So I thought they looked alike...

But I didn't realize they were practically twins until I put their pictures next to each other. I took an older picture of Nicky since he was such a tiny little guy when he was a born. He was closer to Finn's size when he hit one month.

Introducing Finn Gabriel Speller!

Finn Gabriel Speller
7 lbs 13 oz
21 inches
Born: Saturday July 12th, 2008 at 11:15 am

He's here, and we just got home from the hospital. We're both doing great.

I think I'll take a nap now. :-D

Woohoo!

Blood pressure was back down today!

I have an appointment to go back to the doctor next Wednesday, but she said she didn't think I'd make it that long. So YIPPIE!

Obviously I've Been Neglecting My Chocolate

Well my dang blood pressure went up. Not crazy high or anything 142/82, but enough so that they are probably going to want to induce me if it isn't back down by tomorrow when I go for a checkup. According to my home blood pressure cuff which I take with a grain of salt since it will give me 20 point differences one right after another... it's still about the same it was yesterday. No higher so at least there is that!

They also put me on the fetal monitor for 20 minutes or so because when she checked his heart rate it was really high, 185. He had of course been doing his usual jumping jacks right when she was trying to get his heart rater though. On the monitor it stayed in the lower 160s and upper 150s so they weren't worried about it.

I was having contractions when they were monitoring him and they were completely regular, but they weren't even strong enough for me to feel. At least maybe that's a sign that he'll be here soon without having to serve him an eviction notice!

Baby Update

Blood Pressure was awesome, and I'm not spilling protein at all so yay for that!

She is a little concerned that he might be huge though...

She asked me when I thought I'd have him, and I said the sooner the better. So then she checked his heartbeat like they always do and she found it above my belly button. Like well above.

So she said it seemed unlikely that he was low enough that anything would be happening soon. But his head is definitely good and down there. So the fact that his heartbeat is so high up and his head is so low makes her think that he might be a big ol' chunk of boy. If I haven't had him before next week they are going to do an ultrasound to try to gauge his size.

So I told this to my husband and asked him if he knew how big he was when he was born, and he says to me..."I think my Mom said 5.6 Kilos."

So my immediate reaction was OMG!!!!!!!!! Then I plugged it into Google calculator to get it in pounds (12.3) and my reaction was OMFG!!!!!!!!!

Then I made him call his mother and verify this fact.

This fact was WAY OFF!

He weighed 7 lbs at a week past his due date!

I also wasn't huge at 7.5 lbs 2 weeks before my due date.

And I've had no signs of gestational diabetes or anything so now I'm not too concerned about him being huge. I guess if he doesn't get here before next week then we'll have a good estimate with the ultrasound.

Nicky was tiny! Only 5 lbs 15 oz, but that was because of the pre-eclampsia and since there has been no sign of it this time hopefully this little one is going to be a bit chubbier, just not huge!

I've decided when I go to the hospital I will have a code phrase that will appear in my Twitter updates to the right. If you've seen Juno, I think you'll appreciate it.

The code is:

Thundercats are GOOOoooo!

Yay! This little dude is full term!

As of today, this little munchkin is more than welcome to arrive whenever he is ready!

And as exhausted and huge as I am, the sooner the better!!!

Birth Beads

Okay, this isn't the traditional way of making a birth bead necklace, but it's purty!

Normally you get together in a group and exchange beads and everyone says a prayer or blessing (in their particular faith) over the beads they send to everyone else. Then you put your necklace together and use it as a focus during labor.

Well I didn't sign up for the birth bead exchange when they were doing it so I just went and bought my own stuff. hehe

I got two sets of blue beads one light and one dark and two charms. One is a bear to stand for Nicky and one is a Puppy to stand for baby Finn. Then I put it all together. I used a double ring on the charms so that I can easily remove them from the necklace to just leave the beads. Then when I have my third and final munchkin I can reuse the same charms for that necklace and won't have to restring the beads of this one, because they are just gorgeous and will look great with blue jeans.

I know the picture is just awful! I'm completely incapable of taking a decent picture of jewelery for some reason. I tried like 15 times, and this was the best I could do.

Yay for Good Blood Pressure!

My blood pressure is still good! Yay! Last time it jumped at 33 weeks, but at least so far it's still good. :-D I'm retaining water like NUTS, but I think that has more to do with the weather than anything else. Last time my ankles looked like they belonged to an elephant. This time my major irritation has been that my fingers are swelling and it feels like I'm trying to type with vienna sausages!

But I'll take that over high blood pressure and reduced liver and kidney function any day. :-D

More Praise for Chocolate!

Today my blood pressure was 122/68! Yay!

I'd strangely lost four pounds, but I think that had less to do with losing weight and more to do with the last appointment being in the afternoon and this one being early in the morning so I wasn't retaining the usual swollen ankle fluid that comes standard with pregnancy. Also Finn's measuring 2 weeks more than last time just like he should be so he's obviously getting all the food he needs. So no worries there.

So Yay! Off to eat more chocolate!

Thebromine is Your Friend :-D

...well not if you're a dog...but if you're pregnant!

Okay, so I'm not saying that the chocolate is directly responsible. I am saying, however, that my blood pressure was lower than it has EVER been when I've been pregnant at my last appointment. It was almost my normal, not prego, blood pressure. 122/66

So if you're pregnant GO EAT SOME DARK CHOCOLATE!

"Honey, could you stop and get me some medicine on the way home from work?"

My friend Crystal just sent me a most interesting piece of medical research. Possibly the most interesting I've read recently.

Dark chocolate lowers your risk of Pre-Eclampsia in pregnancy!

Now what better reason could I possibly have for having a nice bit of chocolate every day?

Coming Home Outfit

So here is my little guys coming home outfit. I hope it fits. They didn't have one of the strictly newborn, so I got a 0-3 months. It might be a bit big on him, but I'll bet it'll be cute. I just love the tiny little booties! The blankee wasn't actually part of the set, but I thought it matched smashingly. It's sooo soft. It's made out of that microplush stuff. I think that's what they call it. So snuggly!


This adorable little outfit is from one of my best girlfriend's, Amanda. It's toooo cute. I lurv puppies!

Virtual Nesting

I forgot it was Thursday yesterday! I didn't do my Thursday 13! I didn't watch Lost. I think it's cause we have today off work and so it totally blows my understanding of the days of the week.

All I did all day yesterday was clean!

But Nicky's New room is now clean and straightened with lovely matching storage boxes. The only thing left in there is to clean out the closet... Not that that will be a small accomplishment. It actually requires that I clean out our bedroom closet, the now guest room closet, the linen closet, and the coat closet before I can properly redistribute the stuff in there so Nicky and Finn can have some space of their own.

It also requires that Bryon clean out his side of our closet and his side of what was Nicky's closet.

Which brings me to the topic of Virtual Nesting. Now obviously since I'm pregnant there are some things I can't actually do myself. Move large objects, work with nasty chemicals, clean the liter box, that kind of thing. And as all husband's are prone to be, my darling hubby requires a little prodding to get him to do things. It is not unusual for me to have to ask him more than five times to get him to do something.

Now, I don't possess any illusions. I know all men, or in the least most men, are like this. I don't expect him to change. I have however come to harness his weaknesses to my advantage. Muhahaha! He is a techno geek, and he works with SharePoint a lot at work. He was also in the military so he is big on planning and checklists. My answer? I've made us a family SharePoint site! I don't know if you've ever used SharePoint, but you can create these team websites with Tasks, Discussions, a shared Calendar, and a Shared Documents area. There are probably other things that you can have but that's the usual. So I created a task list and assigned Bryon his tasks and Voila! He's been accomplishing them! Twas an excellent plan.

Most Definitely Finn and Not Avalon

We are beyond a shadow of a doubt having a little boy. There is no mistaking the ultrasound picture I've got. Bryon asked if maybe it could still a girl? Umm...if it is, she has a penis. LOL

Anyway we're both in good health, but I spent Friday evening in the hospital. Blah!

You see...my darling sneaky child tried to make a break for it. It was about 70 on Friday (today we woke up to several inches of snow...you've gotta love Arkansas) so I took Nicky out to play in the backyard. Well our gate isn't the best in the world, and Nicky has figured out how to open it. So I always block it with a big cinder block, which is way too big for him to move. So he found another way around it.

The puppies were out playing with us, and Nicky announced that he wanted to go in the house. So I went and let the puppies in the back door closing the gate behind me. Only I can't cinder block it from the outside. I should have known that telling me he wanted to go in was a scam. He never wants to go in. I usually have to drag him in kicking and screaming. What he really wanted was to go sit on the "Big Red Tractor," my husband's lawnmower. So I turn around from shutting the dogs back in the house, and he's opening the gate. So he starts toward the lawnmower, and I start walking really quickly toward him. (You know toddlers are like run away wild animals if you run to catch them, they sprint away.) Well he turns around to see me and takes off running toward...the road! Now it's not exactly a freeway or even a highway. It's a dirt road, but Mommy panic kicks in and I take off running after him. I make it a few steps and my foot gets caught on a branch that blew out of a tree during the last wind storm and fall flat on my face...and more importantly my rotund, pregnant belly.

So Nicky turns around and comes back to me, pats my arm, and says. "Okay, Mama?"

Well, points for caring!

So I gather myself up, and get him back in the house and call my doctor's office, but they close at 2 on Fridays. Lame! And then I'm really nervous about it so I have them page the doctor on call. He calls and tells me I need to come in for an ultrasound so I tell Bryon to get his butt home and take me.

So when I do get to the hospital, the doctor is like...yeah, since your twenty weeks there isn't really anything we can do if there is something wrong, but let's just have an ultrasound anyway and find out. How encouraging, right? Now I'm not in the least bit of pain and Finn was doing his usual water aerobics (this kid is moving all the time) so I didn't figure there was anything wrong, but of course I do what I'm told. The ultrasound came back as just fine. Happy, healthy, little boy. He was either sucking or drinking amniotic fluid when she took his profile picture. It was pretty darn cute.

So that is how I spent my Friday night? I'm a regular swinging cat, no? hehe

Still More Nesting...

Okay, the next stage of get these nasty carpets out of my house has been completed. The little bedroom, which was formerly the nursery (where my child NEVER slept), now has its new floor. :-D

Bryon patched and sanded and then I laid down the planks yesterday. It looks so much better! The carpet that was in the majority of the house when we moved in was just downright icky! It was stained, and they were the kind of stains that no matter how many times I cleaned them with the shampooer they came back.

Have you ever pulled up carpet? If not, you should try it sometime just so you have some idea of the kind of dirt that resides underneath it. This house wasn't even that old when we moved in. I guess the carpet was about ten years old but there was an ocean of dirt underneath it. It makes you wonder if they just laid it down on a dirty floor but surely not!

So here are my terrible pictures. There wasn't much light when I was taking them.

This one is the in progress pictures...(forgot to do a before)


And here is the after!


Thanks for your help, Bryon! Now you get to move the guest bed in there so you can rip out the carpet in the other room. ;-)

More Adventures in Rit Dye

So before we knew if Nicky was a boy or a girl my Mom brought me a bag of clothes that had belonged to me when I was a baby. Amongst them was my Christening gown.


Cute, right? Aside from the big stain on the front. Doh!

So I tried everything to get it out, including bleach, and that is the end result. So I thought...well it's not really wearable as is so I might as well try something. Now it's polyester and acetate so I had serious doubts as to whether or not the dye would take and it didn't turn to true color on the bottle but I think the color it did become is even better!

It's kinda hard to see the under dress in this picture, but it turned about the same color as the lace. All and all pretty darn cute! Granted no girls, but we'll see. hehe

More Nesting...

3-6 Month Boy Clothes

• 7 short sleeve onsies
• 4 footless pajamas
• 6 footed pajamas
• 2 tees
• 1 overalls
• 1 fleece shirt
• 1 pair pants
• 2 long sleeve onsie
• 2 rompers
• 1 pair jeans
• 1 Christmas outfit

Wow, that is a far cry from what I have for newborn to three months! I guess when people buy gifts and stuff it it usually for newborn. From now on when I buy other people baby clothes I'm buying for 3-6 months.

Miss. Jenn Jenn, if you wanna buy Finn (as long as it is Finn and not Avalon hehe) blue dragon stuff make it for 3-6 months. ;) He's still got those ADORABLE dragon things you got his big brother in newborn. :-D *loves dragons sooo much*

Nesting? Yup!

Okay, so I've gone through every article of baby clothing in the house and this is what I have for a newborn boy...As long as he actually is a boy. ;)

Newborn to 3 Months Clothes

• 1 Sleeveless onsie
• 2 Long Sleeve onsie
• 27 short sleeve onsie
• 1 wrap around tee
• 11 footie pajamas
• 2 fleece blanket pajamas
• 1 tee
• 2 cotton blanket sleeper
• 1 bath robe
• 1 Halloween footie jammie/bib/hat set
• 5 receiving blankets
• 1 long sleeve preemie onsie
• 1 footie overalls
• 2 sets of gloves
• 1 outfit with jacket, pants, and tshirt (space theme)
• 1 pair pants
• 1 Tigger romper
• 1 jean jacket
• 13 bibs
• 15 hats

So all I need for him are some pants...I wonder how I managed to have only one pair of pants for Nicky. I think I have the ones picked out that I want, and I'll get them after I find out for sure he is a boy. hehe Oh and I need some of those swaddle blankets that are shaped just for that purpose. Those things rock.

It's a Boy!

Well according to the lady at ultrasound place, we're having a little boy. I'll have to admit I didn't see any really fabulous evidence either way. I'm not 100% convinced that what she showed us was in fact a wee wee, but she did check to make sure there wasn't major blood flow through it which would indicate that it was the cord. We're having our official ultrasound in about two weeks so hopefully I'll get a better view then. Until then I'm not going to be buying any new boy stuff. Not that we don't have plenty of boy stuff left over from Nicky.

We don't have a middle name picked out yet, but his first name (assuming the ultrasound lady was right) will be Finn. (Looks like I need to go rename a character in one of my books... :-D)

I went through all Nicky's little clothes this weekend and separated them into sizing and checked for stains. My husband didn't understand why I refused to put my second child in anything that was stained. He argued that they would be great for sleeping in. Well, I'm sorry. Hand me down is one thing, but stained hand me down? I would feel like a bad mommy! "Here ya go, Finn. Don't mind that Spaghetti stain on the shirt. We didn't think it would bother you." I can just see him taking his baby photo album to the shrink one day as proof that his mommy really didn't love him as much as his big brother! When in fact they will be loved completely equally!

Thank you, Sweetie!

Look what my hubby is getting me for Valentine's Day!

Look Look Look!

Okay, he isn't like buying the What's Kickin Ultrasound Studio or anything. hehe But he is getting me an ultrasound. :-D He's a good hubby.

I'm so excited! Is it Valentine's Day yet!?

Nicky's First Blog

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

I'm not sure when he did this...but I figured his very first blog needed to be published. :-D

Baby Picture

The wee one was hiding from the Doppler at my appointment on Monday so we got to run down to the ultrasound room to make sure everything was okay. All was well and we got to see our little bundle of joy. It's much too small yet to tell if it's a boy or girl, but I think it's a cutie.



Yes, Miss. Jenn Jenn, I did label it just for you. ;) I know ultrasound pictures just look like blobs to ya. hehe

I am so ANGRY and UPSET!!!

So I finally got the results back from my progesterone test that I should have gotten on Tuesday! And my progesterone was a "little low." I forgot to ask how low. Anyway they are calling in supplements, but the thing is that if the STUPID FREAKING Lab Corp had done their jobs and read the big letters highlighted on the form with my blood then I could have been on the supplement since Tuesday.

I asked the nurse if I need to worry that this has already caused a problem with the baby, and she said it shouldn't have, but of course I'm still worried sick now. I can't help it. I'm a worrier. We lost our first baby at 7 and a half weeks so now I'm doomed to never have a pregnancy where I don't worry all the time. Which I know isn't good for me or the baby, but I just can't help it.

I AM SO MAD!!!!!!!!!!

If anything happens to this baby because that lab didn't do their jobs, there is going to be hell to pay!

Our 1st Craft Project!!!

Look! Look! Look! Nicky and I just completed our 1st joint craft project!!!

I had embroidered this pillow about five years ago, and yesterday I found it and was suddenly possessed with the need to complete it. So I sewed it together and added the fringe and then realized I didn't have any stuffing.

Nicky was sitting on my lap about half the time when I was sewing it up. He is fascinated by the sewing machine. A little too fascinated! I worry he'll stick his little fingers in it, so he had to spend most of the time I was working on it on Daddy's lap.

I bought some stuffing today at the world's largest retailer, and Nicky helped me stuff the pillow. It was so much fun, and he had an absolute blast. Apparently stuffing for pillows makes excellent projectiles... Heck at least its one thing that doesn't take anyone's eye out or cause a concussion!



Isn't it lovely!!! That's all hand embroidery folks. Look at that craftsmanship! Just try not to look at the stains. I believe I got them on there when I was originally embroidering it. I have no idea what it was, but if I had to wager a guess I'd say Diet Coke. Seems like most of my stains are Diet Coke related.

Itty Bitty Baby Passport

Everyone with me now...

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I just got Nicky's passport in the mail. It only took 10 weeks. I was afraid I was gonna have to pull some strings to get it to go through in time, but nope it showed up today. It's so cuuuute and there are all kinds of pretty multicolored pictures in it. Mine is so lame in comparison. I may just have to get a new one just so I can have a pretty one too!

It's so adorable that I would scan it and share it with you...if I didn't think that was breaking some serious federal laws. And Lesley doesn't break the law. no no no. Never ever!

Nicky's Academy Award Winning Performance

My darling boy is set to be the next world's greatest actor. Now you may think this is just Mommy Bragging Rights, but let me just tell you this little tale.

I couldn't stop laughing for a good ten minutes afterwards.

Nicky's little friend, Kaida, was visiting and they were playing one of their favorite games. It involves running from one side of my living room to the other as fast as they can and screaming all the while. Ah, Infant Joy!

So she somehow managed to trip and bang her little head against the wall.

No, this is not why I laughed for 10 minutes. I'm not THAT evil!

She was, of course, very sad so she went and climbed up into Lisha, her Mommy's, lap and got lots of cuddles and loving. Well Nicky seeing that she was sad walked over and climbed up on the couch with her and started patting Kaida to make her happy and then tried to get Lisha's attention. So I picked him up, told him she was busy,gave him a cuddle, and set him down on the floor.

Nicky looked around at everyone. He must have been assessing the best course of action in his quest for world domination by cuddles, because he then walked over to the wall where she'd hit her head, knelt down, smacked his head soundly against the wall twice in a row, and then stood up. Lisha and I looked at each other, and agreed that he must have done it on purpose, then a full ten seconds after he bonked his head he let loose a howl! Not just a howl but a perfect mimic of the howling cry that poor Kaida had given when she accidentally hit her head.

He then stopped and looked from me to Lisha, obviously waiting for us to fall all over ourselves to rush to his aid and cover him with loving kisses and cuddles. That wasn't quite the reaction he received. We both busted up into fits of laughter that were so dehabilitating that neither of us could speak for the next five minutes, and we were both crying and in pain by the time we got ourselves under control. Which reminds me of a certain story that involves what I thought was chap stick and a creative writing class...but that's a story for another day.

My son was quite naturally very put out by this turn of events. The look he gave us told me exactly what he thought of the fact that we were laughing at his "accident." Of course, he got some extra cuddles when I could finally stop laughing at him for five minutes.
Babies just crack me the heck up!!!