My Progress

Well I went to the doctor today to see how I am progressing. He measured me for the first time and so far so good. The baby's head is in position, although she could come down a little farther. I am dilated to a two and 50% effaced. I know that some women are dilated for a long time before they give birth but I am not sure how effaced they are so maybe I have a good chance of giving birth in the next week or so. I would love to have her some time next week because the week of June 7 Jon's parents AND my doctor will be out of town and I certainly don't want to go over my due date. Oh well, we shall see what happens. I have my next appointment next Thursday. Crossing my fingers, toes, and legs.

Indiana Jones - Two Thumbs Down

We went to see Indiana Jones with our friends Anna and Dusty, while they were in town from North Dakota, and I must say that it was the most wasted $17.50 we have ever spent. Just wait until it comes out on video. Unless, you like treasure hunting mixed with aliens then by all means go waste your money. It was really a stupid ending too. Very disappointing.

I should be in bed...

Well it's almost 1am and I am still up! I just can't sleep and the longer I stay in bed the more frustrated I get as well as uncomfortable. I am pretty much uncomfortable almost 90% of the time. Before I was pregnant (or rather just a few months ago) I could force myself to go to sleep but now it just doesn't work. I have this itchy issue that keeps coming up. My skin seems to crawl at night especially once we are in bed and not being able to fall asleep right away makes it worse because I can't stop thinking about it. I am pretty sure it's just the pregnancy because we change the sheets often and I am even itchy sitting on the couch. Anywho, I was so tired today that I took a two hour nap which is probably why I am still up! Now I will be tired again tomorrow as well as grouchy and emotional. The emotions of pregnancy have finally hit full force. I can pretty much cry at the drop of a hat and for not much reason at all.

I have been struggling with the fact that I really don't enjoy being pregnant. I always thought I would be one of those women that just love every minute of it but not so much. I love the idea of being pregnant and the end result of bringing a beautiful baby into the world but the whole path of reaching that amazing moment is not all that exciting to me. I love knowing that every week something new happens and our baby is becoming a real live person but that's about it. I can't wait for it to be over. I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to bring a baby into this world and I will do it over and over again for the same reason but for now I am ready to give birth and forget that I was ever pregnant, at least until next time.

And let's not forget me!

And of course there's my birthday, which took place yesterday! I am the big 23! And as we seem to get older birthdays seem to be more about spending time with those we love rather than the gifts we get. So that being said I had one of the best birthdays ever! Jon woke me up before he headed off to work to make me open my present (if you didn't know, Jon can't standing waiting for me to open my presents. No matter the occasion he always tries to get me to open my presents a day(s) in advance). I finally got my pair of Mary Jane Crocs I have been dreaming about for the past year! But I would never allow myself to buy a pair. Thank you honey! I absolutely love them! We also bought a new couch which just happened to be delivered on my birthday! And my parents gave me a glider rocking chair with foot stool. It hasn't come in yet but it's absolutely gorgeous. You can test it out at babies r us. I also received a phone call from my family and my grandma! We spent the evening at my niece Katie's orchestra concert. Great job Katie! You're awesome! We then went to Braum's with Bob and Mary's family, Mary's mom, and Jon's parents! Thanks Mom and Dad for dinner and dessert! We had such a blast! Then we picked up National Treasure 2 from the red box and went home and watched it on our new couch! I give the movie 2 thumbs up! It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Happy Birthdays!

Well I suppose I should do some happy birthdays to a few ladies I know! May is by far the busiest birthday month for us. Not only are all the girls in my family born in May but many of the Eldredge ladies are born in May as well! So, Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother in law Cathy, my sister Annie who turned 10 (double digits woohoo!) and niece Lily who turned 5 (yeah Kindergarten!). These two girls just happened to be born on the same day! Then we have my sister Jenny, who turned 14 yesterday and we added my beautiful new niece Claira Eldredge to the family. Both Jim and Nat's girls share birthdays with my sisters. Crazy timing! And in advance, Happy Birthday to my niece Rachel (turning 5-Yeah Kindergarten!!!) and best friend Beth (and these two share the same birthday as well, so strange). And last but not least my amazing mom whose birthday is on the 30th! I love all of you so much and hope your birthday wishes come true!

Shopping...Is there anything better?

Well I had my last shower on Saturday. I had a such a blast catching up with my 3 day girls. And it was great for my mom to meet these amazing women that I miss so very much! So after the shower my mom and I were finally able to go and spend time together without worry of interruptions. So, we took back everything that I got that I ended up not needing and found everything that I needed or wanted. I haven't been shopping in over 5 months and even though it was mainly for my beautiful baby girl it was still so much fun! Plus, I had the most fun because I was with my mom! Anywho, we went to three different stores and by the end of the day the back of her van was completely filled with stuff. I literally shopped 'til I dropped! Who knew that a baby needed so many items! But we are very well prepared now for Melissa to arrive. I have even washed and put away all of her stuff and I have my bag packed ready to go to the hospital. I have a feeling it won't be used for a few more weeks but we am ready non the less. Quick thank you to my wonderful Mom! I love her so much, more than words will ever be able to express! I love you Mom!

Ode to Craigslist!

Well we are getting a new couch! Woohoo! It's actually a futon but not your ordinary futon. It looks like a couch but it's a futon. Beautiful fabric and the "mattress" is spring coiled so it's super comfortable! I love it and we are NOT futon fans by any means. You can check out the company here. They are locally based and the couple is sooo nice! They also sell regular and waterbed mattresses as well, at factory direct prices. Anywho, so we had a lovely sleeper sofa couch and we wanted to sell it to off set the price of our new one. We also had a queen bed frame as well, that we no longer use (for the past year) since Jon made our new bed frame. So I got on Craig's List and said what they hay...let's try to sell them. Well we sold the bed frame in two hours and we had over 10 offers within the next 5 hours on the couch. After a few shady people, we finally sold the couch! It's gone! And we made money! Never underestimate the power of Craig's List!

Happy Mother's Day

So I am a few days late in posting but better late than never. This year was my first year ever to celebrate Mother's day. I didn't know if we would but as Jon stated "well you've got a baby growing inside of you." So, that being said all I wanted for Mother's Day was a date. With school, Scentsy, saving money, etc. we haven't gone out to eat in over 3 months, much less a date. So, Jon planned a very fun date. We went on Saturday evening to Lake Arlington where we fed the ducks, then on to Braum's for a delicious dinner and of course ice cream! We were originally going to go see a movie but I had been sick all week and I still wasn't feeling well so we rented Over Her Dead Body and watched the movie in bed. Then, Sunday I was still feeling under the weather so we stayed home from church and Jon cleaned the whole apartment for me. It was fun just being able to spend time with him. I am excited for summer time because NO SCHOOL! Yeah! And I can see him even more! And with the baby coming we don't have a whole lot planned so maybe we can continue to spend more time as a family. Of course life will probably change those plans but you never know!

The Tour

Well last night we went on a tour of the new Baylor women's facility. Let me just say how nice it is!
My 2 brothers and 2 sisters are rather young. They range in age from 8 to 14. This being said I have had the opportunity to see all of them come into this world as well as the hospital that they spent their first few nights in. I have also been able to see a couple of different hospitals that my sister in laws or friends have stayed in as well. So I may not be an expert on giving birth myself but I know what a room can look like. So with my wealth of knowledge in this area I have to give 2 thumbs up and 5 stars to this wonderful hospital.

Of course they have complimentary valet parking from 6am to 9pm. You come right into the first floor where you check in and immediately are wheeled a few feet away to the labor & delivery room. On the way through those double doors, there is a Simply Mom's shop which offers anything you need for breast feeding, etc. and I have heard that their stuff is actually cheaper than if you went to a store. Anywho, the staff is really nice and friendly and the waiting room is nice, open and big (nothing like the cramped & dark rooms you see on a baby story). The rooms are relatively big and very nice. They aren't white sterile looking rooms. They have pictures and wall paper, etc. You do your labor and delivery all in one room. In this room they have a small curtain that can divide your bed from the sleeper sofa & flat screen just in case you need privacy. This area goes into the bathroom where you have a sit down shower with jets (just in case you feel so inclined). They have monitors with wires and without so that you can be mobile. In each bathroom you have a toilet/beday(spelling?), hairdryer, and magnified mirror.

So, now that you have given birth, you stay in that room for about 1 to 2 hrs then are wheeled up to the 3rd floor to your recovery room. They have 2 wings, the north and south, and depending on what wing you are in depends on what nursery your baby will be in. They have a tight security system which means that if you stay on the north side, you can't take your baby to the south side because the hospital will go in to complete lockdown. You, baby, and dad wear a wrist band and only those with wristbands or a nurse can transport baby back and forth to the nursery. By the way, the nursery is a level 3 (Cooks being a level 4) so they are pretty capable of keeping and caring for your little one at almost any level. They will not hesitate to transfer them to Cooks if needs be but they are pretty confident in caring for your baby.

The only major difference in how the room looks from your labor & delivery room is that instead of a sleeper sofa, daddy has a bed that actually comes out from the wall, as well as a small fridge just in case you want to bring food from home and in the shower you can only stand. The room is very open and doesn't have that hallway effect when you first walk in. There is a lot of cabinet space (not that you are moving in) but it does keep things nice and tidy instead of it all over the floor. Oh and every room comes with wifi! No longer will your man be bored.

As of right now, the floor is quiet and empty since the hospital is so new but I have a feeling that it will not have a problem filling up over the next few months.

Showers, Sickness, Pictures and Valet

Ok, so it's been awhile since I have posted. Sorry to all of my fellow bloggers who actually come here to read what I have to say. When I say that I have fallen off the wagon and gotten lazy well I really have. I get little stuff around the house done but that takes all of my energy to do anything else, like blog. So, I will make a better effort to post especially in these last few weeks I have before our little one arrives.

Tomorrow night I have my 3rd shower. This one if being given by my Scentsy director and I look forward to seeing some of my team I haven't seen in a few months. My mom is also going so she gets to meet my Scentsy people for the very first time, which is exciting because I talk about them all the time! This being my 3rd shower and all you would think that I would have everything I need to bring this baby into the world, but you'd be wrong. It's amazing how more important these showers are vs the ones you have when you get married. You only need one crock pot or one toaster, etc. But with a baby, you need like 2 or 3 of everything plus it doesn't end there. They will grow and continuing growing and growing forever and you realize that every piece of anything that you get is so valuable to you that it's priceless. I remember at my first shower (which was in Greenville) that it was so fun and great to see everyone and for me it was really about catching up and having fun with everyone there, not the presents. However, then I realized that I was so very grateful that they all came because at that shower alone they saved me about $400! And I still needed more baby things! So I am rambling about this but it really does take a village to bring a baby into this world. Thank you all for your contribution. :-)

My sister Annie turned 10 today! This is a shout out to her! Happy Birthday! I love you!

I have been sick since Monday. It started with a sore throat, then a runny nose, then sinus congestion. The runny nose is gone but the sore throat comes and goes and my sinus' are doing well except for that last minute gunk that seems so hard to get out of your nose. I am on the last leg of it so hurray for me. I was very disappointed that of all the things to get me down it was my dang allergies. I haven't been sick once since I got pregnant! That doesn't mean I didn't try. lol. I have been around kids who had pneumonia, strep, bronchitis, the flu, etc. You name it and I had personal contact with them but somehow all it took was my allergies and so late in the game too. Oh well, at least I am feeling better and should be back to my old self by Saturday.

Today, I had a doctors appointment. Everything seems to be going well. I love the new women's facility at Baylor! They have complimentary valet at my doctors office! LOVE IT! No more driving up and down in the parking garage, or trucking half mile to my doctors office then back out to my car. No more being late for my appts cuz I can't find a parking space. Oh I just love it!

This evening, Jon and I will be touring the new facility where our baby will be born. I will post tomorrow on how it goes. I have heard that it is great but we will see if it lives up to all the excitement.

Oh and one more shout out to my wonderful sister in law Stacie! She not only took family pics of our entire Eldredge clan (which were AMAZING by the way) but she and Mike took the time to take us to the Botanic Gardens on a very crazy day (who new mayfest was going on) and take pictures of Jon and I and our baby belly. We were deeply saddened that we could not bring Maggie but maybe next time. Anywho, you can view a few of the pics she took on her site! Thank you so very much Stacie! I absolutely love each and every picture! I can't wait to print them off and hang them in my home!