Less than 3 months to go now! This week was a busy one! Tim and I bought a crib and dresser/changing table off of Craigslist last night (will post pictures as soon as we assemble the furniture). We touched up on our registries from Target and Babies R Us earlier this week too.
Just had a doctor's appointment today: weight, blood pressure, belly measurement, and fetal heartbeat were all in excellent standing. I had to partially fast this morning for a glucose test (testing for gestational diabetes)....should know the results of that some time next week. They also drew blood for testing for Vitamin D deficiency. Did you know that about half of pregnant women end up having Vitamin D deficiencies?....wow! The positive side to this is that even if one does have a Vitamin D deficiency, it can easily be supplemented with an extra vitamin a day. Anyhow, I won't know the Vit. D. results for another 2-3 weeks.
I have another routine check-up scheduled for Feb. 12th and a 32-week ultrasound appointment on Feb. 25th. Back in November, EVMS noticed that I had a marginal case of placenta previa. Fortunately, this condition usually fixes itself as the placenta typically moves up and away from the cervix as the baby grows. If for some reason the placenta does not move out of the way, a C-section will be required. I'm anxious to see how much Chase has grown when we have the ultrasound done. I'm not too concerned with the marginal placenta previa issue....it's in God's hands.....and, statistics are in my favor since only 10% of the cases of marginal placenta previa don't clear by the third trimester.
Our child-prep class went great on Saturday! Tim and I both learned so many valuable tid-bits of information from our instructor, Tara Kramer. I also got to learn quite a bit about breastfeeding. That's something I definitely want to do...just hoping and praying that it will work out smoothly for me, especially since I'll be pumping once I return to work. I already bought a pump that was on sale at Babies R Us! I'm highly motivated to give it my best shot, but I know that some women struggle with it more than others and a lot of it depends on how well the baby latches on at first....and, some women also struggle with producing a sufficient milk supply. We'll see how it goes! The pump is something I wanted to have of my own versus renting or borrowing one...if things don't work out with nursing this baby, I'll try again with the second one (I know that's thinking way into the future since the first one still isn't here).
Pictures to be posted soon.....stay tuned!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Things Falling into Place
(This paragraph was also posted on Facebook.) We have a babysitter! I confirmed that my mom is cutting back her hours at her night-shift nursing job (as an RN) so that she can take care of Chase full time during the workweek. My older sis Dawn will be taking care of Chase for an hour or so on the mornings when there is an overlap time between when my mom will get off from her nursing job to when she can arrive at my sister's house. Dawn doesn't have to be at her job until about 8 or 9, so Chase will thankfully be covered during those early morning hours. Our plan is to drop Chase off at Dawn's house around 7:00 AM in Newport News before work and pick him up there around 4:30 PM in the afternoon. This is a huge answer to our prayers because there is nobody we can trust more to take care of Chase than our own family! Plus, my sister's house is only a half hour from our house and it's only about 15 minutes from work....not too far of a drive for us, which is awesome! A special thanks to my mom and sister for their willingness to take care of our little one! Another bonus to this situation is that Chase will get to grow up with his cousins (Dawn's girls/my nieces), because my mom will be taking care of all of her grandchildren together during the workweek. Praise God!
Tim and I took the hospital tour at Riverside Hospital on January 8th, so we're registered there and know what to expect when the big day comes. On the other hand, most of the child preparation classes at Riverside were filled up and they required a rather pricey fee; but, Dawn hooked us up with one of her co-workers who is certified to teach such classes. As a result, we're having a one-on-one session with the instructor this Saturday here at our house (for free too!). The instructor will be going over childbirth and baby basics.
The nursery is falling into place one step at a time. As you saw in my last post, the mural is almost done. Tim is working on installing ceiling fans in the nursery and our other spare bedroom now. I've started cleaning out all of the closets and bagging things to go up in the attic so that we'll have room for baby things.
We've registered at Babies R Us and Target. I'm still not done with the Target registry since I started it online and haven't actually been to the store yet. However, I feel relieved that things are gradually falling into place.
Chase seems to be healthy and kicking up a storm in my belly! I can't believe how much he's grown! I'm really starting to look and feel pregnant now.....never thought it would be difficult to shave my legs, put on my shoes, and paint my toenails until here recently!
My next posting will probably be in February (or as soon as I hear the results from the glucose test I'll have to take on Jan. 30th). These next few months are going to fly by with all of the doctors appointments, nesting, and baby showers!
Tim and I took the hospital tour at Riverside Hospital on January 8th, so we're registered there and know what to expect when the big day comes. On the other hand, most of the child preparation classes at Riverside were filled up and they required a rather pricey fee; but, Dawn hooked us up with one of her co-workers who is certified to teach such classes. As a result, we're having a one-on-one session with the instructor this Saturday here at our house (for free too!). The instructor will be going over childbirth and baby basics.
The nursery is falling into place one step at a time. As you saw in my last post, the mural is almost done. Tim is working on installing ceiling fans in the nursery and our other spare bedroom now. I've started cleaning out all of the closets and bagging things to go up in the attic so that we'll have room for baby things.
We've registered at Babies R Us and Target. I'm still not done with the Target registry since I started it online and haven't actually been to the store yet. However, I feel relieved that things are gradually falling into place.
Chase seems to be healthy and kicking up a storm in my belly! I can't believe how much he's grown! I'm really starting to look and feel pregnant now.....never thought it would be difficult to shave my legs, put on my shoes, and paint my toenails until here recently!
My next posting will probably be in February (or as soon as I hear the results from the glucose test I'll have to take on Jan. 30th). These next few months are going to fly by with all of the doctors appointments, nesting, and baby showers!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
6 Months and Lots of Pics
This is the incredible mural I've been talking about in previous blog postings. This is our soon-to-be nursery! In this picture, you can see a treasure chest, sea ray, and lots of neat coral that Tim's mom painted.
Tim's mom painting fish: the fish are the finishing touch to the mural....she's almost done!
Tim's mom painting fish: the fish are the finishing touch to the mural....she's almost done!
Dolphins swimming around....can you imagine how intrigued Chase will be staring at all of the cool stuff painted in the mural?!!
More Colorful Coral
The mommy and daddy-to-be
The mommy-to-be looking rounder by the day!
More Colorful Coral
The mommy and daddy-to-be
The mommy-to-be looking rounder by the day!
Happy New Year to all of my fellow bloggers! Tim and I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. It was so nice to have a break from work, and we enjoyed spending time with family. We received so many nice gifts for Christmas—in fact, Chase got a lot of nice things too! In addition to Chase’s Christmas gifts, my neighbor who had a baby boy back in October has been giving us all of the baby clothes as her son is outgrowing them. We feel like we’re off to a good start on accumulating baby supplies, but there is still a lot left for us to buy. We registered at Babies R Us on Friday—had a good time scanning everything on our wish list! Our next big task is to get furniture. We have a few cribs and dressers in mind, but haven’t purchased anything yet. Tim’s mom came up with a great idea to use our hallway closet (which is huge—it was initially intended for a washer and dryer) as a changing station, so that would be a great way for us to save space in the nursery and keep the changing table and diapers stowed away elsewhere. The closet is right next to the nursery/bedroom door, so it’s conveniently located too. In order to implement Pam’s great idea, we have to make a home for all of the stuff that is currently in the closet. So much to do in the remaining three months!
Chase has definitely hit a growth spurt (and so have I). I went from only feeling a few flutters just a month ago to feeling strong kicks and punches now. It is such a blessing to feel those signs of life! Tim has been enjoying feeling his son move around too. Sometimes when I fall asleep on the couch or in bed while Tim is still awake, Tim will place his hand on my belly and feel Chase moving around even when I’m unaware of it. Too cool! I’m thankful to have a husband who is just as excited to have a baby as I am!
What a busy week! We went on the Riverside Hospital tour for expectant parents Thursday night. I’m all registered to deliver there and we’ve been prepped on what to expect when the big day comes. We also have a pediatrician squared away—Dr. Baust at Peninsula Pediatrics in Port Warwick. (Thanks for all of your great recommendations!) I had my 6-month check-up on Friday. Chase’s heartbeat is going strong and my blood pressure and weight are still doing great (with the exception of two extra pounds I gained from all of the holiday munching I did during the last month). My next OB visit on January 30th will entail glucose testing for gestational diabetes, so I’m hoping and praying everything will be normal. After Jan. 30th, I’ll start seeing my OB every two weeks, and I’ll have my next ultrasound at 32 weeks.
We still haven’t gotten the childcare situation completely ironed out, but I trust God will provide the perfect person to fill that important position. My grandmother opted out of babysitting all together (she was originally going to cover Tuesdays and Thursdays)—I think she is afraid to bite off more than she can chew since she is almost 83 years old. There is a possibility my mom will take care of Chase full-time (Mondays-Fridays) since she says she is cutting her night-shift nursing job back to part-time hours (versus the full-time hours she’s currently working). In doing so, she would also be taking care of my two nieces along with Chase—which would be great bonding time with her grandchildren, and it would be awesome for my sister and me since we know Mom would be such a great, trustworthy babysitter. So, we’ll see what happens there. In the meantime, I’m still searching for other potential babysitters just in case the situation with my mom falls through.
That’s enough of a novel for now. I’ll post again at seven months or sooner.
Chase has definitely hit a growth spurt (and so have I). I went from only feeling a few flutters just a month ago to feeling strong kicks and punches now. It is such a blessing to feel those signs of life! Tim has been enjoying feeling his son move around too. Sometimes when I fall asleep on the couch or in bed while Tim is still awake, Tim will place his hand on my belly and feel Chase moving around even when I’m unaware of it. Too cool! I’m thankful to have a husband who is just as excited to have a baby as I am!
What a busy week! We went on the Riverside Hospital tour for expectant parents Thursday night. I’m all registered to deliver there and we’ve been prepped on what to expect when the big day comes. We also have a pediatrician squared away—Dr. Baust at Peninsula Pediatrics in Port Warwick. (Thanks for all of your great recommendations!) I had my 6-month check-up on Friday. Chase’s heartbeat is going strong and my blood pressure and weight are still doing great (with the exception of two extra pounds I gained from all of the holiday munching I did during the last month). My next OB visit on January 30th will entail glucose testing for gestational diabetes, so I’m hoping and praying everything will be normal. After Jan. 30th, I’ll start seeing my OB every two weeks, and I’ll have my next ultrasound at 32 weeks.
We still haven’t gotten the childcare situation completely ironed out, but I trust God will provide the perfect person to fill that important position. My grandmother opted out of babysitting all together (she was originally going to cover Tuesdays and Thursdays)—I think she is afraid to bite off more than she can chew since she is almost 83 years old. There is a possibility my mom will take care of Chase full-time (Mondays-Fridays) since she says she is cutting her night-shift nursing job back to part-time hours (versus the full-time hours she’s currently working). In doing so, she would also be taking care of my two nieces along with Chase—which would be great bonding time with her grandchildren, and it would be awesome for my sister and me since we know Mom would be such a great, trustworthy babysitter. So, we’ll see what happens there. In the meantime, I’m still searching for other potential babysitters just in case the situation with my mom falls through.
That’s enough of a novel for now. I’ll post again at seven months or sooner.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
5 Months
Here I am....5 months prego! There's no hiding it now!
Dexter wanted to get in this picture (you can see the back of his head). We're standing in front of our Christmas tree (yes, it's a real tree...probably one of the biggest trees we've ever had).
Dexter wanted to get in this picture (you can see the back of his head). We're standing in front of our Christmas tree (yes, it's a real tree...probably one of the biggest trees we've ever had).
I went for my 5-month check-up this past Wednesday. Baby Chase is doing great! I can feel him moving around everyday. Tim can feel him at times too....this is SOOO exciting for us! Not too much to report from the 5-month check-up: no ultrasounds were done, but we could hear Chase's heartbeat going strong; my blood pressure and weight are excellent....as of Wed, I've only gained 6 pounds in this pregnancy, but you can see every one of those pounds in my belly! On average, I should be gaining about a pound a week from here on. Trust me, I've definitely been eating plenty! I go for my 6-month check-up on Jan. 9th, so things are moving right along.
There is still so much to do in these remaining 4 months....like finishing the nursery. My mother-in-law has been working hard on painting a mural in there. She has each wall of the room covered with an "under the sea" theme....sea turtles, dolphins, crabs, shipwrecks, jellyfish, tropical fish, etc. It is so amazing! I'll take pictures and post them on here as soon as the mural is complete (it's almost done now). My mother-in-law is so talented. She graduated from VA Tech with an art degree. She painted a mural in Tim's nephew's room as well. Anyhow, as soon as all of the painting is done, we can focus on getting some furniture in there. We have no furniture as of now; but, on the other hand, we seem to be good to go on baby clothes. Amber (Tim's sister) gave us lots of Kenden's (Amber's son) old clothes, and we have a friend at work who has offered us some baby boy clothes too.
Another thing on the "to-do" list: we need to find a pediatrician. If anyone has any recommendations, please let us know. We're looking for something in the Smithfield area or Newport News area (an office that's not too far from the shipyard; for instance, my OB/GYN is in the Oyster Point Area and it only takes me a few minutes to get there from work). We haven't decided if we're going to take any baby or birthing preparation classes yet. I have a ton of books that I've been reading that probably relay the same information as the classes do. Plus, I always have the great parenting advice from my family and friends who have kids of their own.
Well, time for me to get back to doing Christmas cards. Just 11 more days until Christmas!!!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
November Highlights
What an amazing month it's been! Just to recap, we found out that not only are we having a healthy baby, but it's a boy! God is so good!
I'm starting to feel Chase move around more, and I'm definitely starting to look more pregnant by the day. You can see my belly poking out and scrunched up in the picture with me sitting in the lounge chair; surprisingly, those are still my normal jeans (thank God for low-rise jeans!). I'm still in normal pants and can button them without any problem, but I'm having to switch to larger shirts. On Thanksgiving morning, Tim felt Chase move for the first time. I told him to put his hand on my belly just in time for him to feel Chase scrape his feet and legs across my belly....he must have been doing gymnastics that morning!
My parents, Tim, and I went down to Nags Head last weekend. It was cold down there, but still a nice get-away. Mom and I did some shopping and had fun "ooohing and aaaahing" over all of the baby clothes. We had fun just lounging around the cottage too (the pictures are of us in the lounge chairs on the porch of the cottage).
We had a nice Thanksgiving....spent Thursday with Tim's family and Friday with mine. We have so much to be thankful for. Today, we're going to get our Christmas tree and decorate the house. I'm sure it will be an exciting Christmas season for the "3 of us" (well, "4 of us" counting Dexter).
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
"B" is for......
"B" is for Blessing....a baby is such a blessing from God.
"B" is for Beautiful....a baby is one of God's many beautiful creations.
"B" is for Breeden....I'm thankful God gave me my husband so that I can be a Breeden and we can breed little Breedens together (ha, ha!).
"B" is for Butterflies....I'm starting to feel movement in my belly; it feels like butterflies fluttering around (what an incredible feeling!).
"B" is for Blue....bring on the blue, because IT'S A BOY!!!!
Praise God, my doctor's appointment at EVMS went really well today. The doctors (who were the same folks who dealt with Connor when we found out he had spina bifida) had nothing but wonderful news for us today! My ultrasound lasted for about an hour. The EVMS ultrasound tech had a very thorough look at the baby; she took measurements of just about every part of the baby's body, including the head, spine, legs, arms, heart, kidneys, etc. Everything looked normal and healthy! Plus, Tim and I got to find out that we are having a baby boy!
We have already picked out a name for our little one: Chase Luke Breeden. "Chase" is of English and Old French origin; it means "huntsman." We hope our "Chase" will be a hunter for Christ as he faces the world. "Luke" is of Greek origin; most of you already know that Luke was a first-century Christian who was often referred to as the "beloved physician." Luke wrote one of the four Gospel accounts of the life of Christ. Something else that Tim and I realized when picking out this name is that Chase will have the same initials as his big brother in Heaven, Connor Liam Breeden. On a lighter note, Chase is already living up to his name because he was wiggling all around during the ultrasound and "chasing" the ultrasound probe. He kept looking up at the probe like, "What is going on out there? Why does this thing keep on poking at me?"
With all of that said, we are thrilled to announce that Chase is a healthy boy who is due to make his debut into the world on April 22nd, 2009. This will be the first boy on the Sneed side of the family! We ask for all of you to continue to lift this precious little boy up in your prayers as we all journey through these next few months together.
My next doctor's appointment is back with my regular OB/GYN (Dr. O'Connell & Dr. Yonker) on December 10th for my 5 month check-up. I'll keep you posted on how things go then!
"B" is for Beautiful....a baby is one of God's many beautiful creations.
"B" is for Breeden....I'm thankful God gave me my husband so that I can be a Breeden and we can breed little Breedens together (ha, ha!).
"B" is for Butterflies....I'm starting to feel movement in my belly; it feels like butterflies fluttering around (what an incredible feeling!).
"B" is for Blue....bring on the blue, because IT'S A BOY!!!!
Praise God, my doctor's appointment at EVMS went really well today. The doctors (who were the same folks who dealt with Connor when we found out he had spina bifida) had nothing but wonderful news for us today! My ultrasound lasted for about an hour. The EVMS ultrasound tech had a very thorough look at the baby; she took measurements of just about every part of the baby's body, including the head, spine, legs, arms, heart, kidneys, etc. Everything looked normal and healthy! Plus, Tim and I got to find out that we are having a baby boy!
We have already picked out a name for our little one: Chase Luke Breeden. "Chase" is of English and Old French origin; it means "huntsman." We hope our "Chase" will be a hunter for Christ as he faces the world. "Luke" is of Greek origin; most of you already know that Luke was a first-century Christian who was often referred to as the "beloved physician." Luke wrote one of the four Gospel accounts of the life of Christ. Something else that Tim and I realized when picking out this name is that Chase will have the same initials as his big brother in Heaven, Connor Liam Breeden. On a lighter note, Chase is already living up to his name because he was wiggling all around during the ultrasound and "chasing" the ultrasound probe. He kept looking up at the probe like, "What is going on out there? Why does this thing keep on poking at me?"
With all of that said, we are thrilled to announce that Chase is a healthy boy who is due to make his debut into the world on April 22nd, 2009. This will be the first boy on the Sneed side of the family! We ask for all of you to continue to lift this precious little boy up in your prayers as we all journey through these next few months together.
My next doctor's appointment is back with my regular OB/GYN (Dr. O'Connell & Dr. Yonker) on December 10th for my 5 month check-up. I'll keep you posted on how things go then!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Giving Thanks
My last posting was right after Halloween, and here we are just a couple weeks away from Thanksgiving. Tim and I have so much to be thankful for right now.....today, we found out that the results from the quad screening are NORMAL!!! Praise God!!! This means that we have a HEALTHY baby! I had faith that everything would be ok with this baby long before finding out the quad screening results, but the human side of me still worried as Tim and I anxiously waited to hear the results. I feel so blessed and relieved to know that everything is ok after a long week of waiting. The posted pictures were taken today, which puts me at 17 weeks. We saw Dr. O'Connell today for my 4-month check-up. She told us the great news that the test results were normal and we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat; it was beating in the 150-range. I had my blood pressure and weight checked. Much to my surprise, I had only gained 2 pounds since the first trimester......so, we fixed that by going to El Burrito (a Mexican restaurant on the way home to Smithfield) after our doctor's appt.
Next Tuesday, I go to EVMS at Riverside Hospital for an ultrasound. Since the quad screening results are normal, Tim and I won't have to go through genetic counseling like we did with the last pregnancy. This should be a FUN visit that should further confirm that we have a healthy baby. Plus, we should be able to confirm the sex of the baby at that time.....we're still thinking boy, but Tuesday will reveal the official results......stay tuned!
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