Baby Updates

When I was pregnant with Clayton, I got a couple of those little pregnancy journals for you to jot down things that you would want to remember. I never filled out a single page in any of them. I now, of course, wish that I had. I am going to try to do a better job of that sort of thing this go 'round. :)

* First of all, I have gotten a lot of questions about why I do all the optional prenatal tests (for Down's, trisomy 13, trisomy 18, CF, etc). Of course, if any of those tests came back positive, it would not change anything about this pregnancy or how blessed I feel by this baby. It would, however, change where I would deliver. If I knew, for example, that this baby was going to have a congenital heart defect. I would be emphatic about delivering him closer to a pediatric hospital. I would want for him to be transferred immediately after birth to a children's hospital for evaluation by a pediatric cardiac surgeon. I would also want to make sure that the hospital would be equipped with ECMO capabilities and a state of the art PICU. In our case, that would mean delivering at St. Paul so that we would be close to Children's Dallas. So, I hope that clears up some confusion. There really is a method to my madness. :)

* I subscribe to the website babycenter.com. They send me a weekly email update about the baby's fetal development, size, etc. They always compare the baby to food items. So far, this little guy has been a poppy seed, sesame seed, grape, lime, lemon, jumbo shrimp, avocado, and it currently the size of a bell pepper. Since we have not yet decided on a name, we have resorted to calling him by the food that represents him that particular week. Wade called yesterday and asked, "How's my little bell pepper today?"

* I have already washed, hung up, and folded all of the clothes that Clayton wore for his first year of life. Isn't that bizarre?!?!? I am only 18 weeks, so I have 4 1/2 more months to do all of that. But, for some reason, it became a mission for me to complete that project last week. It made me so happy to pull out all of those sweet little outfits that Clayton wore. I can't wait to have another sweet little peanut to dress again. :) It did make me a little sad, though, because this baby will probably never get to wear most of it. Clayton was born in March and this baby will be born in October - exactly opposite seasons. Bummer, dude! Oh well, it just means that I'll have to buy new cute little outfits. I went to Grapevine Mills yesterday to begin the shopping process. (Wade, if you are reading this, I didn't go crazy. Just a couple of things - all on sale. Love you!)

* This pregnancy has been soooo much easier than when I was pregnant with Clayton. I have two theories on why that is. First, it took so long to get pregnant this time that I really do appreciate the fact that I get to be a mom again. I now realize that pregnancy is a true gift from God. I am so grateful He has allowed us this opportunity. Secondly, I am no longer working full-time night shift. I had no idea how hard night shift was on my body until I quit. I was so crabby for 5 years - and that was compounded by the hormones of pregnancy. I was not fun to be around while I was pregnant with Clayton. I hope that is not the case this time.

Here are some pictures of my early attempts at getting ready for baby #2.

Onesies, burpies, blankets, bibs, and sleepers waiting to be organized into drawers

Baby (insert name here)'s closet The newborn-3 month stuff is in the bottom right, 3-6 month is to the left of that, 6-9 is on the top left, and 9-12 is on the top right. My recent purchases. I have learned that cute boy stuff is really hard to find. If you fall in love with something, buy it immediately. I especially love the blue and brown newborn outfit from Carter's. I just couldn't resist it...