Sick Family

I woke up Sunday not feeling great, but by the time we left the west side and were nearly home...Ryan and I both felt pretty awful, with sore throats and headaches. We were feeling worse by the minute, so Ryan called in sick for Monday. By Monday, we could tell Casey wasn't feeling great either.


On Wednesday we called the pediatrician, as Casey had a runny nose and cold. She said to get a humidifier and saline drops for his nose. We tried that, but the poor guy seemed to be getting worse, sneezing green snot, coughing and having a hard time nursing. So, today I took him to the immediate care, when he woke up he just sounded awful! They were so busy, we were sent home and told they would call me when they were ready for him. We went back and the Dr gave him some antibiotics to help out. We see his pediatrician Monday. Poor guy just doen't feel great, and spits up so much! We are going through serious amounts of burp rags and clothes. Casey just wants to be held and snuggled, which is fine with me, but makes it very difficult to do anything at all!! I think Ryan and I are on the tailend of the cold, so hopefully Casey is too. I asked the pharmacist what I could take for a cold while breastfeeding, and she said nothing...try saline drops and humidifier. I am a little jealous of Ryan and his dayquil and nyquil, but they pass into your milk and the pharmacist did not recommend it.

McAllister Christmas

Ok, the hardest part about updating my blog, is finding time to type with 2 hands. My netbook has heloped, its so tiny, doesn't take up much room on my lap, and now I have a baby wrap, freeing up my hands...although the wrap blocks my view of parts of the keyboard...

Last weekend, we took Casey on his very first road trip! We drove to see my family and celebrate Christmas with them in Lake Tapps. Its about a 4 hour drive, so I fed Casey immediately before we left, hoping to make it as far as possible before he woke up! By the time we drooped the dogs off at their favorite boarding kennel, and ran some errands, it had been an hour. Casey slept the whole drive until about 10 minutes before my Mom's house. He woke up and started crying, the pacifier was working, then we got stuck in construction! Poor Casey really lost it about 3 minutes before we got there! Once he was fed, he was happy! My Dad had surgery, so was still in the hospital, and my Mom with him, so we visited with Kelly, Caleb, Dustin and Jenna before hading to Shauna's, where we stayed.

Casey was not so sure about the cradle to sleep in (Shauna has a beautiful hand made cradle, made for Cooper by his Grandpa Fred), so after getting up with him about 6 times, he came to bed with us!! That helped all of us sleep! He actualy slept about 5.5 hours, which he had also done the night before at home, his longest stretch yet!!

Saturday, we had to take Tobie to the vet, he had been vomiting, had diarrhea and had refused several meals. He was pretty lethargic too. After a small fortune, he got some meds to make him feel better. Shauna and Keegan then jumped in the expedition and we followed Matt, Kelly and Caleb to South Center to Red Robin to meet a friend oif Kellys. We had 3 slings and infant car seats at our table, which was quite a sight! A weird lady walked by and put her hand in Casey's car seat, almost touching his face....not okay! Yes, he is adorable, but no petting! Later that night we went to Mom's for pizza. Dad was discharged from the hospital, and was home! Casey finally got to meet him! With our family growing so much, it always gets pretty chaotic and loud, with 7 different conversations at once....its great!

Sunday was our Christmas celebration. My Grandparents came over, meeting Casey for the first time. Grandma brought lasagna for lunch. We finally had all 4 cousins together! There were lots of pictures taken!!

Christmas is coming!

So this latest update is coming from my new netbook! I have wanted a laptop for quite some time, mine is over 4 years old, is missing the backspace key (Thanks Rylie) and is just old and slow. We have looked for a long time, but I am cheap and don't like to spend money....so no new laptop. I finally decided I was fed up with the old one, and I got the HP Netbook (a 10.1 inch mini laptop...only weighs 2.8 pounds!!) from Costco. My brother will be happy to hear its from Costco!


Casey went to his second Christmas Party on Monday night. Our dog club, the Columbia Basin Dog Training Club, had its Christmas Party and gift exchange. We put Casey in his Elf in Training outfit, although he slept in his carseat the entire party! Ryan got his pin for earning Josh's Rally Novice and Advanced titles, and I got McKenzie's for earning her Rally Advanced title. Casey and I got a stuffed dog, for adding him to the family! He and Lila were the 2 new babies in the club this year, Lila is 4 months and a cutie! The gift exchange was fun, we both got great doggy gifts, that Josh and McKenzie will definitely enjoy.


Yesterday, we took Casey to Christmas party #3...at my work. I am on maternity leave, but we went in for the potluck and white elephant gift exchange, and to show off this cute kid! The white elephant exchange is always funny, people bring the weirdest things!


Casey has started sleeping 3 hours between feedings at night, much nicer than 1-2 hours. Although last night, he woke up a few extra times, and so did Tobie, so it was not a great night sleep. He slept most of yesterday, and last night after he ate and burped, he projectile vomited/spit up all his last meal....all over me, him, his blanket and the couch, and boppy. That was a mess! And lucky me, he did it again this morning, all though he hadn't eaten quite as much this time. Thanks Casey.


My Dad had surgery yesterday, and all went well. We are headed to the west side for Christmas a weekend with my family, so Casey will get to meet his Grandpa Fish, who should be out of the hospital on Saturday. He also gets to meet Great-Grandparents Al and Dede, his Aunts, Uncles and cousins! The 4 little boy cousins will all be together for the first time. Yay!


Casey got to see his Grandpa Larry on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, on his way to Spokane. Casey was quite cozy sleeping in Grandpa's arms for hours! I don't think Grandpa minded one bit to snuggle with Casey!!


We took Tobie to the "spa" aka PetCo grooming center. Between my pregnancy and now having a newborn, Tobie looked quite a mess, he had what we call "grinch feet", where the hair is way too long around the feet, and all the haoir that shed, but didn't fall out. Good thing there is no doggy CPS, or they may have impounded him on lack of grooming! Ryan dropped him and reminded the staff Tobie loves to lick people when they least expect it, is blind, deaf and almost 14! He had to sign a general waiver, a senior citizen waiver and a special needs waiver. But Tobie looks awesome! He looks exactly like the conformation champion he is, rather than a homeless aussie....


Time is just flying with Casey. Tomorow he will be 4 weeks old already! I can't wait for him to start smiling! I see smiles in his sleep, and they are too cute! Casey has his eyes open more and more. They are a beautiful blue. He is starting to pick his head up off your shoulder and turn it during tummy time. He tries to nurse everything, which is so funny. Watch your nose around him when he is hungry!! He is still a noisy kid, lots of grunting, and growling. Can't wait to hear his little giggle! We moved to size 1 diapers, no more newborn! He is still wearing newborn clothes, but he is just about too big for them. I never thought he'd even wear newborn sizes, but since he was 3 weeks early, he got to wear them!

Last night, Ryan and I took Casey to his first Christmas party at my friend Kelly's house. It was so nice to get out of the house and interact with people! Ryan had worked 2 days, which meant I saw hime about 1.5 hours each day, and since I haven't ventured out with Casey alone, it's been a little lonely at home. There were a few friends from work, it was great to see them. Oh, and there was a chocolate fountain, with mini creme puffs. YUM! Kelly gave Casey a onesie with Dwight Shrute on it! Awesome:) Before we headed to the party, Casey had fed for almost 2 hours straight. He had been eating all day, I think he is growing! I told Ryan even if we could only stay 10 minutes....I really wanted to go!! I am so glad we did!


It snowed yesterday too! Casey's first snow! We tried to nap, since Casey was up every 1-2 hours the last few nights, and this mama needed SLEEP! Casey was not interested in sleeping, sadly, we just dozed until he threw a big enough fit, I got up and fed him again. (He had JUST finished eating before we tried napping.


Last night, Casey slept 3 hours between each feeding! I tried reading during feedings, after talking to my sister (she said it would make the time go by faster in the middle of the night). She was right, although sometimes feeding is a 2 handed activity:) I feel much better after getting a little more sleep. I have been reading "The Girlfriends Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood"....great book and so hilarious.


Today, I have wrapped all the Christmas presents for next weekend, while Casey is sleeping. Yay! I think Casey knows when I blog, because he always wakes up while I am on here! So I am off!

Newborn Pictures

Yesterday we took Casey to Sears to get pictures taken. We wanted newborn, family and holiday pictures! We weren't super impressed with Sears, but we love the pictures we did get. Getting a newborn to "pose" for pictures is pretty difficult!

His face is just so sweet here! It was Ryan's idea to stack our rings in this photo...I think Ryan did more posing than the photographer! The print we got of this also has the quote "All because two people fell in love".

This was a tight fit...and I didn't think his stocking was coming off afterwards! Casey tolerated a lot of pictures...then he was just done! I fed him at Sears, my first attempt at feeding in public. I have a "hooter hider" that I put into use...Ryan says I flashed once, but he body blocked me!

We also took Casey to see Santa Claus, and get his picture taken. He looked so tiny in Santa's arms! Casey has been a good boy this year, so Santa should be good to him:)

I really love being a Mom. I wish I could take pictures of every face he makes, record every noise, and every outfit he wears...I just don't ever want to forget these times with him, while he is so small. It still amazes me that Ryan and I created this perfect baby, and he is the same creature who kicked me constantly in my belly! I love that when he cries, he is comforted by my holding and rocking him. I love that he curls up on me, with his head under my chin, with that angelic face! He is just so sweet when he sleeps, and so sweet when he is awake and looking around.

Shopping!!

Ryan had today off, so I made him let me escape the house! I am STILL too sore to be able to carry Casey's carseat, so I have been stuck at home while he is at work. We went to lunch at Bruchi's (yep, another turkey sandwhich) and went shopping. We got great deals at Old Navy, 3 nice shirts and a coat for me...only $40 bucks! We also went to my favorite, Maurices, and I got new jeans (not maternity, woohoo!) and a sweater, cami and socks. It's been a long time since I have bought clothes that don't have massive elastic bellies:) Casey was great, he just cried at the very end, he was ready to eat, but the car quieted him down til we got home.

I love Christmas time and Christmas cards, we have started getting cards in the mail....a nice change from bills! I actually get lots of samples and coupons in the mail, so getting the mail is very exciting to me (yes, I am THAT boring).

Well Casey woke up...must cut this short!

Update

Wow- time flies when you have a newborn!

We have had lots of visitors the last few weeks. We met Casi and Chamisa at Red Robin as they passed through town. Rachel, a friend from water aerobics came to visit and brought us dinner, a few days later, Audra, also from prenatal water aerobics visited and brought us dinner. We were able to visit with Ryan and Tiphanie, and hopefully not scare them too much about what lies ahead (they are having their first in March!). Kirsten, a friend from work came by to visit and brought us dinner too! We are lucky to have good friends in our life, and a chance for outside conversation with other adults is great!

Last Saturday, we attempted a great feat. We took Josh and McKenzie (our 2 year old aussies) to PetCo, for a photo with Santa, and the three of us. I was mighty nervous, that the dogs would cause trouble, that Casey would cry unconsolably, or that I would have to stand too long and not make it! But, we did it! We are all looking towards the camera at least.

Casey is definitely growing. When we went back to the pediatrician on 12/1, he weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces! He gained back his birth weight and then some! He is actually on the 90th percentile for weight...big guy for being born 3 weeks early! His pediatrician says he is doing perfectly. His jaundice has cleared up as well. We will go back at 1 month. Casey's umbilical stump finally fell off, yay! We are getting ready for his first bath in the tub, Ryan has been sponge bathing him in the sink, so it didn't get wet.

Casey was sleeping pretty good at night for awhile, he would sleep 3-4 hour stretches between feedings, but the last few nights its only been 1-2 hours. He must be growing! After he eats, he is usually wide awake (not me, still half asleep!) but I am able to put him back to bed and he will fall asleep on his own. He is a very good baby, and entertains himself well. He likes his play yard, his swing, and laying in the boppy next to you. We were told by the pediatrician he can cry for no reason upto 3 hours per day, but so far, we haven't had any of that! Casey just cries a few minutes here and there, til he gets what he is upset about.

Ryan and I call Casey "the little pirhana", because when he starts to root, he will shake his head, growl and launch himself onto anything! Then when he has his prey, he continues growling and sucks like crazy. It's pretty hilarious! This also gives him the nickname of "the little tiger". He is a noisy kid, he grunts, groans, and growls....it's adorable! He is all boy for sure!

Casey isn;t old enough to smile, except in his sleep, but his facial expressions, sleeping and awake are so cute. It looks like he has at least one dimple, when he smiles big in his sleep. I call his sad face "crab-pot", he will scrunch up his whole face for a few seconds before crying or fussing.

Ryan had to go back to work on Monday. This was very sad for me, because Ryan is so helpful! He has been doing everything, while I heal and get back on my feet. Other than feed Casey, Ryan has been doing. Casey and I survived our first 2 days alone, but those long 12 hour days with no interaction besides the dogs and Casey are a bit boring (not that Casey doesn't keep me busy).

I have been taking tons of pictures of Casey! I already see how much different he looks that when he was born, so I want to capture it all. Plus he has so many cute outfits, many of which have special meanings, as they are from his cousins or were gifts. So, I have to take lots of pictures. I can't wait to start scrapbooking them. Thursday (Casey's actual due date!) we are getting newborn pictures taken, can't wait to see them! Casey's hair keeps changing, it's a mixture of light brown, blonde and strawberry, so who knows what it will do! It was much thicker and curlier at the hosital, it has been slowly falling out. His eyes seem to get bluer and bluer.

Well, I hope to keep this better updated, mostly for myself to try and journal all Casey's milestones, and my loyal readers (I think this is only my Mom.....)

Black Friday

I can't believe I missed black friday shopping this year! I love this day of shopping...the last few years I have shopped with my Mom and sisters...we are serious shoppers.

This year, I was just too sore to possibly even try, not to mention Casey, who likes to eat every 2-3 hours:) So, Ryan and I made a list, and Ryan went out for what we wanted most. He hit Target at 5am! Impressive! He also hit Kohls and Best Buy...all super busy places. Ryan is a good sport! He got up at 3:30...well, we were already up with Casey....hungry boy. Ryan was able to get a lot of the things we were after.

Later, Erick and Roxie came to visit Casey. They were in town visiting family. After visiting and holding Casey, Erick showed off some of Zlatan's (his police k-9) skills. He is a beautiful and very talented dog! We also got to see all the yorkies.

As Roxie and Erick left, Nicole arrived! With all 4 of her shelties! Nicole brought Casey a cute puppy robe and towel set...so cute!

We took a great nap this afternoon, after not much sleep the night before!

Thanksgiving

So much to be thankful for! We didn't really expect to see Casey for Thanksgiving, so how exciting to get to have his first Thanksgiving! Ryan went to many stores on Wednesday to track down a Thanksgiving outfit for Casey, and found possibly the last outfit in the tri-cities!

Mom made a great french toast Thanksgiving breakfast, before we had to take her to the airport. She headed home to have another Thanksgiving, Caleb and Keegan's first Thanksgiving!

Ryan and I picked up our pre-made Thanksgiving dinner from Safeway...with a new baby, this was so convenient! We didn't have to cook, just heat up everything. Our turkey outweighed Casey! This will give us lots of leftovers.

Here are some things we are thankful for this year:

*The safe arrival of Casey! At 37 weeks, he was early, but healthy. He was not affected by the gestational diabetes (which went away with delivery!) Casey is definitely the best thing Ryan and I have done! He is beautiful, and we love him so much already...we loved him before we met him!

*One year ago, my Mom was diagnosed with a fist sized brain tumor. She underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor. This was a terrifying time for my family, and I will never stop being thankful that I still have my Mom. This year she got to experience the birth of Casey with Ryan and I, and also welcomed grandsons Caleb and Keegan in August!

*We are thankful to both have secure jobs that we enjoy! In this economy, so many people have lost their jobs and homes. We both love what we do, and are in jobs that value their employees.

*We were able to raise almost $1700 for breast cancer this year. While we had planned to walk the 3 day 60 mile Susan G Komen cancer walk, we just couldn't manage it with me 6 months pregnant, and my Dr did not think it was a good idea. All of the money we raised still went to the Susan Komen for the Cure fund, and we are thankful we could raise so much money for such a great cause.

*This year, Ryan and I were able to train with our aussies in agility, obedience and rally, and to compete in many shows. We won lots of ribbons this year, and both Josh and McKenzie now have their Canine Good Citizen title, and their Rally Novice and Rally Advanced title. We are thankful for such loyal, smart, fun, beautiful dogs that enjoy hiking, walking and playing at the dogpark....and are being so good with Casey.

*I am so thankful to celebrate another Thanksgiving with Tobie. I have had Tobie since I was in the 10th grade. Every day I have with Tobie I am thankful for. At 13 and a half, I don't know how much more time I get with him. Tobie can't see or hear anymore, but has so much spirit and licks and love to give. He sleeps on our bed every night, usually where he least fits, spooned against my legs.

*This year we were able to go to Vegas! We also got to camp with family in Chelan and Sea Side. We visited family and friends in Bend and Seattle, and attended Casi's graduation in Pullman. We traveled to many dog shows, and put a lot of miles on our Escape and Expedition! Ryan and I love a good adventure filled with family and friends! We are thankful we are able to do this, and have so many friends and family we can spend time with.

Week 1 at home

The week we brought Casey home was definitely a sleepless one! Luckily, we had my Mom to help out, so we could get some naps in. Casey was sleeping a lot, but he was not always interested in sleeping in his bed...he preferred being held, which means the holder doesn't really get to sleep! He was eating so often as well. Because Casey was 3 weeks early, he had some latch problems, and we were using a small feeding tube to deliver supplemental formula to get him to open his jaw a little more while nursing. This involved Casey, me, and one other person (Mom or Ryan). Because I was still so sore, I was feeding lying down, which was pretty awkward.

Tuesday, Casey went to the pediatrician for the first time! He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces, up a little from the 7 pounds 8 ounces from when we left the hospital. We did a jaundice blood draw, because he was pretty yellow. Poor guy got a prick in his foot and it took forever to get enough blood. It was so hot in that room, I was sweating, and it hurt so much to be standing...I almost had to leave! Casey was a champ and hardly fussed at all. Later that day, we went to the post-partum clinic at the hospital, and checked in with the nurse. I slept in the afternoon, it was exhausting and I was still so very sore, moving made it worse.

Wednesday, my friend April and her baby, Mya came to visit. Mya and Casey have an arranged marriage, so it was time for them to meet!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and my Mom is heading home. It was so great to have her here with me for the birth of Casey, and to help out at my house. I got lots of great lessons on swaddling and taking care of a baby. Again, shouldn't I have had a test before taking such a tiny baby home?! When Mom leaves, we are on our own....yikes! We are lucky we have lots of people to call with questions.

Our hospital stay

After Casey was born, he made a singing sound when he breathed out, which we thought was cute, but were told was a sign of distress. He was hooked up to an oxygen monitor, which looked great, and he was still nice and pink. They ordered a chest x-ray and had the pediatrician come look at him. The ped nurse and pediatrician came to see him, and decided to cancel the x-ray, and said to just give him more time. He was 3 weeks early, so he just needed a little extra time and all his vitals looked great. His blood sugars looked good, which was a relief due to my gestational diabetes. It didnt affect him!

By 11am, I finally got to eat! I hadnt eaten since our subway lunch at 1pm the day before! I was given some broth and jello some time the night before, but thats not filling at all!! I ordered a turkey sandwhich and fruit. After 9 months of not being able to eat deli meat, and after the gestational diabetes and not getting much fruit....this was the best meal ever!

Casey had some difficulty nursing, again from being only 37 weeks, his jaw wasnt developed enough to open for a good latch. We were visited several times over our stay by the lactation specialist, she was great, so very helpful. She brought me lots of products to help us out, and helped me practice. We supplemented Casey with a thin line of formula to see if he would open his jaw wider. This was very difficult and took many hands! Who knew nursing could be so complicated and be a team sport! I learned you have zero modesty when having a baby!

In the afternoon, my Mom broght Casey a birthday cake, and we celebrated with her, and Ryan's parents. That was good cake!

Sleep was not easy in the hospital. I was so sore and couldnt get comfortable, and Casey was eating every 2 hours, and the nurses come in to do vitals all the time. Someone even came to draw blood from me at 4am! I was so exhausted after no sleep for days and the marathon of labor. Casey made it worth it for sure! The first day, I had the turkey sandwhich and fruit for all 3 meals....I couldnt get enough! I was also worried to upset my stomach after not eating for so long.

Sunday morning we were discharged about noon. It is crazy to think they just let you go home with this tiny baby! Shouldn't I have taken a test or something?! It's gonna be a fun ride!

Back to the hospital!!

My water broke at 2:15, and we were checked into the hospital at 3:06. I went to an exam room and was still only 2cm dilated. The Dr decided to run a test to make sure my water really broke. I was confused, as what else could it possibly have been?! I was sure it broke! It took about a half hour, but Dr. Custodio came back and said "Well Mrs. French, you are staying!" It was definitely my water that had been broken. I was moved to birthing suite 7 (Lucky #7!) at 4:30. I was started on an antibiotic drip. I still wasn't having any contractions, at 6:30 they strted my pitocin drip to move things along! Ryan and I did some walking, he pushed my IV pole for me! At 7, I was able to update my facebook to let my friends know I was in the hospital having a baby!

At 9pm, I was still only at 2cm dilated 70% effaced and baby was at a negative 3 position. Around 10pm the contractions started getting painful. We watched Greys Anatomy as the contractions got really bad.

At 11:30 Dr Custodio decided he wanted internal monitoring, he placed the 2 monitors one at a time, and they were so incredibly painful....I didnt think anything about labor could hurt that bad! When he was done he said I was 4cm and could have an epidural anytime. I requested one immediately! But I needed more fluids and they had to find the anesthesiologist. So it was 12:30 before the epidural was started. Immediate relief! I felt so much better! The catheter on the epidural didnt work, which the Dr said had never happened to him in all his years...so he had to re-do it. He said the good news was the 2nd epidural was complimentary! I told him he could charge me as many times as he'd like, I was just happy to feel better!

The nurse said I should try to sleep, as I didnt the night before, and it was going to be a long night. I slept from about 1-3am. Our labor nurse, Becky, was awesome, and she came in and spent a long time talking to us. At about 5am I was 7 cm, 100%effaced and baby was -1 position. I could feel the contractions at this point, they werent painful, just lots of pressure, but I could feel them for sure. At 6:50, I was 10cm and told I would push soon.

At 7am, I started pushing! I was able to take a 15 minute break at 7:30, then started again at 7:45. By this point, my labor nurse was Lynne, and Dr. Custodio was called back. Casey Neal was born at 8:23am, weighed 7 pounds, 13.6 ounces and was 21 and 1/4 inch!! The Dr. cleared his airways, cut the cord, and handed him off to the army of nurses who had arrived. I was waiting to hold him, but the Dr had some work to do on me, and said I couldn't hold him quite yet, I was shaking really hard and losing blood. Once he got everything under control, they put Casey on my chest. There is really no way to describe the feelings of seeing your child for the first time and holding him....I won't even try, it was simply amazing! Ryan and my Mom were the best coaches ever, I am so glad I had them with me!

Contractions

Time to catch this blog up!

After the Dr stripped my membranes Tuesday 11/17...I was pretty crampy and uncomfortable Tuesday and Wednesday at about 3pm I started having some Braxton Hicks contractions and regular contractions. They weren't terribly uncomfortable, but were about 5-10 minutes apart. We met up with my friend Randi for dinner at Applebees. I still was having contractions, but I could talk through them and they weren't too bad. My Mom and I were trying to decide when she should fly over, there werent many flights. She decided to take the morning flight, as she couldnt make the last flight of the night.

After we got home, they got a little more powerful, Ryan called in to work, and we went to bed. I was able to fall asleep for a little while, but was woken up about 12:45 with contractions I could not sleep through. After about an hour and a half of these 4-5 minutes apart, we headed to the hospital. My sisters had warned me well to not wait too long to get to the hospital, as they didn't get their epidurals!

We got to the hospital and checked in. A nurse hooked me up to all the monitors and checked me. I was still 2 cm dilated and about 70% effaced. She had me walk laps around the maternity ward for an hour to see if I make any progress. She checked me again and said I had not made enough progress to be checked in, and to go home and sleep. They gave me an ambien to help me sleep. She said I was in early labor, and it could be hours, days or even another week before I gave birth! So we headed home about 4am, as my Mom was getting on a flight to head over. I was worried she would get here and I wouldnt have Casey for a week!

I went to bed, and all contractions stoppped. Ryan picked up Mom from the airport. At noon, we decided it would be a great idea to go to my prenatal water aerobics class to see if we could get things started! I went to class and worked hard. Afterwards, Mom and I went to Subway for lunch and headed home. Ryan was sleeping and he woke up and asked if I was having contractions....I told him there was no progress and went to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands...my water broke! I was so suprised! I went out to tell Ryan, who is still laughing at the look on my face! Then we went out to tell my Mom and head to the hospital! They can't send me home now!!!

Making progress....

Back to the Dr today! We had a nonstress test, Casey rocked it and kicked the whole time. He is a busy kid already. Then we did a biophysical profile ultrasound, where the tech watches his movement on the ultrasound. He was napping after the nonstress test and didn't want to move around. After much prodding with the wand (OUCH!) he moved a bit and passed his ultrasound. The Dr checked me and said I have dilated to 2 cm (wasn't at all Thursday) and he stripped my membranes. I had contractions all weekend, so he said this may move labor along in the next few days or week. If not, I am scheduled for an induction on Dec3 at 39 weeks. He said with gestational diabetes, 39 weeks is the farthest they want you to go. Casey should be 9 pounds-ish then, since I am tall I should be able to get him out. Oy. My Mom gave birth to 3 9 pound babies, so I guess I can manage it. I probably deserve it after being 9 pounds 9 ounces, sorry Mom!! And dang it, I was positive for group b strep (1 in 5 are)....and being allergic to so many drugs, the one thing that can treat it, I am told will cause an awful rash and red face...so dont expect any pictures of me right after delivery. I will probably get lots of benadryl with it to help with the rash, so maybe I will sleep through delivery? Hahaha.

Well, we will see what happens! Sometimes stripping membranes does nothing, but it could be anytime between now and Dec 3rd!! 2 weeks!

Shopping

Today was a great shopping day!

My Rite Aid trip:
2 herbal essence totally twisted gels (these curls are a pain!)
Airwicks motion sensor spray
Oral B crossaction Toothbrush
After coupons and SCR, paid $1 out of pocket:)

Off to Victoria Secret for yet another free lip gloss

Bath and Body Works, 12 of their awesome foaming hand soaps, averages out after sale and coupon to $1.67 each....I love these and there are lots of Christmas scents. I received another coupon I plan to use on Black Friday, if i am able to shop and not giving birth...

I bought our whale bath tub for Casey at Toys R Us today, with a gift card, so it felt free!

In my mailbox today I found free diapers, and tons of coupons. My mailbox has had free samples almost everyday this week....much better than bills everyday.

36 weeks

We had our 36 week Dr appointment and ultrasound on Wednesday. That was quite an adventure! The ultraound showed Casey measuring at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 37 weeks 4 days. That's my big boy! We waited for the Dr to come interpret what this meant.....they were running behind, so it was a long wait! Dr. Smith came in and said his growth seems to be affected by the gestational diabetes, whereas before it wasn't. If he is over 9 pounds at the time of delivery, it will be a c-section, as it is safer on him and me. But, he said a bigger problem was that my amniotic fluid was low, and the ultrasound showed Casey's heart rate kept dropping. Fluid should be 12-20, mine was at a 7, and 5 or below means you emergency deliver immediately!! So he talked to the on-call Dr at the hospital and arranged to have me sent over for overnight heart rate monitoring, IV fluids and another ultrasound in the morning. We were told if his heart rate didn't stabilize or my fluids dropped anymore....Casey would be delivered ASAP, as they couldn't guarantee his safety. He estimated he would need to stay in the NICU a week if delivered that day or the next. We headed to the hospital, got checked in, and I called my Mom to let her know the update (effectively launching a large emergency planning committee on the west side of rearranging work schedules, baby-sitters etc, so my family could come over if he was on his way!!)

At the hospital, I was hooked up to the fetal and contraction monitors, and Casey's heart rate was holding steady, so the on-call Dr said he would watch it for 4 hours, and if it was okay, I could go home on bedrest. He stayed perfectly within range the entire time, and we were allowed to go home for the night, with strict bedrest instructions until Thursday at 2, when we would go back to the hospital for more monitoring and another ultrasound to check fluid levels. They really wanted to keep Casey inside for another week, or at least a few more days. The nurse told me not to expect going back to work until he was born.

We made it home about 9:30, made some lists of what we would need if Casey arrived this weekend and headed to bed. I did my bedrest Thursday morning, and thought I would definitely not make it a whole week on bedrest. The nurse had instructed me that bedrest did not mean laundry, or organizing baby's room or moving about the house.....it meant move as little as possible! I am not great at that. Poor Ryan.

Thursday we headed into the hospital earlier than requested, because I had not been feeling him nearly as much as usual. Once I got hooked up to the monitors, it looked like he was doing great and he started kicking more. We went to ultrasound and his fluid levels were 17.6!!! A huge difference! They said there was no way I could have increased that much overnight, so the fluid levels the day before must have just been a fluke. Bad reading. Bad pocket of fluid. We were told he was the best looking kid on the maternity ward, according to his heart rate readings, and I assured the nurse the same thing would be said when he was born....he would again be the best looking kid on the ward! I was sent home and told to resume being a "normal pregnant woman" (Ryan says there is no such thing) and could go back to work, back to prenatal water aerobics and back to life as usual.

We went shopping afterwards and bought lots of last minute necessities and are planning to pack our hospital bags, install the car seat and all that, so we are ready!! The Dr still thinks i will deliver at 37-38 weeks, due to his large size and the gestational diabetes...so that is really soon! We can't wait to meet Casey and be parents!

Another baby shower!

My sisters, Shauna and Kelly hosted the cutest, farm animal baby shower for me on Saturday! Here is a picture of me with my cake, which matched the invitations, napkins and everything else......so cute!!! The shower was at my Mom's house, and I got to see so many friends and family, and Casey was showered with so many wonderful gifts....this kid is already spoiled! Even with gestational diabetes, I managed to have a piece of that cake....YUM!!!! Shauna and Kelly did a great job, I had so much fun!

At Shauna and Kelly's baby showers this summer, we were all 3 pregnant... now I am the last one! But, just a few more weeks to go. I can't wait for Casey to meet with cousins!

Before heading to the west side last weekend, we did a hospital tour, and asked a million questions. We are really happy with Kadlec so far. Then we headed to a meet and greet with Dr. Matta, who will be Casey's pediatrician, and her nursing staff. We were very reassured that we can call anyone for help, any time day or night. The Kadlec labor and delivery nurses, our pediatrician, or the lactation specialists at the hospital. Dr. Matta gave us a huge book by the American Association of Pediatrics, on every topic in the world, as a reference book.

Friday night we headed to my parents house and had a big family dinner with all the siblings. Dad made carne asada (I doubt I spelled that right!), he is the best chef EVER! Saturday was the shower!!! We also visited with Ryan's parents and Aunt, Uncle and cousins! We had homemade chili and played cards. Sunday, we had breakfast with Liz and Roxie and headed back home. We had left Josh and McKenzie home, with our neighbor feeding them, which worked out great. Tobie got to come with us, because he is old and spoiled.

This week, I have another appointment with the diabetes nurse, and an ultrasound! I can't wait to see how big Casey has gotten, and maybe get a better idea of what our birth plan is going to look like. I am racking up even more questions for our OB. He is great, he lets me ask everything in the world, and answers very thoroughly. I am new at this, I need lots of answers, lol!

Updates

Well I have gotten pretty far behind.....so here are the baby Casey updates!

Last Saturday, I had a fabulous baby shower in the tri-cities, thrown by my good friends Kelly and April. Kelly went all out with so much wonderful food! So many people came to it, and I had so much fun and we got so much wonderful Casey stuff!

I was retested at 32 weeks for gestational diabetes, since Casey is so big, and I flunked my test! So I was sent to the diabetes learning center to learn how to control it. I am testing my blood sugar 4 times per day and following the diabetes diet, counting carbs. It's not much fun, but it's for a good cause:)

I just had my 34 week appointment, and got my swine flu vaccine. Dr. Smith put me on meds to keep my blood sugar lower, because even following the diet exactly for a week...my blood sugars were still high. He did say Casey's growth is not from the diabetes, he is just a big kid! He is in the 90th percentile for his head, abdomen and femur! If the growth is due to diabetes, we would only see a large abdomen. He said Casey will be 10 pounds if I go to 40 weeks! He will see me weekly now, and at 36 weeks, another ultrasound. It sounds like, at 38 weeks, I will probably have a c-section, due to being diabetic, on drugs (prescribed!!) and Casey being large. It will be safer on Casey and me! But you never know, he could come anytime!

Last week Casey was doing somersaults, and flipped himself to breech. It was pretty uncomfortable and apparently he thought the same thing, because he flipped back to head down the next day! The Dr. said he still could flip back breech, but we won't try to flip him manually, it would just be another reason to do a c-section.

Next week will be an exciting week! Wednesday is a stress test and Dr appointment, Friday is our meet and greet with the pediatrician and our hospital tour....and we head to the west side, for another baby shower thrown by my sisters! So much to look forward too!

Casey's Room

We worked on getting Casey's room set up last night. This is the changing table/dresser combo. It has so much storage! And when he no longer needs a changing table, we can take that part off. I LOVE this glider/ottoman.....its so comfortable! I sit in here with my laptop or with a book, because the glider feels so good on my sore hips and joints! We put up the valence, his bedroom set is "Country side", which was discontinued, so we got in on clearance!

We don't have a mattress yet for the crib, so we havent finished putting his crib all together. That huge box is full of hand me down clothes we have gotten from friends and family, we are so lucky!

You can't really see them, but the light switches and outlets all match the bedding set.....they are adorable! We have so many generous family and friends, we have gotten lots of baby stuff! Also, I love a good deal and have found some great sales and things on craigslist and at stores. His room is really coming together! I can't wait to hang up pictures and things, but I haven't quite decided how I want them to go. I love decorating his room...I told Ryan we should have lots of kids, so I can decorate lots of rooms, but I don't think he agrees! Especially because all the manual labor falls on him...he worked really hard putting all the stuff together! Luckily we painted early on, so I helped with that! I love the contrast of the 2 blues with the white wood trimming.

Well, I am off to do my labs.....I am sooo hungry, can't wait to be done with the fasting!

32 weeks

We went in for my 32 week check up and ultrasound. It's always neat to see Casey, he is always so busy! His HR was 154 and he weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces.....holy big boy! The Doctor is going to test me for sub-clinical gestational diabetes (like maybe my other tests were wrong). So, I get to do another 12 hour fast and a few more blood draws tomorrow on my birthday. Oh boy! He said regardless of the outcome, I should eat like I have GD, and see if that slows his growth any. So, no birthday cake for me.....like I need it anyways! He told us all the risks associated with having a baby "large for gestational age", and we will have another ultrasound at 36 weeks to check his growth. I am now at 2 week appointments. I didn't care for the Dr I saw, so in 2 weeks I am going back to one I have seen and really like. At my Dr's office, there are many Dr's, and so I am trying to see everyone, so I will know who delivers Casey! There are a few I really like, but the Dr yesterday was in too big of a hurry to answer all my questions. I have questions and I like answers!!!

Last weekend was Ryan's birthday, mine is tomorrow. We are only 7 days apart. So we celebrated both our birthdays last weekend since it was his weekend off. We went out to dinner, went to a pumpkin patch, met up with some friends and got our maternity photos taken! It was a fun weekend.

We are planning to work more on Casey's room and start hanging things up, organizing and getting ready for him!! He will be here before we know it!

Shopping Deals

2 blogs in one day?! See, I am trying to stay off my feet!

I went to Albertsons today, to save some serious money on groceries. Here is what I bought:

8 boxes kellogs mini wheat cereals
1 box keebler crackers and cheese
1 box special K crackers
4 bottles low cal gatorade
3 big cans progresso soup
One dozen large eggs
1 big pot roast (we just made on in the crockpot.....so good!)
Big bottle of Welchs grape juice
1 coppertone 50spf baby suntan lotion (will be good for next spring!)
1 coppertone 50spf sport suntan lotion ( Ryan needs this even in the winter!)
2 jars prego spaghetti sauce
1 box pantyliners

I had a fistful of coupons and some doublers...shopped for sales, and all this cost $26.57 and I saved $82.63!!! And I now have a gas rewards of 10 cents off/gallon. Shoot, you can barely get 8 boxes of cereal for $26 these days....so I was pretty proud of my savings.

I also hit up rite aid for free toothpaste, and electrasol dishwasher gelcaps for $1.25.

Last week I bought 3 jumbo bags of huggies pure and natural...for about $1.25 total. That's what I call a steal!

Busy Week

This past week has been very busy, very tiring! I woke up Tuesday very sick, with a throbbing headache and sore throat and general feeling of awfulness. I called my Dr, as i was told by him last week, any of those symptoms warrant a phone call. I was told if I spiked a fever to go to urgent care. Luckily, nothing over 99.5! I stayed home from work Tuesday and Wednesday, and went back Thursday feeling better. Chamisa headed home to Pullman after her 4 weeks in the tri-cities....hopefully I did not send her back with my germs. Friday I was not feeling so hot again, with another sore throat, sinus pain and cough. Melissa and BJ arrived late friday night, and i could not even get out of bed in my tylenol PM stupor. Saturday we headed to the Kennewick dog show, where we met up with Nicole. Despite not feeling so hot, McKenzie and I finished our rally advcanced title, with 4th place. Josh and Ryan earned their 2nd leg towards their rally advanced title, with a 1st place! Nicole and Tango finished their rally excellent title too! BJ and Melissa came to the show to visit, until they headed off to the wedding they were attending. Ryan and I ring stewarded in the afternoon, as our club, the Columbia Basin Dog Training Club was hosting the obedience show. Then we went to dinner to celebrate our wins, and crashed at home.

I woke up at 5am Sunday in really bad pain, that I thought was maybe round ligament pain, accompanied by awful lower back pain and extreme pressure in my lower abdomen. It did not get better with tylenol, and i told Ryan as we headed to day 2 of the show, that he may have to show McKenzie for me. McKenzie is not an easy dog to show in obedience, and Ryan hasn't worked with her as much, and she was in rally excellent for the first time! Neither the dogs, nor Ryan and I have practiced excellent....so I told Ryan to not worry and just have fun with her. They did awesome considering the circumstances, and managed to get McKenzie's first leg of her Rally Excellent title! Woohoo! To top it off, Ryan and Josh finished their Rally Advanced title and moved up to Excellent. Nicole and Tango took another 1st place in excellent!

When we got home, I laid down with more tylenol and a hot water bottle. The pain and pressure just seemed to intensify, and as we laid in bed watching the Seahawks, I started getting extremely sharp pains that lasted a few minutes, then backed off.....I thought they could be contractions and they HURT! I called the on-call Dr, but after an hour of no return call and more pain, we headed to the ER. I was immediately taken by wheelchair to labor and delivery, and hooked up to a bunch of machines to monitor Casey's heartbeat and contractions. After a bunch of uncomfortable tests and waiting, it was determined I was not in labor, Casey was NOT on his way yet (whew!) and the pains were not even contractions. It was round ligament pain like I thought, from completely overdoing it the day before, and from coughing and sneezing and stretching the muscles. The nurse mentioned on how active Casey was on the monitors, and said she had never seen a 29 week old THAT active. I laughed and said i was a little nervous about what that means when he is born, and she agreed I should be scared, LOL!! Everyone at L and D was so nice, and my Dr came to see me (he did not call me back because he was delivering 3 babies....good reason!) and all said it was a good thing to come in and get checked out. I had 5/6 of the symptoms of pre-term labor...

I am so glad my busy little boy is staying put. I am so lucky to have Ryan, he worked his rear end off this weekend to try and make things easy on me, and convinced me to go the ER, and held my hand the whole time. And how lucky am I that he likes this dog obedience stuff too?? He is amazing and I am so very lucky to have him. He will be a great Dad to Casey, he already is!!

A Big Boy!

Ryan and I went to our 28 week check up and ultrasound on 9/16. It was so neat to see how big Casey has gotten, and boy is he big! He is topping the charts at 99% on stomach size, 97% on leg bone length and he weighs 3.5 pounds! The average is 2.5 pounds, and the Dr was laughing quite a bit at just how big he is. He said our ultrasound at 10 weeks puts the estimated due date as correct, otherwise he would have moved the due date up several weeks! I was quite terrified, as he said he is on track to be nearly 10 pounds at birth, but he did assure me they will monitor his growth by ultrasound, and his lung function, so its quite possible they will induce me several weeks early! His heartbeat was 144, and everything looked good. I failed my 1 hour glucose test for gestational diabetes, but passed the 3 hour test, so no diabetes for me!

This weekend I stayed at Shauna's house and got to visit with my all 3 of my cute nephews! I also got to see my Aunt Barb from Tennessee, who I haven't gotten to see in several years! We had a big family dinner at my parents Saturday night, definitely always fun. I brought my 3-D ultrasound pictures, my Mom thinks Casey's profile looks like me, lucky kid!

Hiccups

So yesterday I felt baby Casey have hiccups for the first (and then second) time! What a neat feeling, it made me laugh! Too cute. Yesterday was also the start of week 27 and the third trimester...time is flying! And I am growing, wow. Ryan and I went to a demolition derby in walla walla, and Casey was kicking me rhythmically to the song "Another one bites the dust"...he likes music I guess!

Next week is my glucose test, and our 28 week ultrasound! I can't wait to see Casey again, and see what position he is in, it's hard to tell by his movement. Some days I think he must be head up, other days head down, and sometimes I think he is a pretzel.

My new hobby is saving money:) I have been introduced to thebargainjargon.com; afistfulofcoupons.com; and krazycouponlady.blogspot.com
These have saved me mucho money! I was able to get 5 jumbo packs of huggles diapers for $10, shipped to my house; and 11 boxes of huggies wipes for 75 cents each. Also, I have been stocking up on cereal for about 50 cents a box. I recently got $25 worth of groceries from Albertsons....this did not actually cost me any money, I made $7 on the whole deal. Yes, they paid me $7 to take $25 worth of food. Last week, one of my receipts said I spent $39, saved $45 and was given a $9 catalina (coupon to use on anything in my next purchase). I am just following the websites and their deals, and using coupons for things that go on sale. I get a lot of items for free, or for just pennies. I get lots of free things and coupons in the mail too, a nice change of pace from all bills!

25 weeks

We have hit 25 weeks! We went to the Dr last week, and everything is going well. We heard Casey's heartbeat, it is still 160. Such a beautiful sound! He kicked the whole time, so I could feel his kick and half second later, I could hear it on the doppler. He is so busy in there, and his strength is definitely improving! I feel pretty good, I am not happy about the return of the heartburn...seems like after going off the ulcer meds, the heartburn made an immediate return. My hip joints (sacro-iliac joints) continue to throb and make walking and sleeping quite painful. I tried a pregnancy band on, that my Dr. recommended, but its was awful and awkward and I did not buy it, especially after my insurance was iffy about covering it.

Because of the hip/joint pains and also an issue with the placenta, we are not going to be able to walk in the 60 mile breast cancer walk. We are really disappointed, but of course the safety of our child comes first. I am really happy to report we were able to raise over $1600 for breast cancer! Every penny of your donations went to the Susan G Komen for the cure fund.

This past weekend, Ryan and I went to Seaside to visit with Ryan's family and play on the beach. It was a little rainy, whcih was actually a nice change of pace from the hot tri-city sun. I don't like the actual rain, but the clouds and cool weather were nice. This made camping a little difficult, and we stayed in a hostel the first night, rather than tent in the rain, pregnant. Not to mention, I need the luxury of a close bathroom at night...the hostel was very interesting! It made for quite an adventure, and Ryan and I are always up for an adventure. We boarded the dogs for the weekend, but we wished we could have let Josh and McKenzie run on the beach. Next year we will go with the dogs and Casey.

6 months!

Wow, I can't believe I am already 6 months pregnant!! We go for our 24 week check up tomorrow, nothing too exciting, but in 4 more weeks we get to see Casey again on ultrasound!

Casey is very busy, and he must be growing like a weed, because his kicks are getting bigger and bigger. I think he is an acrobat. He already likes the glider, it rocks him to sleep. I like the glider too, it feels awesome on my sore lower back. Sleep is still a nightly challenge, and finding a good position. Poor Ryan, he is scrunched on the bed, as I pile on pillows and blankets to try and find a good spot. And Tobie gave up on my side and insists on sleeping tangled up in Ryan's legs. The other night I had 6 pillows, a full length body pillow and a fleece blanket spread around....not much room for Ryan! Sadly, this only led to a sore neck for me, it didn't even help.

Ryan and I went to my parents last weekend, to meet and celebrate our 2 new nephews!! Matt and Kelly gave birth to Caleb Joseph on August 3rd, and Shauna and Noah had Keegan Jameson on August 13th! They are both just precious! We drove our new Ford Expedition over there, we traded in the truck and Ryan's 66 galaxy. Casey is expensive, we already bought him a great big family car and he isn't even born yet! While we were over on the west side, we also registered at Babies R Us...there is so much stuff!

I will post some pictures soon....

Pictures!

Here is the last picture of all three of us girls pregnant....with our hubbies. Left is Matt (my brother) and Kelly; Ryan and I; Shauna (my sister) and Noah. This was the weekend of Kelly's baby shower, and Ryan's graduation! We figured this would be the last chance to get a picture before Caleb or Keegan is born...
Here I am 21.5 weeks pregnant, with Josh and McKenzie, my sweet aussies.
We have been hard at work on Casey's room! We painted the lower half "Star Command blue", the upper half "Cinderella's ball" blue, and did white framing around the middle and bottom.
Here I am in the newly painted room. Ryan, the master builder, is very excited to start putting together the baby crib and changing table/dresser combo. We put the glider in the room, and I can't stay out of it. It's just so comfortable. This putting together a nursery is so much fun!

Casey is a very busy boy, he squirms, moves and kicks most of the day. Ryan can now feel him kicking! Casey loves to kick hello to his Daddy, and I love to watch Ryan's reaction.....it is all so very exciting!

The heat in the tri-cities has been crazy, in the upper 100's for a week now. We are lucky to have AC, but playing outside is just not happening. We have been keeping the dogs inside as well, they are going a little stir crazy! It is supposed to cool off a little, but August is predicted to be an average of 94 degrees. I love hot weather normally, but not so much this year. Ryan and I are spending lots of time swimming!

20 weeks....Half way there

We made it to 20 weeks! Ryan and I went to the 20 week ultrasound Wednesday. The tech confirmed it's still a boy! Not that we had any doubts, but we could definitely see the boy parts....he was showing off! It is amazing what they can see on this ultrasound, we were shown his kidneys, stomach, spine, aorta, heart, and many different bones and brain structures. Everything looked great! Baby was so very busy during the ultrasound, he was opening/closing his mouth, arching his neck and wiggling all over the place! It is so amazing to know this baby inside is a living, functioning child inside of me! We were told he is 15 ounces, about the size of a can of pop! Baby center said at 20 weeks, babies should be about 10.5 ounces.....and I was concerned he is HUGE...but after talking to other Moms at prenatal water aerobics, he isn't too big:) We will get to see him again at a 28 week ultrasound and see how much he has grown!

If you haven't heard the big name decision: Baby is going to be Casey Neal. Casey is a good Irish name that we both love, and Neal is Ryan's middle name and his Dad's middle name. I love Baby Casey!

We are hard at work on Baby Casey's room, which will be primary colors with a barnyard theme. Since we have horses, dogs and cats, it is fitting! We have a lot of work, but we have many boxes filled with a crib, changing table/dresser combo, bedding and toms of clothes. I have been really lucky to get lots of new and used clothes from family and friends. We also just got a baby swing....I love a good bargain. My Mom got us a great exersaucer, and we are accumulating bibs, socks, books and toys. We need to clear out his room, paint, steam clean and get everything set up!

I am so happy to have Ryan home after a month of being on the west side for work. I have the world's sweetest, most supportive husband, and it was hard to not have him home and to not get my hugs and kisses. And everything I broke while he was gone is now fixed:)

It's A Boy!

It's a boy! Our 20 week ultrasound is not actually until July 22nd, but due to an emergency ultrasound at the hospital, we were able to find out early that we are having a boy!! Last week, as I was running agility with McKenzie, I sent her from the dog walk into the tunnel, did a front cross and tried to turn around to send her over a jump and the teeter....but I fell and rolled a few times. Not very graceful, very embarrassing and definitely not good for baby. The next morning I was having cramps, so I called the OB to see if I should be doing anything and was very surprised to be sent to the ER! After many hours and many tests, baby looked good and I was sent home to rest. They had talked about admitting me for monitoring, but let me go home. They said baby is right on the line of still being really well protected and him being more vulnerable to trauma. When they did the ultrasound, I was quite nervous, as they wanted to make sure baby was moving. I was at a bad angle and couldn't really see any movement on the screen. After awhile, the tech said "Wow, what an active baby! I am trying to get baby to hold still!" So that was a relief. She asked if I knew the sex and I said no.....she asked if I wanted to know, and I fought myself for awhile, because Ryan wasn't there, but I just could not say no! She pointed out boy parts several different times, although I couldn't see anything. At our 20 week ultrasound we will get to see better and get pictures!!

When I went to my parents for the weekend, we all went out to dinner and Ryan and I announced it's another boy....he will be grandson #4 on my side of the family!!! We have chosen the name Casey Neal. My Mom has a sign from the dollar store that you can see in this picture...."It A Boy"....yep, missing a letter! It's now the family joke and we all have our picture with the "It A Boy" sign!

This last weekend was Shauna's baby shower and next weekend is Kelly's! It has been so much fun planning the showers, and getting pictures of the 3 of us every time we are together....won't be too many more, both are due in August!

That's all I have for now!
Megan and baby Casey!

4th of July weekend

I can't believe it's already July! We packed up the dogs and headed to the west side. Friday we went to a dog show. Josh was entered in conformation, and both were entered in obedience. Being from the tri-cities, Josh and McKenzie are practically bald, they have shed so much! Then I see all the west side dogs who still have coats....so we didn't do anything in conformation, but Josh is doing well remembering how to be a show dog! We havent practiced obedience in awhile, as our focus has been agility, so we just played around in the obedience ring. But it was a fun show, and we saw Kim, breeder of all my aussies, past and present! And we saw Taz, Josh and McKenzie's Mom. We went home to a BBQ at my parents, with Shauna, Noah, Cooper, Matt, Kelly, Jenna, Dustin and my Grandparents! We took some pics of us 3 pregnant girls...Shauna and Kelly's baby showers are the next 2 weekends! And then Keegan and Caleb will be arriving!

On the 4th of July, we headed to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Casi's beautiful house on Lake Stevens. We did some boating, tubing, wakeboarding, jet-skiing, swimming, floating etc. No worries, this pregnant lady did nothing that could result in injury (well for me, even walking can cause harm, but no major water sports for me!). Ryan and I taught Josh and McKenzie to swim, and even had them jumping off the dock and swimming to shore. It was pretty entertaining. The fireworks on Lake Stevens were pretty amazing, and Kevin had gotten a lot for us. The teen boys had a blast setting them off on the deck, under the supervision of the pyro, Noah.

Sunday, Ryan and I went shopping at IKEA, Target and Babies R Us. We picked out some things we like, and are going to pick them up in the next few weeks. The babies room will be started soon! And July 22, we will find out if Baby French is a boy or girl! I am 18 weeks now, and my belly is growing! Still having headaches, but the new meds actually help. Thursday I will see a specialist about my gallbladder. Hoping for some answers, but there isn't much that can be done while pregnant.

I can't wait til the 22nd!

Fundraising Update

Yay for our 3 day fundraising! I have hit the 50% mark, and have raised $1155 for breast cancer! Ryan is at $450, with another $50 check in the mail! We did a garage sale at the TRAC to raise money, where we sold our old stuff and our fundraising items. We will be doing another in a few weeks. We found our best seller was books, so if you have any used books you no longer need or want, I am glad to take them off your hands!

We have 11 more weeks to raise the remainder of the money, so if you have any ideas for us, please let me know. You can make a donation by following the links on this blog. I am so excited to be doing the 3 day breast cancer walk, and it has been such an adventure. We have met so many new people have lost loved ones to breast cancer, or have stories of survivors...it is very inspirational! At all our fundraisers we have people sign our poster with messages and names and survivors, and we always give away survivor bracelets to those who we meet. I am really excited for September to do this walk, but am still nervous about being pregnant while doing it! I do have the okay from my Doctor though.

Thank you so much to all of you have donated so far. Together Ryan and I have raised 1655 for breast cancer, and our goal is $4600 combined. Please help us achieve this goal, for every woman!

15 week check up

Ryan and I went to the Dr yesterday for my latest check up. Everything looks good! I will never get tired of hearing Baby French's heart beat....the Doctor is lucky I held back, and did not wrestle the doppler away from him, because I didn't think we listened nearly long enough! The heart rate was 162! I really liked this Dr. because he answered my many questions in great detail and was in no hurry to jet off to his next appointment. He will be doing our 20 week ultrasound, which is scheduled for July 22! Then we should also find out the gender! 5 more weeks!

I am crossing my fingers and knocking on wood....but no headaches since Saturday! That is so awesome! I can still wear all my pants except for one, but they sit so high on my waist, they don't button over my belly. The bellaband works for this! I only gained half a pound so far- woohoo! My belly seems to be growing a lot though!

As far as our 60 mile walk....training is hard at the moment, as my head has hurt so much and my sacro-iliac joint is stretching, making it sore where my hip meets the spine (Thanks to my Dr for a detailed explanation on this!) But I do prenatal water aerobics twice a week, and we are still trying to lap swim and walk when we can. Fundraising has been slow lately, but we are doing a big community garage sale on June 27th that should raise some good money! As always, you can donate by clicking on the many links on this blog to donate....its such a great cause!

On to the Second Trimester!

I am now 14 weeks along, and into the second trimester! Despite reports that I would miraculously feel better and be more comfortable as I went into the second trimester....I have not seen this. Well, the morning sickness and heartburn have eased up for sure, but my constant struggle is HEADACHES! All the time, just about everyday. I have followed all the "things to try"....drinking huge quantities of water, cut back on sugar, eat protein regularly, exercise, get sunlight. My Doctor prescribed something to try and help, but it is not so helpful. I see the Doctor again on Tuesday (My Dad's birthday!), so I am hoping for a prescription for a prgnancy massage. Then my insurance will cover it! I also can feel the sciatic nerve thing in my right hip, which I thought was just me having slept funny or something, but my expert preggo sisters informed me what this is! Who knew!

The baby is now the size of a lemon! Getting big! I am definitely seeing a change in my belly, which is a little scary! All the organs are formed in baby French, now he/she needs to do lots of growing and brain building.

I won't know if Baby French is a he/she til the middle/end of July, but there is much speculation! I am told the headaches mean its a boy by some, and mean its a girl by others. Apparently, pretty much everything means its a boy to some, but a girl to others, lol. I am told to ask a 4 year old, because they can just tell. I am told to pee on Drano to find out. I had a dream its a girl, but then am told that really means its a boy. I think I will just wait til the ultrasound.

Ryan and I are all signed up for childbirth prep class in October! We are touring daycares next week, so we can get on a waiting list for next year. I bought a pack n play, it was on-sale and I had a 15% off coupon....I love a good deal! Stay tuned for a baby update after my appointment Tuesday!

1 year of marriage

Ryan and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on May 31st. I can't believe it has been a whole year! Ryan had to work, but we went to dinner at Anthony's, where we had our rehearsal dinner. We ate outside, as the sun was setting on the Columbia River, it was beautiful! We reminisced about the fun wedding and the Bahamas honeymoon, and looked ahead to the addition of the new baby!

Our new roses finally bloomed on our anniversary as well! I didn't think we were going to get any roses this year. We had bought roses at Costco, grew them indoors until the freezing weather was gone, then transplanted them all outside...where they died. So Ryan, undug them all and returned them to Costco, who actually took them back and gave us our money back. We found different ones at Fred Meyer...and we have beautiful roses now!

Pre-Natal Water Aerobics

I have gone twice now to pre-natal water aerobics at my gym. What a great class! There are pregnant ladies due in January, and some any day. It's a good spread, and the instructor is great, and has great advice too. I go on my lunch break Tuesday/Thursday....I am lucky to have a job where I can flex my time to do this.

Baby is actually the size of a plum now, and should triple in the next 3 weeks! This is the last few days of my first trimester! I obviously was in school for way too long....because I keep telling people about my first semester of pregnancy.....I think I deserve a 4.0!

Ryan and I woke up early yesterday and walked 3 miles before I had to be to work. I like that I have the energy to do this again! I also like that this morning Tobie did not wake up at 5:20....that is when Ryan gets up for work usually, and even on days off Tobie is woofing to be fed at 5:20. He is an odd old dog, he insists on eating before going outside in the morning. Because he can no longer see or hear (he is 13 now!) not only does he not understand the concept of sleeping in....but you can't tell him no. I will gladly put up with this for as many years as my old boy has left. So good job Tobie on sleeping in this morning!

Baby Updates

I have been informed that I need to update my blog about baby more.....so here is the latest!

I am now 12 weeks along, and I wore a bellaband for the first time today! That is kind of exciting, but at the same time, means these pants wouldn't button this morning. This afternoon I am going to my first prenatal water aerobics class. I am excited to meet some other pregnant ladies ....even though I do have 2 pregnant sisters and several pregnant friends.

Baby French is the size of a medium shrimp, which is funny because at an open house for work, all these people were eating shrimp and I could not look at the shrimp or breathe, because if I were to smell them, I would have gagged! This is the end of my first trimester! I am starting to feel a bit better, but am struggling with headaches. I guess its common if you are already prone to migraines (Me!) to get a lot of headaches. I have a cute "belly book" journal, where I am journaling all about my pregnancy. Peanut butter has been a big craving, PB on ritz, bread or toast. Or apples. Chicken nuggets has been the other one. Poor Ryan, he will do anything for me, including eating chicken nuggets 3 nights in a row for dinner. He laughs everytime I eat them. I don't normally eat chicken nuggets, so it mystifies me as to why I want them all the time! The last week hot dogs have been high on my list. I can't eat hot dogs from just anywhere, because they have to be cooked superwell when you are preggo, but my Dad BBQ'd me one last weekend, and Ryan and I had turkey dogs for dinner last night. Maybe tonight too...

I have lots of baby books, many of which are quite terrifying, and some which nicely explain away all my worries and weird symptoms. Night time has been really hard, because my mouth is so dry, I drink all night and then I have to get up every hour, and I am usually way too hot, and I don't get much sleep. This worries me because it seems like it will only get worse! And here we had finally gotten all the animals to sleep through the night....I know I know, I will be ready for a baby that is up all night!

My Mom and I looked at all of these old wives tales about how to tell gender....most point to a girl. And I consulted the Chinese lunar test (which guarantees 50% accuracy, lol) and it says girl. Ryan and i are certainly happy with either! We find out towards the end of July, when Ryan returns from the police academy. Then we can start decorating a baby room!

That is all I can think of for now!!

Memorial Day Weekend

We started Memorial Day Weekend out with some agility Friday night! One of the club members sent us some great shots of our dogs. We were praticing jumping sequences....it's tricky to get your crosses the right way and tell your dog what to do and stay out of their way....

Josh is such a funny dog, look at his crazy hair flying.....and he cleared that jump by a mile! Josh will compete jumping at 24'', but we just practice at 16'' because he and McKenzie are just 18 months old.

He is very good at watching Ryan....if I jumped while looking in another direction I would land on my face. I might land on my face jumping and watching where I am going.....

We can't wait to start competing!

McKenzie is so fast and so driven....she absolutely loves to work and have a job....typical aussie. She also amazes me with her reasoning abilities. She really thinks things through. She did a sequence of jump, jump, jump, pause table and the first time, she slid off the end of the table...I think she thought it was going to be a jump. We tried again and she slowed down and delicately jumped and sat on the table, you could totally see her calculating her way onto it. She hasn't missed the table since!

On Sunday morning we also went to an agility and rally practice with my parents and brother and sister. We got to do a whole agility course with the dogs, and practice rally.

Saturday Ryand took Dustin paintballing and my Mom, Jenna and I went garage saling and shopping! My Mom took me to Motherhood Maternity and bought me some maternity clothes....thanks Mom! That afternoon we went to our gym and went swimming. I am so excited that our gym has a huge outdoor pool that we can use all summer. We went back to our house and BBQ'd steak and corn. Yum. We also made a campfire and smores!

Sunday after dog training Ryan took Jenna for a ride on Bonnie, and took Dustin on Dakota, for a ride out in the desert. Then we went back to the KOA and played ladderball. I would like to point out that I won! We celebrated with Dairy Queen. Monday Ryan had to work, so I headed out to the campgrounds for a final breakfast before the family headed back home. It was a great weekend!!

Ultrasound!

Ryan and i went to Doctor yesterday for our first official appointment! We spent an hour with the nurse who went over medical history and all that, had us watch a DVD on what NOT to do (You'd think they would have had me watch this much earlier....), and gave us some free stuff. Then we met with a PA, who listened for the heartbeat on a doppler. She said baby was being stubborn and couldn't find it. Since I first heard a heartbeat at 5 weeks 5 days, she said I might be farther along, and that should get me an ultrasound. Who am I to argue! So a Dr. came in with an ultrasound machine and we got to look! I am measuring 10 weeks, 1 day, but they are leaving my due date at Dec 10th. We could see the head, arms, feet and a heartbeat! Absolutely amazing! I loved watching Ryan react to the ultrasound, he is just so excited....this makes it so much more real for him to actually get to see!

The Doctor also cleared me to do the 3 day breast cancer walk! I was sure they would, but have to have a letter from them to be allowed to walk. Done! I am also going to start the prenatal water aerobics at my gym, so they signed a waiver for me. Yay!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommys! A huge Happy Mother's Day to my Mom. As many of you know, my Mom had brain surgery in November, to remove a fist- sized tumor. I can't possibly describe how scary this was for my family, but my Mom is strong and has an unwavering faith in God that has brought her through this challenge. I love my Mom so much, and am so glad she will a part of my life for many many years! I could not have asked for a more loving, supportive Mom who has always been there for me, and is my biggest cheerleader in life.

As many of you now know....Ryan and I are expecting our first child December 10th! We are so excited for this new chapter in our life. Ryan is so sweet, I woke up to a dozen roses, a card from all my fur-children, a card from my baby, and a card from him. I also got a willow tree angel of an expecting Mom. He also made me breakfast....what can I say, he is the best husband ever!

Today we did a fundraiser for our 3 day walk at Yokes in West Richland. We sold bracelets and pink duckies to raise money...West Richland is so very generous! We raised over $200 in just a few hours! It was great to tak to so many people who were survivors of breast cancer, or have been affected by breast cancer. It was a beautiful day, 76 degrees and sunny! I am a little burned, but totally worth it. We met the owners of the Sandberg Event Center and Gathering Place Bistro in West Richland, who generously donated the proceeds of their breast cancer benefit dinner. Be sure to check out the Bistro, where you can eat out on the deck with waterfalls.

After our fundraiser, we went swimming at the racquet club and out to dinner at Sterlings. A perfect day.

So this first trimester has been a little rough on the training, especially because I have been so exhausted....building a baby is super hard work! I am just about 10 weeks, and we were able to hear a strong heartbeat! I have had lots of queasiness, heartburn and exhaustion, but not too awful...I try to remind myself it just means all these hormones are building a strong baby! It felt really good to swim today, so I hope we can get back on track with our walking.

One really exciting part of being pregnant, is that my sister, Shauna is 6 months pregnant, and my sister in law, Kelly is also 6 months pregnant, so we will have 3 babies between August and December, not to mention the many friends who are also expecting! My Mom and Dad are so excited for 3 more grandbabies! Ryan's parents are also super excited.

Life is exciting and Ryan and I truly know how blessed we are. Thanks you all for your love and support!

Almost May

Wow does time go by fast! I am eagerly planning baby showers for Kelly and Shauna, who are due with my nephews in August! I love reading their blogs and seeing how their pregnancy is going, and how the rooms are coming along....and of course to see my beautiful redheaded nephew Cooper, he is getting so big!

Ryan and I are busy with dog classes, we just finished another obedience class, and will be doing rally classes for the next month. We also have agility classes....aussies are naturals, they love it. The tri-cities recently created a dog park, so we like to take McKenzie and Josh to play there. McKenzie is such a little police officer, she is in everyones business! Josh balances his time playing and making sure no dogs come near his Mom. Tobie celebrated his 13th birthday last week! I love my old boy so much, and I am so lucky to have had him for so long. He is so spoiled, and sleeps on our bed. He can't hear or see anymore, but he is still the sassy, naughty boy he has always been. He is so smart, and regularly outsmarts Ryan and I.

Ryan's parents visited last weekend, and Roxie and Erick were here for the weekend also. We all went to the spring barrel wine tasting, since I am not from out of town, I DD'd for the troops. The wineries around here are gorgeous. We have 150 within an hour from our house. We actually have a ton just down the street from us! It is always fun to see Roxie and catch up....we seem to have very parallel lives, even if we live in different states. I also love to hear from Erick, who is a canine police officer, about the bad guys he and his dog have gotten. I have gotten to ride along with Erick a few times when visiting Bend.

Fundraising and training are going well, we are so busy all the time....we need longer days for sure. I have reached $655 and Ryan $230. Yes, I am winning....
We have recieved donations from a few local businesses, our favorite- Ranch and Home; and the outstanding DJ from our wedding, Sight and Sound (Bob Kreidel). We are doing a mothers day fundraiser, I'll let you know how that goes. To help Ryan catch up with me, or to help me stay ahead, click any of our page links to donate. Thank you everyone for your support!

Vegas= Training!

Ryan and I spent April 9-12th in Las Vegas! I had never been, and Ryan was last there when he was 15....so we had a lot to see. There is so much to see....it's not possible to see it all in a weekend.

Walking Vegas was great training for the 60 mile walk! On Friday we walked from noon to 10:30pm, exploring a section of the strip. I thought my feet were going to fall off. On Saturday, we did the same thing. Sunday we just had a half day before the plane took off, so there was less walking. I wish I had a pedometer with me, because I would love to know how many miles we walked!

We had so much fun....but I am still exhausted! I will post some pictures on facebook soon.

Thanks to all those who have helped with our fundraising! We are still at it, that is for sure! The links to our pages are on this page....don't be shy!

Training, fundraising, VEGAS!

Ryan and I went for a 5.5 mile hike on Saturday. It felt pretty good. Mckenzie, our aussie, wasn't even tired! I had also walked 3 miles the day before. We are also swimming a lot....we love our gym! We are following our virtual trainer and training schedule. The weather has been great, and we even got a little burned on Saturday! Well, Ryan got a little fried....but with his red hair and whitey white complexion...he has now broken out the sunscreen!

We are also working hard on fundraising. We have been working on getting sponsorships from local businesses. I sold some old books back for $115! Good quick fundraiser! I am also currently selling flip-flops, coffee tumblers and totes...ask me if you are interested! We also have the breast cancer bracelets for $5, and will soon have adoptable pink rubber duckies. We are setting up a booth at a community garage sale, and are going to have a booth at some local stores on some weekends. And as always....follow the links on our blog and you can make a donation on either of our pages. Especially Ryan's....his is a little sad...he needs a donation!

Ryan and I are incredible excited that we are leaving Thursday for VEGAS! I have never been, and Ryan went when he was 12. I can't wait.