A Special Weekend

I've been meaning to blog about the weekend of the gender reveal. It was such a special weekend and I don't want to forget anything! Thursday night Cam's parents came into town from Houston. We ordered pizza and just hung out. I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep since our big appointment was the next morning, but I did somehow!

We got up the next morning and Cam, his mom Jennifer, and I headed to the doctor's office, where we met my mom and sister. I was so excited and a little nervous - I wanted to get the show on the road and make sure everything looked healthy. Thankfully the sonogram went really well - everything looked healthy and after 45 minutes of trying to wake her up to "reveal herself", we finally got the news that it was a girl! Everyone was happy and teary eyed! I actually cried several times during the sonogram - it was just so neat getting to see her look so fully formed and sweet! Afterward we spread the news to our family and friends (and Facebook...duh!). Cam, Jennifer and I stuck around for my doctor's visit, which went really well too. Baby Claire's measuring exactly on schedule! And I absolutely love my doctor - she was so excited for us and is just so knowledgeable about everything.

Now that we knew it was a girl, of course we had to go shopping! Jennifer, my mom, and I went out that afternoon and found several adorable things for Claire. We were on the hunt for a Feltman Bros. dress to bring her home from the hospital in, but didn't have luck with that. Friday night all of the family went to eat dinner at Gino's, one of our favorite Italian places. It was delicious and everyone was in a very happy, celebratory mood!

Claire's wardrobe after a weekend of shopping

Saturday, the ladies went shopping again, this time with the addition of my sister Elizabeth and baby Grace! Grace was very confused as to why people were looking for clothes for another baby! We went to tons of cute places and found lots of nice outfits, especially at Janie and Jack. They have such beautiful clothes! We're very lucky to have such wonderful family who bought such nice things for Claire!

And now a picture overload!

Beautiful dress from Pinky (my mom)

Pretty in pink for Springtime from Gigi (Cam's mom)

Of course I had to get a Halloween outfit for my little pumpkin!

Adorable outfit from Aunt Lizzie. I hope Claire's big enough to wear this on her first Valentine's Day!

 I'm totally obsessed with this sweet suit from Pinky.

Gigi knows every girl needs a functional and stylish wrap!

Denim from Gigi. When I think about Claire in this and a pair of leggings, I squeal!

Saturday night we had everyone over to our house for dinner. Cam's aunt and uncle and their family we're in town, so they came over too. We made burgers, watched football, and celebrated Cam's aunt Tricia's birthday! It was such a fun night! Dessert was cupcakes with pink icing! I was prepared with food coloring to make the icing either pink or blue!

Sunday Cam's parents left pretty early to head home and Cam and I rested for the rest of the day and watched football. I was a little weepy all day with the Sunday blues. I was so happy and excited, but I was sad that this weekend we'd looked forward to for so long was coming to an end. We're so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our life who are just as excited as we are about baby Claire! This is a really special time in our lives and I'll always remember this weekend as one of my favorites ever!

22 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Still up 9 pounds

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a papaya! Maybe I should eat one in her honor!

Maternity Clothes: Most definitely!

Sleep: I'm not getting enough of it, but I'm sleeping well when I do. I'm trying to be more concious of laying on the recommended left side while I'm sleeping, but sometimes I end up on the right.

Movement: I think I finally felt something yesterday! I was sitting at my desk at work and I felt a couple of thumps in my lower abdomen. I focused closely but didn't feel another one, although I did start feeling them again at the grocery store and at home that night. If this is movement, Claire is one active little girl at night! It is the coolest feeling ever! The movement is very low in my abdomen, so since my placenta is covering the top front of my belly, maybe there's a little opening at the bottom where movement can get through. Amazing!

Cravings/Aversions: Grapes and pumpkin pie. Not together silly!

What I Miss: Nothing at the moment.

Gender: It's a girl - Claire Campbell Todd

Mood: Stressed! Everything's crazy right now and I'm feeling it. I feel like we have this big looming January 30th deadline and have so much to complete before then. Not just fun baby stuff - but things around the house we still need to do as new homeowners. Add my crazy job to the mix and you have one overwhelmed woman on your hands! I'll admit there have been several stress-induded tears in the last few days!

Symptoms: I forgot to take my beloved Zantac a couple times this week and OMG, the heartburn. Some of it still seeps through even with the medicine, but it definitely helps a lot. I'm also discovering that a big meal at dinner makes me feel so full and uncomfortable that I pretty much have to go straight to bed!

Milestones: We've picked a paint color - it's a really pretty mocha color. The free weekends between now and the end of the year are few and far between, so Cam, my Dad, and Corey are going to paint the nursery on Sunday. I'm looking for bedding and have ordered several fabric samples to check out. I've found one bedding set I really like online, just need to see the samples. More to come!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: We signed up for a childbirth/infant care class and a breastfeeding class in November. They had a breastfeeding class available on the night of December 19th, our third anniversary, but I decided to spare Cam that horror and signed us up for the November one instead.

What I Look Forward To: Holding my baby girl - I can't wait!

21 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I'm up 9 pounds total.

Size of Baby: Baby's the the size of a pomegranate and the length of a carrot. No wonder it's getting harder to bend over!

Maternity Clothes: I wear them pretty much all the time, with the exception of t-shirts, pajamas, and clothes for lounging around the house. 

Sleep: Sleeping pretty deeply these days!

Movement: Nope. I found out at the anatomy scan on Friday that my placenta is anterior, so it will be a few more weeks before I feel anything. I'm actually a little relieved! I teach middle school. Middle schoolers don't know how to walk down a hallway in any kind of sane fashion, so walking down the hall inbetween classes is like walking through a war zone. I worry about Claire getting elbowed, etc. At least now I know my placenta is providing some padding between baby and the outside world! I think I am feeling some sensations/pains associated with baby moving. This morning at 4 am I could feel these sensations around where the baby/placentra are. So while I can't feel her movements directly, I can feel when her movement affects other parts of my body.

Cravings/Aversions: Sweets! I have an embarrassing amount of candy in my house right now. I made cupcakes this weekend and colored the icing pink once we found out we were having a girl!

What I Miss: Being able to be on my feet without them hurting so much. Between work and all the other life stuff that needs to be done - I am usually out of the house about 11 hours/day. My doctor told me last week that I am going to have to start doing some things different since I am 20 weeks pregnant, but it's hard to cut back. There's just always too much to do!

Gender: Sweet little girl - Claire Campbell Todd!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course I felt attached to this baby from the start, but there is a different level of bonding now that we know the gender. Everyday Cam asks me, "How is Claire doing?" and I find myself at work stopping to think, "Is Claire okay? Am I pushing Claire too hard today?" We love her so much we can hardly stand it!

Mood: Very emotional! Ever since they pulled my baby girl up on the ultrasound on Friday, I have been a weepy, pregnant mess. But they are happy tears! I just feel extremely attached to Claire, Cam, and the rest of our family right now - stepping away from that and doing "regular" stuff right now just feels unnatural. I just want to stay home and take care of them!

Symptoms: I think the baby is sitting on my bladder because when I go to the restroom first thing after I wake up, it feels like my bladder is numb. It's a weird feeling!

Milestones: Finding out she is healthy was a huge milestone and such a relief! And finding out she is a little lady, of course!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: I feel so blessed to get to bring this little girl into the world.  I can't wait to find out what our sweet little Claire Campbell will be like!

What I Look Forward To: Getting to work on the nursery - I plan to look at paint this weekend and soon Cam will start moving the furniture out of the nursery. 

It's A...

GIRL!

Claire Campbell Todd is healthy and beautiful.

Friday was one of the happiest days of my life. Our girl is just so sweet - she held her hands up in front of her eyes like she was playing peek-a-boo for most of the ultrasound. We could even see her moving her little mouth up and down like she was talking to us. It took 45 minutes for her to open up her legs enough for the tech to tell us the gender. During that time, we took two breaks and I did some ridiculous dancing and stretching in the bathroom to get her to wake up and move around. What a prim and proper little lady she is! 

Baby Claire is 12 ounces, or as my doctor put it, the size of a can of coke! Cam has never wavered in his belief that this baby was a girl, and he was right! Even so, when they finally told us the gender and we all cried/laughed/cheered, I looked over at him and he was just staring at the screen with a look of complete shock, joy, and amazement on his face. To say I couldn't love him more is an understatement. I am so so so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy for my baby. I couldn't be happier or prouder that Claire will share a middle name with her Daddy. It's also pretty special that she is the first girl in the Campbell family (Cam's mom AKA Gigi's family) since Gigi herself. 

We're so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family. It was wonderful having my mom, Cam's mom, and my sister with us for the big reveal. There were lots of tears and smiles! And also lots of shopping - Little Miss Claire Campbell has lots of beautiful things to wear already! I'll be writing a post about the weekend soon - it's been so much fun that I cried this morning because I was sad it was coming to an end. But the truth is...the fun is just beginning!

20 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I'm up 8 pounds total.

Size of Baby: Baby's the size of a banana.

Maternity Clothes: Yep-bought a few more this week. 

Sleep: Pretty good!

Movement: Still nothing...I think. This weekend I felt a couple little pulling sensations, but I don't know if that's movement or not? I keep waiting for some lightning bolt and I don't think that's what it will really be like. My sister told me movement at this stage does not hurt and what I felt this weekend did hurt a bit, so I just don't know.

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing in particular.

What I Miss: Nothing at the moment.

Gender: We find out tomorrow! The anticipation is killing me! I'm so excited for the weekend. Cam & I are both taking the day off from work and Cam's parents are coming in town!

Mood: Okay - it's just been a very stressful week at work. Hence this post being a day late!

Symptoms: My stomach just feels different - it's a bit harder and it feels more like there's something in there, if that makes any sense. And heartburn.

Milestones: Reaching the halfway point! I cannot believe we are here already! In some ways it's gone fast and sometimes when I think back on those long pukey days early on, I realize it has been a long journey. Pregnancy is really special and I can already tell I'll be sad when it comes to an end, regardless of the nausea or heartburn. The high point so far was hearing the heartbeat for the first time - there was so much reassurance and beauty in that strong sound after days of worry and uncertainty. I'll never forget it. The low point is definitely a day early on this summer when I threw up four times in one day. No one knew we were pregnant yet. It was hell. I remember being on the bathroom floor crying and asking God out loud to please help me feel better. I will never forget that either - ha!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: I feel very blessed to be experiencing this! It's truly a miracle!

What I Look Forward To: Friday Friday Friday! We are so excited!! I'm looking forward to finding out the gender, but also to making sure everything with baby looks good and healthy! Once we know if it's a boy or girl, we can shop and really get going on the nursery!

19 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: According to my scale at home, I'm up 6 pounds total. Yikes...3 pounds since last week. Guess baby's growing!

Size of Baby: According to The Bump, our baby is about the size of a mango!

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I adore them and want to go buy more.

Sleep: It's been okay. I've been very congested over the last week and a half, which has led to some trouble sleeping. Last night was better though!

Movement: Not yet! I really want to feel something.

Cravings/Aversions: I heart sweets! I also really want fried pickles from Pluckers!

What I Miss: White wine, margaritas, orange juice and other acidic things that aggravate the good old acid reflux.

Gender: 9 more days! I'm so excited! My in-laws are coming into town for that weekend, and my mom, sister, and mother-in-law will be at the ultrasound with me and Cam. So much fun!

Mood: Pretty good. 

Milestones: Getting a car that is child friendly! I love my Escape - it is beautiful and comfortable. One car down, one to go!

Medical Concerns: All seems well. I did have the high blood pressure episode last Friday, but haven't dealt with the same thing since then. I think it was a combination of being really tired and sick.

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: I really want to feel a flutter of movement! I know it happens at a different time for everyone, but it's possible that I could feel something now. I'm not sure I've really sat still long enough lately to feel it though. It sounds paranoid, but I just want the reassurance that baby's doing fine in there! I guess the massive amount of heartburn could serve as that reassurance that baby is doing exactly what he/she's supposed to.

What I Look Forward To: September 14th - I am so ready to know what this little mango is!

What a Week!

The past week has been bananas! The first week of school is enough to make it a whirlwind but there was a lot more going on than just that! Today begins day 8 of being sick with a pretty nasty cold/allergies. I've been sitting here in my pajamas all day trying to figure out why I can't seem to keep my eyes open and then I remember how crazy it's been!

Sunday - I wake up feeling sick - sore throat, congestion, etc. Not the best way to start off a new school year. I rally through and try to enjoy the last day before the circus starts!

Monday - First day of school...enough said. It was a good day! My feet and back hurt something terrible by the end of the day, but my cold/allergies feel better when I'm busy working. Rather than coming home and putting my feet up, we leave to grab dinner on the run before we meet the girl who is buying my car to fill out some paperwork. 

Tuesday - Second day of school - the hardest part of the first week is talking nonstop. It's inevitable - you can usually be the type to plan the most student-centered lessons, but the first week has to be teacher-centric (going over procedures, explaining where everything is in the classroom and how certain assignments need to be completed). While we were working, my Mom (bless her!) stayed at my house waiting for the Rooms to Go delivery man to bring our new dining room table and china buffet!!!! Yay! It makes me laugh because one of my pregnant coworkers told me she'd gone home after the first day and laid on the couch and napped until her husband got home. I came home to see my new table (love it!) and spent the entire night cleaning out everything from my car and setting up our buffet. After over 2.5 years, I was finally able to unpack the china, special serving pieces, and glassware that we didn't have room for in our kitchen. We've been able to use a great deal of the kitchen gifts we got as wedding presents since right after the wedding, but all the really special pieces that wouldn't be used often had to stay packed up in closets since there wasn't room for them...until today! I'm so happy to finally have this done! It's awesome to have access to all the beautiful wedding gifts we were blessed to get. Now I know I didn't have to come home and do this all night. Lots of people would have waited until the weekend, but 1) I am nesting big time, 2) I've been waiting a long time to do this, 3) I knew there would probably be no time this weekend.

Wednesday - Good day at school! Another day of talking my head off! I don't know if it's being sick or pregnant, but I find myself perpetually out of breath when I'm talking! I like my kids so far - knock on wood, they seem so much more mellow and young (in a good way) than my group last year. Of course, there will be challenges but I've been praying for a nice group for this year in particular with being pregnant and out on maternity leave. I don't honestly think my heart and my self-esteem could take another year like last year. I know this is the honeymoon phase, but I have a good feeling so far. After finishing up at work, I fill out more paperwork for my car sale, run by the vet to buy Aurora's cat food, and then meet to exchange my car for a big fat check! Holla! It was sad to say goodbye to my little car but I felt so happy to have it done. Selling a car on Craigslist is akin to Medieval torture - I've never encountered so many strange and screwed up people in my life. So the fact that this nice, normal, legit girl ended up buying it is so wonderful. Cam came and picked me up, we ran to the bank, and then to Target for some essentials. Shoutout to my Campbell - he also took our little Aurora to the vet this morning before work. I've been very worried about her these past few weeks as she hasn't been herself at all. It killed me to have to miss the appointment  (stupid job!), but one benefit of Cam and I being on such different work schedules is that he can do things like this and not miss any work. And our little girl got a great report from the vet - she has gained a pound (she had lost weight when we took her in March, which worried us b/c she is so small to begin with) and doesn't seem to be suffering any bladder problems. The diagnosis is just that she really likes to be outside and doesn't like it when she can't be and she's dealing with having a little brother at home! Here's hoping that all hell doesn't break loose when we bring a real human baby home next year...

Thursday - Cam takes me to work this morning since I'm carless. It works out well because I had a microwave I needed to bring up to school and it was really too heavy for me to carry in my delicate condition (teehee). Between that and some school supplies I got for my kiddos, both of our hands were full! After school, my mom and baby Grace picked me up right after the bell rang so we could make it to my credit union before they closed. I did some paperwork I needed to do in anticipation of getting a loan for my new car and then we ran to Babies R Us so mom could pick up a high chair seat for Dolly to use at her house. Then we stopped by McDonalds and had a snack...don't judge! I take her car home so I can borrow it for work on Friday.

Friday - I've never needed a Friday so badly! For the second night in a row, I've barely gotten any sleep due to congestion. I oversleep, waking up at 6:50 when I've got to be at work at 7:45. Technically I really need to be at work at 7:35 at the latest thanks to a new traffic system they've enacted this year at school. They've eliminated a ton of staff parking, so now if you're not at work early, you won't have a place to park. Lovely! I teach my first real history lesson of the year on exploration and colonization. It goes well and the kids ask lots of good questions! During third period I notice that my vision on my right side is blurry and I'm seeing spots. During my planning time next period I run down to the nurse and ask her to take my blood pressure. After my sister's experience with preecalmpsia, I know that seeing spots usually means something's up with blood pressure. Sure enough my bottom number was high - not alarmingly so, but obviously enough to make me feel weird. I go back upstairs and eat my lunch and take a break, and start to feel better. The nurse had me come back during my lunch break a couple hours later and my blood pressure was the same. She gives me strict instructions to put my feet up this weekend and not do any housework. Haha-have we met? After work, I head to my parent's house to drop off my mom's car. I find out that my grandma has fallen and broken her hip. She is almost 90 and is just getting over a terrible knee break back in April. She's in the hospital but they are waiting to do surgery because she has a fever. It's been a whirlwind day for her, so I wait to go visit until later in the weekend. In the interest of getting stuff done, Cam picks me up and we run to Carmax to look at a car that has popped up on their website that we're interested in. The car is awesome - we've been looking at cars and doing lots of research for several weeks now, and this one just feels right. We tell the guy we want the car and are ready to put down earnest money/whatever we need to do to hold the car and he informs us that Carmax doesn't hold cars. Shoot. I don't know if the car would've sold to someone else that weekend, but with it being a holiday weekend with lots of big car sales going on, it seemed like it could happen. Dealership guy is able to hold the car through 9 pm on Saturday. We go eat Mexican food and then head home and fill out an online prequalification application for a car loan through my credit union.

Saturday - Cam picks up some breakfast tacos and we turn on the season opener of College Gameday!!!! Such happiness! I call the credit union when they open up at 9 am and they tell me that I need to go wait at a branch location in order to try to get the loan processed that day. I drag poor football-deprived Cam with me to the credit union and we sit. The credit union gives anyone sitting in a branch lobby priority in the queue for a loan officer. The loan officer calls me and we sit and work out the terms of the loan over the phone (very bizarre). Then we sign the paperwork with the branch manager and head to Carmax. I call USAA and add the car to our insurance policy so Carmax will let us take the car home. After signing a bunch more paperwork and writing a big check, we get the keys to my beautiful blue 2011 Ford Escape! I am in love with this car y'all! It is beautiful, roomy, and easy to drive! I've never had a car that was this new...so I drive home feeling like I'm living pretty high on the hog. Cam races off to his Fantasy Football draft party. He is the Commissioner of his league this year so this is a big day for him! I hang out at home and rest a little and then do some forbidden housework. I know, I know...but I'm nesting and I can't relax until my house feels cleaner. I also spend the day monitoring things with my grandma. Her surgery goes well and she gets moved to a regular hospital room. My mom is at the hospital from 6 am until very late in the night. My Uncle Steve flies in from California. My poor grandma has a pretty rough afternoon/evening. Her heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels are all over the place and things are pretty worrisome. Surgery at her age is never going to be a breeze. My sister and I really want to go to the hospital, but my mom encouraged us to wait until Sunday. There were 4 family members there already and lots of medical people in the room all day. My grandma is exhausted and we worry about overwhelming her. They give her a blood transfusion and check her lungs for blood clots (all clear) and she starts to feel a little better. 

Sunday - Cam and I hang around the house and try to rest a little. My grandma is doing better this morning - such a relief! We run a couple errands and then meet up at my parent's house to go visit her. My grandma seems good given the circumstances, and my mom says there is a world of difference between how she seems today compared with yesterday. We get to visit some with my Uncle Steve and my cousin Jerry - it's sad how it takes something bad happening for us to catch up with each other, but it was nice to see them. We head home and hang out at my parent's house. My parents made dinner for us - yummy steaks and potatoes. My appetite is back - I haven't been eating very much over the last few months, but tonight I eat almost everything on my plate. We watch the season finale of Breaking Bad (amazing!) and then head home to feed our little animals. It is a wonderful feeling to know we have a whole other day to rest! Unfortunately my overindulgence at dinner comes back to haunt me and I feel miserably full until the next day! I wake up several times in the night with terrible indigestion/heartburn! Blah! After throwing up until I was 15 weeks along, I was looking forward to the "glorious second trimester!" It's definitely better than throwing up, but the heartburn (even with medicine) and congestion are about to do me in. But truthfully, I really love being pregnant. It is an amazing feeling and I'd throw up/have heartburn every day for 40 weeks to get to have a sweet little baby.

And that brings us to today. Now do you see why I haven't gotten out of my pajamas today? This isn't meant to be a "poor me" post, it's more of a journal of a crazy week for me to look back on. Some day when I'm beating myself up for being lazy, I'll come read this - lol!