100% ready after this weekend.

It's still so surreal that I'm here. Finally. I can't wait to be Max's mommy. I can't wait to see James as a daddy. I can't help but smile when I think of the moments when we'll have Max tucked in between us, watching cartoons on a Saturday morning. The look on his face when he meets Santa for the first time or the first time he sees the snow fall. Feeling his little hands explore my face, learning who I am. Comparing his little face to the face of the man I love more than anything in this world. Imagining the first time James is able to slap a helmet on his little head for his first ride on daddy's motorcycle... and worrying myself sick, I'm sure!

Max, mommy and daddy love you so much. You are a blessing to us and we're so lucky to have you. You will never know just how much you mean to us already. We can't wait to meet you and welcome you to this big, crazy world!

With a heavy heart...

I belong to a few message boards on babycenter.com. That's where a lot of you know me from.

Over the past few weeks, our July 2009 board has experienced more than a few losses. Mothers who are full term or almost full term are losing their babies. It just makes me so sad to think of the mommies who are going home without their beautiful babies.

I've worried about my baby from the very beginning. Maybe this is because I'm a natural worrywart anyway. I worry about everything in my day to day life. I worry every time my husband gets on his motorcycle. I worry about my dad and husband at work (electrician and commercial carpenter.) I worry about everyone I love and even things I can't control.

Hearing about all of these losses puts so many emotions into swing for me. First and foremost, I'm sad. I wish I could take the pain away from all these women who've gone through these terrible tragedies. I feel like I want to do something, anything, for them. I also feel that worry creep up... I'll be considered full term as of this upcoming Sunday and I can't help but think that maybe Max and I are next. I can't imagine losing my son, especially when we're so close to bringing him into this world. I get scared for myself, as we had a loss of a September mommy, who passed away because of a blood clot and they couldn't save her baby, either.

So many heartbreaking stories...

I guess we just need to remember to live each day as if it were our last. To tell those we love how we feel before it's too late. To let our loved ones know how important they are to us before we can't tell them anymore. To spend as much time with the people we love and who love us, because you never know when they'll be taken from us.

I dedicate this post to all the mothers and babies who've been taken too soon. My thoughts and prayers are with your families and I only hope that you find strength in your loved ones and in God.

This week's update!

Just got back from my 36 week appointment and all is well! She actually made my day... quite possibly, my entire week! :)We met the new midwife, who won't be on call for deliveries until August (so we won't have her) but will be doing most of the home visits until then, and she was wonderful. She was a kick in the pants! I feel really blessed to have such an amazing group of women as support during this experience!

Last week I had to to a Group B Strep test. Group B Strep is a bacteria that we naturally produce and about 1 in 3 women have it. It's not unhealthy for us by any means... You probably wouldn't even know you had it unless you were tested for it. It's just not a bad thing... for us. However, if you didn't know you had it, it can transfer to the baby during delivery and cause some serious problems after birth. This is the time when each expecting mother is tested and if positive, they give two rounds of IV antibiotics during labor before delivery. Considering I'm going to be in a birth center without an IV (unless complications arise,) they would poke me once, inject a bag of antibiotic fluid and two hours later do it one more time. That would be it. Well, my test results were negative! Wahoo! So glad I don't have to worry about it... I hate needles and wasn't really looking forward to being poked twice!

Apparently, Max's head is very low, which explains A LOT. ;) Seriously... I'm pretty funny to watch these days. You really don't think about how much you'll miss the little things, like being able to roll over in bed or getting out of bed in the middle of the night. Jane, the new midwife, felt my tummy and thinks he's gonna be long... she said that since his head is so low and she felt all around his torso and his legs, that she wouldn't be surprised at all if he ends up being a 21 incher! Tall like Daddy! :) She also said that he seems to be a perfectly averaged sized baby. That was encouraging! She said that he'll probably be 7.5-8.5 pounds... about average. But, these are all just guesstimates. Even the ultrasounds can say you're having an 8 pounder and you end up with a 10! So, of course, I'm taking this all lightly, but it's still great to hear that she doesn't think he's going to be huge.

All in all, it was just a great appointment. She was very reassuring regarding my birth and my doula, Mary, said she just has a feeling that the birth will be a pretty easy one. After telling my mom that, she said she's been thinking the same thing... That I'll have a pretty easy time. Again, I'm trying not to get too excited about it, but I feel the same way... You never know how these things are going to go, but I just think it'll be a great experience.

In talking with Jane today, I also realized just how interested I am in childbirth. Not just my own, but just in general. I cannot get enough of birthing videos (like the really good ones... not where the cameras are focused up by mom's head.) I think that childbirth is the most amazing and miraculous journey. So, on the way home, James actually mentioned that maybe I should look into midwifery school. I was really surprised that he mentioned this and really excited because I think it might just be the perfect job for me. How cool would it be to deliver babies for a living?! So, I think I might start researching this and trying to get into school when the baby is about a year old. Get my prereq's out of the way either online or in night school and go from there. It's about a six year program altogether, but it would be so worth it.

A few nursery pics.

These aren't the greatest pics (only have my phone right now) but you get the idea! :) Still have quite a bit of decorating to do, so I'll try to post some more after this weekend! Hopefully it will be 100% complete by then!

One step closer...

Max's nursery is just about finished!

James and I spent the weekend working so hard on our vision. I've been planning this room out for MONTHS and now it's all come full circle. I've changed my mind over and over again (what's new?!) And it really turned out amazing! The only things we have left to do are to get the changing table and glider in (which we don't have yet) and to finish decorating. We really need to get some more aviation stuff to add to the walls and to hang the airplanes. I can't wait to see it COMPLETELY finished, but seeing it pretty much done is a trip.

This whole pregnancy has been a very surreal experience for me. For those of you who don't know me well, I have wanted this since I was a little girl. I'm going to be 29 a few short months after my son's arrival. Definitely a little later than I planned on. So, it's been really strange to finally be here.

Now, to walk by and see what used to be our guest room set up for Max, it's just unreal. It makes everything seem so much closer. Yes, I'm getting huge, and yes, I'm extremely uncomfortable most days, but it still seems like it could be another year before I actually have this kid! To think that in a few short weeks he'll be here... I think I'll be in a dazed state for at least a few weeks AFTER we bring him home!

The nursery is ready. We are one step closer to meeting our son. Our firstborn. This little person that WE created. We are one step closer to being parents. Fully responsible for someone else. A little baby that will turn into a man someday. I'm so excited and so scared all at the same time.

I'm a control freak and I know that I'm going to have to let go of my control a bit. That scares me. I'm going to have to stop worrying so much and realize that he's going to get hurt and there's not much I can do about it. I have to forget about trying to plan everything out and learn to go with the flow. If I thought I've changed over the past few years, I can only imagine how much changing I'll be doing over the next few months! It's going to be wild.

I'll post pictures of the nursery as soon as I can! We have another shower next weekend, so it might not be until then, but I'll try to get something up!

Ultrasound pics and pics of the ever growing bump!

Little Max kicking daddy in the face!
















8 months pregnant... and getting bigger every day!


















7 1/2 months pregnant





















It's a boy! :)
















Max's little profile at 22 weeks (about 5 1/2 months.)

My first blog!

Hi everyone!

I've decided to create this blog as a way to keep everyone up to date on our family! I hope you enjoy it and that it keeps us in touch...

As of right now, I am 35 weeks and 2 days pregnant! That puts me at almost nine months. I can hardly believe it's gone so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I found out we were going to be adding to our family.

A quick recap of the past eight months:
2 weeks- Got that positive pregnancy test (after one "try"... we weren't even trying to conceive really... we just had decided that we weren't going to stop it. We didn't think it would happen so fast!)
4 weeks- Got the flu and was already struggling with the morning sickness that would last 4 long months.
6 weeks- Had our first consultation with the birthing center, got the "doctor" confirmation that we were, indeed, pregnant. We decided to not even look at the hospital after our wonderful experience at Puget Sound Birth Center (www.birthcenter.com)
20 weeks- Had our first ultrasound and found out that it's a... BOY! We were hoping for a little man first, but we were just happy to hear that this baby is healthy. Had a little scare with the doc seeing something that looked like scar tissue in my uterus, but two weeks later we found out after another U/S that it was nothing. PHEW!
22 weeks until 30 weeks- Monthly prenatal appointments to check up on us... Everything is going great! Baby and I are growing right on schedule, no swelling and he's super active. I had my final blood draws and glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes and passed with flying colors. Great iron levels, no foreseeable issues... healthy as an ox. :)
30 weeks until 34 weeks- Bi weekly prenatal appointments now as we near the due date! Everything is still looking good! We also finally decided on a name... Maxwell Dean. He'll go by Max! Daddy has resorted to calling him Maximillion and Uncle Brad is apparently referring to him as Maximus. :) We love the name!
34 weeks- Started to notice a bit of swelling in my feet and ankles... I now have cankles! Although, watermelon consumption has been proving to alleviate that problem most days... Good thing that's my big craving during this pregnancy! Also finding it difficult to wear my wedding ring if I'm out and about walking around... This heat is killing me! Luckily, I have A/C in my bedroom...
35 weeks- Here we are. Starting to feel really ready to meet my son! James and I both agree that we want him to bake as long as he needs to, but carrying this child around is getting difficult! It's hard to roll over in bed, I feel like I've been riding a horse for DAYS on end and I'm starting to feel really tired. I think my body is finally telling me to slow down a little and to get some rest while I still have the chance!

We're going in for weekly prenatal appointments starting this week.... That tells me that we're really getting close! I'm starting to get kicked in the ribs quite frequently and James swears he was able to feel toes a few days ago! :) It's really funny watching my little man wiggle around in there... up until bedtime, that is. It seems he always wants to move and shake about the time we settle in for the night.

The nursery is getting closer to completion and I'll post pictures as soon as I can! We'll be finishing up the painting this week and then we can rearrange furniture and get the crib set up! We just can't wait to meet him!