Patrick the Puppy

A few weeks ago I got a huge box on my front door step. I thought it was our stroller that I ordered online, but to my surprise it was Patrick. My friend Jeremy sent Patrick the Puppy to Ruby. My first thought was "where the heck am I going to put this thing?". Patrick is 66 " long!! Huge!! He's been sitting in our dining room for the last 2 weeks until today when Korey moved him to the nursery. He's actually very cute and very comfortable to lounge on. I think Ruby is going to love him when she gets older (as in out of the womb which I'm hoping for more and more every minute!). But she might have to fight Piper for him. This is what I found when I went upstairs tonight:

Baby Pool!!

Despite 10 weeks of bed rest to prevent premature birth I am now 37 weeks and have no baby!!!! And since everyone (everyone!!!!!) I see and talk to asks me when I'm going to have the baby I think it's time for a guessing game. So comment with your guess on the day and time. My due date is Feb 17 if you need something to go by. And as of yesterday she was measuring 7 pounds already!! Who ever is closest will get a prize-not sure what yet, but I'll come up with something good! Have fun!!

Christmas 09

It's Friday afternoon and I'm bored. What's new? And oh how my life is about to change! But for now, I realized that I never posted pics from Christmas. This Christmas was unusual is many ways. First-I didn't really do any shopping, except online. I'm pretty proud of the online deals that I got, but it's just not the same as a few exhausting days at the mall. And as far as receiving gifts-no clothes this year. That's a first!!! But who needs new clothes when you're huge and only going to get bigger!! My parents bought us the nursery furniture which was a huge help. Korey's mom gave me all new Calphalon pots and pans which I'm super excited about! The ones we got when we married have been terrible from the beginning and on the receiving end of many not so kind words over the last few years!! This Christmas was also bittersweet because my grandmother, Mama Jackie, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer just before Thanksgiving. So we all spent the holidays cherishing time with her while we can. One blessing to being on bedrest over the last 10 weeks has been getting to spend lots of time with her. I often spend a few days at a time at her house just hanging out. Right now she's doing much better than any of us imagined she would and we're hoping she'll get to meet her first great-granddaughter very soon!! So here's a few pictures from the holidays.

Rachel and her loot in the biggest stocking you've ever seen

Rach and Mikey bought me Reba and George tix!! The concert is Feb 25 so Ruby needs to hurry up!!

My cute hubby and beautiful sister!

My little cousin Timmy was telling Mama Jackie that he asked Jesus to be in his heart-so sweet!

Yes, cousin Mary buys the best gifts.Timmy told me so!

 

Recent Time Consumers

Have you seen this movie? If not, please go to your local Blockbuster or add to your Netflix queue immediately. Its life changing. OK, maybe not. But I think that's probably its goal. It really is amazing and quite disturbing. Basically you'll rethink anything you've recently purchased at Publix. I know we can't all afford to buy all organic, all grass fed, etc, but at least think about it. The more we all do it, the more popular it will become and the cheaper it will become.

And moving right on to my next hippie topic. This is my most recent read. Korey took me to Border's one night just to get out of the house and I sat down in the coffee shop with this book and couldn't put it down. Obviously, most people wouldn't have picked it up in the first place, but if you are pregnant or going to be soon, I recommend it. When I got pregnant, I had all intentions of using a midwife for delivery. But I ended up having to change practices and went to one with only an MD. So far he has been absolutely wonderful!! With my first trip to the hospital he even walked me down to ultrasound himself and sat there and talked to me through the whole thing. If you're not in the medical field you may not realize how unusual that is, but trust me, its unheard of! My only concern is that he's not a midwife.

 I will be the first to admit that I don't want an epidural. Go ahead-laugh at me and tell me how that's crazy and then think to yourself, "she'll be asking for that epidural at the first pain". I haven't always been this crazy. In nursing school I used to think that I would be the first to ask for the epidural. But then I spent 2 years in Emory Nursing School, getting my masters. I say that I went from one extreme to the other in schools.Samford gave me a very conservative, Baptist education and Emory attempted to give me the most liberal, pro-women, go-change-the-world education. The best thing about Emory was that most of my professors were midwives and they constantly shared stories about births and their love for their jobs, and the amazing ability of a woman to bear a child. Now, getting back to the book. I can't really explain it in a blog post. But when I read it, it makes me think I can do it. And that I should at least try. I'm not saying "absolutely not, no matter what, I won't have it" because I know that sets me up for disappointment and feelings of failure. But in anything that deals with my health and my baby's health, I will weigh the benefits and risks, and then make my decision. And I know that epidurals have major risks. Risks that no one tells you about. Risks that are in fine print on the consent forms you sign your life away on. Risks and side effects that actually interfere with the labor process. Risks I don't necessarily want to put on me and my baby. So that's me on my soap box for today. And here's a quote from the book:

"There's no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we." 

Ha!!