Surprise!

Our baby girl is here!  Lauren Elizabeth surprised us all when she arrived Thursday.  She came into the world at 10:06 PM weighing 7lbs even and 19.5 inches long.  A peanut compared to the prediction I got last Monday at my ultrasound.  Thursday was one of the longest days ever, seeing as I pretty much worked an entire day, had my water break at work (which I wouldn't wish on anyone), and then ended up at the hospital delivering our little girl by night time.  Whew, just typing it is exhausting.  But of course it was one of the best days of my life also.  She is such a sweetie and I'm loving our first few days with her.  There are so many things that have happened since my last post and maybe eventually I'll get to write it all down but for now here are a few pictures of the little lady and her big brother Luke. 

Lauren Elizabeth

First impression of her big brother :)

Such a proud big brother!

Kisses

:)

So serious.

38 Weeks

That number sounds so exciting.  And even better, I only have 7 more days to go before the big ol' induction.  So what does one do the last week before having another baby?  A little bit of everything.

Friday night we had dinner as a family, did a little hanging out, and then went out to Rita's.  Mmmmmm!  I totally had some custard, it was amazing (remember what I'm eating these days - it was heavenly at this point), and my number after dinner shockingly wasn't bad.  Yay! Luke was so excited for ice cream he has asked for it every day since :)

Saturday we went to see choo choo's!  Real, big, awesome choo choos.  Just the mention of going to see trains and Luke had his shoes on and was standing at the door way before Zach and I were ready to go.  He squealed when we pulled into the parking lot and there were train cars everywhere!  It was adorable.  He wasn't so sure about actually getting on the train and I think he was confused every time the horn blew thinking it was a different train nearby and not ours but he still enjoyed it.  I think his favorite part was looking at the trains from the outside so next time we may just go watch them for a while.  We attempted several pictures but it sure is hard to get a toddler to look at the camera AND smile at the same time...

I never realized this before but in several picture he had his hand in his pocket. How cute!

Luke had such a good time he slept for almost 4 hours yesterday afternoon.  That gave me plenty of time to nap myself.  I'm beyond exhausted lately - maybe my body is working extra hard getting ready to have this baby?!?  I sure hope so! 

I also spent last night and today preparing the rest of the baby things - washing a bunch of things we borrowed from people, putting the bassinet back together, cleaning up the things we used with Luke.  The car seat is by the door ready to go and my hospital bag is just about finished.  Just the thought of possibly having her any day now is super exciting. 

I learned that Luke loves to help me clean.  I gave him some wipes and he helped me wipe down all the baby things - it actually kept him busy for over 20 minutes yesterday and again today!  That's an amazing amount of time compared to his normal attention span.  Next plan is to get him to clean the bathrooms :) 

He seems excited about all the baby things out now but also tries to get in them or use them all himself.  He obviously is way too big but I think (hope) once he sees his little sister in there he'll realize its not for him.  We'll see. 

And now the boys are out to eat and mommy is getting a little quiet time at home.  For my 38th week I'll be getting an ultrasound, having my last NST, and my last doctors appointment!  Woohoo!

It's 3 AM, what are YOU doing?

Oh right, sleeping!  I'm totally jealous.

I'm watching the replay of the Phillies on tv, checking my emails, wandering around the Internet, drinking a glass of milk, and not even close to sleeping.  At least I'm being productive :)

Nesting

Helloooo nesting.  With Luke I never really felt like I was nesting but I also had everything ready to go way ahead of time.  Yesterday at my doctors appointment we picked the big day, Monday April 30th I will be induced!  Which means in less than 2 weeks we'll meet our sweet little girl.

Super exciting and also gave me an oh.my.gosh I have so much to do moment.  So at work I've been trying to tie up all loose ends and prepare to not be there anymore.  At home I just can't stay on top of the cleaning (can any lady living with 2 guys, 2 cats, and a huge belly seriously do this?!?!) but I'm trying my best to at least keep it presentable and semi-clean just in case I'm gone for a few days before I'm expecting.

I also have this sudden sense to reorganize things - I'm crazy, I know.  This weekends list is long and top on the list is for Zach to install the car seat bases and me to pack my hospital bag.  The rest really could wait but hopefully I have a ton of energy (hahahaha, I'm hilarious).

I also have been feeling a lot of guilt all of the sudden.  Not sure if this is normal but now that there is a definite end date to the pregnancy I realize that Luke's days as #1 in our house are soon to be over - we'll have two #1s.  I feel guilty for some reason and am going out of my way to try and spend as much quality time with him as possible.  Last night I was completely exhausted when I got home but we ate dinner, went to the park, had some Mommy and Luke time,  and then off to bed.  I was in bed by 9 because of it all, but it was totally worth it.  This weekend we are going to try and take him to see real choo choo's - if the weather cooperates he will be oober excited! I know having a sister is a good thing and he'll be fine but its all hitting me right now.  Please tell me other moms of two go through the same craziness. 

Eeeeeee! (squealing with excitement) 12 days!

37 Weeks

37 weeks means I'm considered full term, woot!  Only 10 days left of work and a little more than 2 weeks until induction!  I'm more than excited at this point but I'm also an equally grumpy pregnant lady.  I'm pretty sure I felt the same way last pregnancy at this point.  I'm extra large, uncomfortable, tired, and just ready to not be pregnant anymore.  So yeah, I'm ready for this little lady to make her arrival. 

I'm up about 30 pounds right now, much less than I was with Luke - one big plus to the GD diet.  Hopefully I can shed the weight faster too since summer is right around the corner.  Baby Girl T should be about 6ish pounds and the size of a watermelon.  This week I got some good news from the doctor - my liver enzyme levels are decreasing so no more testing will be done until I'm admitted to the hospital.  I also learned the little lady is head down and ready to go but still hasn't begun to drop so I doubt we're close to meeting her yet.  I'm down to 2 doctors appointments, with the normal monitoring/testing I have been doing for the past few appointments and then its off to the hospital the following week.  I'm also not expecting any more specialists or even lab appointments, yay! 

Space is getting cramped in there and I can now make out more specific body parts as shes moving around.  Sometimes its a big bump moving all over which I'm pretty sure is her butt wiggling in there and the other day there was a limb (I'm guessing leg) that practically pushed out my stomach just in one specific spot.  Its creepy and exciting at the same time! 

Luke also got to feel her move the other day but he seemed really confused and I don't think he had any clue it was his actual sister in there moving and not just me doing it.  He has been so excited about going into the 'baby room' everyday.  He likes to play with her toys and read her books.  He's been sweet about it all and talks about baby sister sometimes.  Too bad he doesn't truly comprehend what this all means. 

And even though I talked about how I was done with the nursery and ready to go, my coworkers and family both held showers for me yesterday and today.  Now we really do have everything we need and lots and lots of girly things.  She is very lucky and I'm very thankful to everyone for it all!  :)  This week I need to finish unpacking it all, do a few last loads of laundry for her and we'll be set. 

Love!

I'm so in love with the nursery!  I find myself wandering in there for no reason at all and I just want to sit in the glider, put my feet up, and relax.  I was the same way when Luke's nursery was just about done.  I have two small projects to complete still for the blank walls above the crib and changing table but all in all, it's done and ready for our sweet little lady.  The closet is filled with all the essentials, diapers are in the dresser, clothes are washed, folded and ready to go, and I'm so excited!  Take a look!

My Babies

One of them is 2 going on 13 (talk about some attitude) and the other is 36 weeks!

Luke had a busy, fun weekend filled with lots of family time, sugar, and Easter egg hunts.  Through all this fun naps seemed to go by the wayside and sleeping in general just didn't seem important to him.  It honestly makes me a bit nervous seeing as we're going to have two kiddos in about 3 weeks.  Last weekend he started to fight/refuse naps at home but went right back to napping at daycare.  Last week he had trouble napping here Wednesday, took a really late nap Friday, no nap Saturday and a way too late nap today.  Now it's starting to affect bedtime too.  He had such a good stretch of sleep, both naps and bedtime, and this is the worst possible time to regress with Baby Girl T on the way.  Wish us luck! 

While he was "wide awake" though he sure did have some fun. 

His new Spiderman helicopter from the Easter Bunny

Happy Easter!

"Ooooh eggies!"

Running around the back yard searching for eggies.

"There's another one over there!"

Yesterday was 36 weeks for me, that means about 3 more weeks until induction.  My doctor told me last week I can't work past 39 weeks, which falls on a Saturday for me, so her plan right now is to induce me at some point the first week of May.  I'm a little nervous about induction but Luke came 5 days early on his own and since I would have to wait until at least the Monday after my 39th week starts, that would be 5 days anyway so lets hope shes on a similar schedule to her big brother.  Anyway, its still a week by week thing based on my NST's, blood work, and progress.  I'm looking forward to Tuesday to see how my liver is fairing this week and how Baby Girl T is doing in there. 

 This weekend has been my roughest yet since I got the GD diagnosis.  I've been so good about the diet for the past 6.5 weeks but temptation got the best of me this weekend.  Our house is FILLED with candy, sweets, and all sorts of stuff I'm not allowed to have because of Easter and I indulged in a piece of candy here and there.  Or a bite of Zach's, or Luke's, or both.  Blah.  Oh well, I did follow it to a tee during meals, just messed up my snacks all weekend.  My numbers showed it but I only went over my limit once by 2 numbers so all in all, I think it's all good.  If anyone wants to take some, or all, of said candy out of my house feel free!  My willpower sucks apparently. 

The cool part about 36 weeks is I'm only 1 week away from full term, woot!  The nursery is really coming along and its my goal to finish it (besides wall hangings) tomorrow.  I also feel the need to pack a hospital bag this week, get out the bassinet, and install the car seat bases soon.  I think we still have plenty of time but part of me is nervous and wants to be ready just in case.