The One, The Only... Mr. Preston William

Preston's Big Blog Debut: 8:30pm Tonight!

Dearest Faithful Readers,

This past Wednesday morning at 8:45am, I gave birth to a 7lb. 6oz. boy named Preston William. Jeremy and I couldn't be more in love.

Yesterday we were finally released from the hospital and are very glad to be home! So many unforgettable memories have already taken place and I can't wait to share them with you. As for now, I must feed the little one and get ready for our first appointment with the pediatrician.

Preston's big blog debut will occur this evening at 8:30pm. See you then!

It's 4:50 AM on D-DAY!

You know the Disney t.v. commercial that airs every summer...where the kids can't sleep 'cause they are too excited to go to Disney world. Well, I thought that I would be up all night, but surprisingly I slept an entire 5 hours! I can only contribute this to the mental mayhem I was going through yesterday.

This morning, however, I feel a little more relaxed. Maybe this is the calm before a new mental storm or maybe a little glimpse of relief as the big birthday is finally here. Jeremy on the other hand must need a pick me up- he's actually making coffee right now. I have a feeling he might not have slept so well. New Dad jitters?

Being that it's delivery day, I have to close the gender poll. Boys are in the lead with 51 votes. The girls only have 43. It will be less than 5 hours folks, before Jeremy and I discover if our faithful readers have the gift of accurately guessing.

Unfortunately I'm not sure how soon it will be before I can log back on to update everyone. I'm thinking about a week- it could be sooner if I can persuade Jeremy to get on and post during one of his trips home in the next couple days. I'll see what I can do!

Thanks to everyone for all their love and support through these past 39 weeks. I think I've experienced quite every emotion possible and have shared the majority of them with you. Today however, I'm sure to be filled with intense feelings of love and joy that I didn't know existed. And I'm not confident I'll be able to relay any of it accurately- I've been told there aren't words.

Yah for D-Day!

NESTING/OCD/MENTAL CASE...

call it what you want, but I'm freaking the hell out. There isn't anything left to clean, wash, launder or put away. I could make some more food to freeze, but I think we're good with lasagna, chicken and noodles and chili for now. Plus I've already been informed by a number of people that they are bringing food over once the THREE of us are home. Because the nursery is on the 2nd floor and I'm restricted to the first, I've transferred diapers, onesies, outfits, blankets, and other baby items downstairs. I tried calling my pediatrician to make the baby's 5-day old appointment, but they told me to call after the baby is born with it's gender, weight, length stats. Whatev...can't a girl plan???

I'm waiting for Jeremy to arrive home from work. Tonight we have a hot date planned- either pizza or a Wendy's cheeseburger and fries for our main course. Then a peanut butter chip milkshake from UDF. Due to the diabetes, I haven't been able to indulge in much sweets and I've pretty much stayed away from fast food. However, my GD doc said I could take today off! The GD will go away once the baby is born, but because of the pending c-section, I won't be eating solid foods until my system is in check. So, game on...within reason, as I'm pretty packed full of baby right now.

It's so totally freakin' weird knowing tonight is the last night Jeremy and I will be a twosome. I doubt I'll be sleeping much tonight, so you may expect at least one more post before delivery day!

Close but No Cigar

By 7:30 this morning Jeremy and I had the car packed, pee-jug in hand, and high hopes of becoming "parents" as we started en route to the hospital. (Actually, Jeremy being the more level-headed one, said he didn't feel like today was going to be the day, but I was nearly certain.)

In the car, I was on edge and quite nervous whereas Jeremy seemed cool and calm. And trust me, hearing "just relax" does not help a woman who thinks she is about to go under the knife. Instead, it only makes a woman want to rip her sweet, loving, husband's head off. The 35 minute ride felt like hours.

Quickly admitted to L&D, it was no time before the pee-jug was sent off to the labs, I was hooked up to machines and my blood was drawn. Nearly two and a half hours went by before all my results were in...all is well with myself and the baby I just have a considerable amount of protein in my urine, so I was free to go.

FREE TO GO? WHAT? THIS IS THE SAME CRAP I'VE BEEN FED SINCE MID-DECEMBER! How about getting this baby out of me? My adrenaline is pumping at a rate I can't even fathom and I'm ready to have this baby now! What difference does it make if I have the baby today or in two days? I choose now! I don't want to go home without a baby in my arms! I don't want to have to go through another anxiety-filled trip to L&D...this sucks!

One thing is for sure, Wednesday's trip to L&D will not leave us empty handed. I will be leaving a Mother, and Jeremy a father. It is going to be the best day of our lives. I just hope I can stop puking long enough from the narcotics to enjoy it.

A Friday Full of Surprises

SURPRISE #1:
Walking out the doors of Highlights, knowing I wouldn't be back for 12 long weeks, I felt surprisingly uneasy. I anticipated similar emotions to when I took off for my honeymoon or any other vacation, but this was not the case. Perhaps it's because deep down I knew I was leaving responsibilities I could handle, people I understood, and a routine that was familiar, and trading it all in for a more difficult job – a job I have not trained for – taking care of a little person I don't know or understand, under circumstances that will no way nearly resemble a routine.

SURPRISE #2:
The baby inside me looks like a mini-Jeremy. The tech administering the ultrasound at my diabetes check-up was so intrigued by the chubby cheeks she saw in the 2D ultrasound, she switched the machine over to 3D/4D mode to get a better look. And there s/he was...mini-J!

SURPRISE #3:
Our baby isn't a tiny monster, unless you consider 7lbs. 9oz. to be large, which I do not.

SURPRISE #4:
More protein in my urine. Technically this isn't a surprise to me, but it's concerning to my Doc as traces of protein have been lingering around since mid-December. This is a sign of Preeclampsia, and I'm at a higher risk for it due to the GD.

SURPRISE #5:
Protein in my urine warrants a trip to Labor & Delivery- this baby might be born today! AM I READY FOR THIS?!! In near panic I call Jeremy, asking him to finish packing my bags and to meet me at the hospital. (For the most part my bags were ready to go, with the exception of toiletries I use daily, so I figured he could handle it.) However, as I lie in the hospital bed waiting for Jeremy to arrive, I start thinking about everything he needed to bring that I forgot to mention- the Boppy, digital camera, video camera, pillow, clothes for him, etc. I could only hope for the best upon his arrival.

SURPRISE #6:
All my blood tests came back normal, the baby's heart rates were perfect, and although my blood pressures were askew, everything looked well enough to send me home. With the protein still being a major concern, I was given another pee-can to bring home and urinate in for the next 24 hours. On Sunday morning Jeremy and I will go back to L&D to deliver the pee-can and I will again go through more testing to see how myself and the baby are holding up. Looks like the baby could be born on Sunday instead of Wednesday!

SURPRISE #7:
I don't do well under Mom-to-Be stress. Once home, Jeremy started bringing in everything he packed for the hospital. Everything I forgot, he didn't! And, he even had the car seat...which didn't even cross my mind once. I might not be as ready for this Mom thing as I thought!

NOT-A-SURPRISE #1:
My husband is going to be an amazingly wonderful father. When I asked him how the hell he figured out what to pack on such short notice and under such unexpected circumstances, he calmly looked at me and said, "Babe, I was ready to be a Dad."

If that doesn't melt your heart and have all you ladies trying to steal my man, then you are all crazy! (NOT-A-SURPRISE #2- I am one lucky woman.)

And I Thought 'Real' Babies Were Expensive

Don't get me wrong, Camille Allen is talented beyond her years, but paying up to $4k for a clay baby blows my mind. I'm not even sure what I'd do with a tiny clay baby?

Perhaps Camille has found a goldmine of a niche and I'm just jealous I never thought to make tiny clay babies? Either way, check out her site.

An Eye-Opener from My Husband

Tonight Jeremy looked at me and said, "Babe, this is our last normal Wednesday. Tomorrow will be our last normal Thursday. Friday will be our last normal Friday. This weekend will be our last normal weekend. And Monday and Tuesday of next week will be our last normal Monday and Tuesday." Jeremy sure has a way of putting things into perspective!

I guess we won't have "normal" as we know it, but we'll adapt to a new "normal" and before long we won't even remember what it was like to not have a baby.

I'm 37 Weeks and 3 Days Pregnant...

in the pictures below, and you could still bounce a dime off my ass.

I'm not even kidding...Jeremy tried it. Well, actually he was playing 'quarters' and getting drunk, once again, by himself, but still - those coins bounced! Am I lying? I'll never tell.

Hurry up and Live Before the Baby Comes!

Last night Jeremy and I had an attempt-a-date. It wasn't really planned, so I'm not surprised that it didn't pan out as hoped. We left the house late, arriving at Genji's Japanese Steak House only to find a two hour wait. I was starving, so this was not an option.

After chowing down at the Asian Star buffet, where I indulged in 3 pieces of tasty pepperoni pizza and Jeremy tried something called seafood mayonnaise, we headed out to a couple stores looking for an ottoman to match my rocker. We were actually buying time, trying to hold out for the 9:45pm movie we were going to catch.

Who was I kidding...my back was killing me, I was getting tired, and wanted nothing more than to veg out on the couch. So, we made one more pit stop at Best Buy and purchased Jackass 2.5. (Not as good as the first two, but definitely worth adding to our collection.)

We're planning another date night this coming weekend, being as it will be our last weekend as a 2-person family for the rest of our lives. I told Jeremy that if there was anything he wanted to do before having children, he's got 9 days to do it - and good luck finding a chic to have sex with us, because I'm not exactly a prize these days. (Hee hee...me so funny.)

Statistically, I Am a Pregnancy Phenomenon

What are my odds?
• 15% of women become pregnant their first try (Lucky me!)
• 2 to 7% of expectant women develop gestational diabetes (Not-so-lucky me.)
• 3% of pregnant woman have breech babies (I can't even win a raffle?)

And to add to my list of statistical data...a scheduled c-section. This is a fairly common procedure, however, ranking in at only 30% of all births.

As odd as this sounds, Jeremy and I already know the Bump's birthday.
The big day is Wednesday, January 23rd at 8:00am!

I can only hope the medical staff is clothed, unlike the illustration below.

Near-Death of the Ironing Board

In researching 'breech births' I found many home alternatives to the doctor-performed Version. Acupuncture, visualization and various gravity-defying positions top the charts as common techniques used by mothers to aid in the turning of their child.

Jeremy and I decided to try the IRONING BOARD technique. This involves lying on
an ironing board, upside down, at a 40-45 degree angle for at least 15 minutes daily. The theory behind this makes total sense, however the logistics do not.

Why, you ask?

1. An ironing board is not meant to withstand the weight of a nearly 200-pound pregnant woman.

2. A nearly 200-pound pregnant woman is not meant to lie upside down at a 45 degree angle. Not only is it a feat in itself to get in the damn position (picture Jeremy pulling my body up the board by pulling on my ankles) the weight of the baby on my chest and lungs nearly made me pass out.

I made it 10 minutes.

(And yes, I used "nearly" twice when describing my weight, as I haven't hit the 200 mark yet...it's just creative writing – you know, trying to set the scene.)