Bi-Weekly Checkup

We got good news at the appointment today, my blood pressure was down (though still high enough to cause them concern) and Colin's heartbeat was solid. Because of the blood pressure, he wants me to go back in for another ultrasound, so we have on scheduled for Friday. I really look forward to those days! He also said that due to the concern over my blood pressure, he might go ahead and induce me around 37 to 38 weeks, which would put Colin in my arms the first week of December. We'll keep you posted on that, our next doctor's appointment is the 16th.

We'll also be moving at that time, we scheduled our move for the 15th today, we'd really like to be in by Thanksgiving, and obviously that will give us about 2 weeks before Colin gets here if they do end up inducing me.

A little excitement

I apologize for not getting a post up yesterday, we had a little bit of excitement yesterday afternoon. About 3 o'clock yesterday I was sitting on the couch and got an intense pain all the way around my upper back and upper belly. At first I thought it might have been bad indigestion, so I tried Tums and tried to lay down. Unfortunately, the pain intensified to the point I couldn't breath very well, I couldn't lay down and I couldn't sit up, I could only stand. I called the doctor and the nurse told me to go to the hospital immediately, to labor and delivery. She said it probably wasn't pregnancy related because it was my upper body, but if I was having problems breathing I should go. So I called Brad at work and told him. I drove up to Brad's work and we went to the hospital. Fortunately, by the time I got to Brad, I was feeling almost 100% better. We went to the hospital anyway, just to make sure everything was okay. They checked my vitals and Colin's and everything appeared to be good. The doctor came in and said that it could have been the muscles around my ribs spasming from stretching to make room for baby, which in turn can cause pressure on my lungs. They were still pretty concerned about my blood pressure so still want me to take it and track it everyday.

I have a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment this afternoon, I'll post about it later today.

32 Weeks, 3 Days

How close we are getting! And how big Colin is getting! He's at least 5 pounds by now, and I can definitely tell. He FEELS bigger in my belly, I can only imagine how it's going to be in a few more weeks. I'm getting bigger everyday I think! I've been feeling better, which is nice, though heartburn and back pain are my two foes right now.

Sadly, there has been no word on Crazy. We handed out 200 fliers last Friday and Saturday in hopes a neighbor might have seen him. We also handed out fliers to the local vet's offices. Everyone has been very encouraging not to give up hope, but it is hard to know what to do. Obviously we don't want to give up hope that he may come home, but at the same time we can't live with all the sadness and anxiety that a lot of hope brings. So, we've decided to focus on all the wonderful things we have in our lives and just be grateful, not only for those things, but for the time we did have with Crazy. What makes it harder is how sad Henry has been. He lost his best friend, and you can tell. He sits outside on the wall behind the flower bed and just stares out at the forest behind the house, and he stays in bed (literally) all day. He's even lost a little weight because he isn't eating like he used to.

On a brighter note, the house is coming along very nicely. Hopefully by the end of this week much of the work that we'd hoped would be done before we moved in should be done. We hope to be completely moved in and actually living there by the middle of November. I'll also post some pictures soon.

This weekend we have 2 of our 3 birthing classes. I'll give more on that later.

Fun Birthday Facts

I thought this was neat...what is scary is to think how old Brad and I will be during all these milestones!

• Your baby's birthstone will be Turquoise (Prosperity)
• Your baby's Astrological Sign will be Sagittarius
• Your baby's Flower is Narcissus or Holly (Indigo, Green, Greenish-Blue)
• Your baby will be born in the Chinese Year of The Pig
• This time next year your baby will be 44 Weeks Old!
• Your baby will start kindergarten in 2013, be old enough to drive a car in 2023, finish high school in 2026, and will graduate from college with the class of 2030, give or take a year. Can you imagine?

Where did the week go?

This week has flown by. On a sad note, there has been no sign of Crazy as of yet. We aren't quite giving up hope yet, but life just isn't the same without him.

On a good news note, the house is coming along nicely. Carpet should be completely installed today, drywall up in the kitchen, lots of landscaping changes in the backyard, and by the end of the weekend we hope to have all the painting completely done, light fixtures up and a few other odds and ends up.

As for Colin, my how big he is getting! He's taking up more and more room in my tummy, and seems to be doing well. Our next doctor's appointment is on Halloween, next Wednesday.

Please keep Crazy in your prayers, our family isn't complete without him.

Update

I apologize for not updating yesterday, I was at the new house from 9am to 8pm dealing with workers, only to come home and find that our Crazy cat had not been seen since Brad left for work. We searched for nearly an hour, to no avail. We had hoped he'd come home during the night, but as of now, about 12:00, we have not seen him. We are hoping for the best, but obviously we are both devastated right now. I'll let you all know if any news comes our way.

Baby Shower

The shower on Saturday was a lot of fun and we got a lot of things we really needed, and a lot of cute clothes and toys too! Thank you to everyone again and a special thank you to the three ladies who put it all together, Kathy, Tracy and especially Sara.

It was really nice to have everyone together again, from both sides of the family. I'm going to post a few pictures through out the week, if you have any, email them to me!

31 Week Bump

And you might notice the new haircut too...

Fun Little Game

I found this game online today and thought I'd share it with you all.

Have fun!

http://www.babystrology.com/baby-games/peepeeteepee/

Good News All Around

I had another doctor's visit today. My BP was down, though still slightly high. All the tests he did last week came back normal, which pleased him. He said everything appears to be okay right now and we are going back to bi-weekly appointments. My fundal height is right on track and Colin's heartbeat was consistent at 152. I asked the doctor if he could tell by feeling how Colin was positioned, he said he'd try, but couldn't guarantee he'd be right without a sonogram. So he felt around my tummy and said he thinks he felt Colin's head just below my left breast, so he hasn't turned yet, but he should start that within the next month or so. The only instructions he left me with were to take it easy, which for a woman planning a move isn't easily done! Oh, and I actually lost 3 pounds since last week, so I've only gained 11 pounds so far! 4 of them is little Colin! So, I'm doing really well on that front.

We also got good news on our new house today. We were afraid there was a leak in the pool, which could potentially cost thousands to fix. We had it inspected today and it's only going to cost a few hundred to fix. Our contractors are also doing an awesome job and have almost completely finished painting, they will be done with all the painting by Friday and our carpet is scheduled to be installed Monday! After this, we can start to move things in. The only work left will be the kitchen. Speaking of which, they were able to salvage the granite counter tops in the kitchen, so we decided to go ahead and have new blinds hung throughout the house and get rid of the plantation shutters (if anyone is interested in purchasing some plantation shutters, let me know! hehe)

Our contractor, David, is an angel and painted Colin's new room for me, just as I had painted it here at Panavision. It looks great, and I'll have new pictures up as soon as possible.

Another Fun Evening with Colin

Colin has been so active these past 4 or 5 days! I can certainly tell he is getting bigger. I discovered yesterday afternoon that Colin seems to like music and it makes him wiggle around!

So, after dinner last night I laid down on the couch next to Brad and we were watching TV. Colin started bouncing around and so I lifted up my shirt and you could see him kicking or elbowing or whatever it was, my tummy. I told Brad to watch, but of course, Colin stopped. So I told Brad to put on some music and I bet he'd start back again. Sure enough, a few seconds after the music started Colin was jabbing away again and Brad got to see it. It was a lot of fun for both of us. We probably laid here for 20 minutes just watching our son dance to the music.

A little bit of Monday Fun

How far along are you:	30 weeks (As of 10-12-07)
Cravings so far:	In the beginning it was fruit, lately it's been chocolate, in any form.
Things that make you sick:	No one thing in particular, still have morning sickness to deal with.
Boy or girl:	I wanted a boy and I GOT him!
Babys name:	Colin Travis Baker
Advice for other pregnant women:	Take one day at a time!
Baby Daddy:	Bradley James
His reaction:	Scared sh*tless (at first), but excited now (and still scared sh*tless)!
Greatest memory so far:	The first time I felt him move, a little summer-sault at 15 weeks.
Biggest fear:	Complications for either Colin or mommy.
Strange symptoms:	I have one, but I don't think my brother cares to read about it!
Advantages of being pregnant:	Strangers smile at you a lot more.
Weird dreams:	None so far.
Emotional outbursts:	I cry a lot easier!
Breast changes:	Again, my brother is reading!
Waist changes:	I'm built funny, my belly is growing up and out and then down, not all in one round shape.
Things you quit for baby:	Alcohol, sugar substitutes, caffeine (cut back), tuna.
Most uncomfortable time:	3 a.m. when both hips hurt because I have to sleep on my sides now and indigestion is at it's worst.
Worst part of being pregnant:	Morning sickness :( for 7 months!
Best place for maternity clothes:	GapMaternity love their jeans and t-shirts!
Taking parenting classes:	Yup, taking a labor class, breastfeeding, and baby care/CPR class (Brad too!)
Pregnancy necessities:	Milk, hot baths, and my loving husband!
Grandparents reaction:	Probably more excited than Brad and I!
Aunts? Uncles?:	2 uncles, one each on mommy's and daddy's side.
Godparents:	Not in our religious beliefs.
Where will you deliver:	Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Margot Perot Center
Who will deliver: When:	Dr. Bertrand December 21st (or sooner), hopefully
Will you breastfeed:	Definitely!
Will you use cloth diapers:	Probably not

Doctor's Visit

We had another doctor's checkup today, Colin's heartbeat was at 150, totally normal and my fundal height is at 30 cm, also perfectly normal. My blood pressure this time was back up, causing more concern with the doctor. To be safe, he wants to start seeing me weekly and wants me to "take it easy." As a precaution he is also going to take some blood to check my liver platelets. He said the next 4 weeks are "critical" in keeping my blood pressure down.

No need to worry, this is all just a precaution. As of now, everything is okay with both of us.

New House Update

We stopped at the new house tonight to check and see what they had done today, the first day of work. They had all the ceilings painted, 3 of the rooms upstairs, and were in the process of removing the wallpaper in the master bath while we were there. They also had everything taped. We're excited to see work start and even more excited to know that at this point in about 2 weeks, we'll see a dramatic change! We'll keep you posted and get some pictures up as soon as we can.

Poll 1

I'll be 30 weeks on Friday, this is the time that all the books, newsletters, doctors, etc. say to start packing your bag for the hospital, just in case something happens. In our case, I think it is an especially good idea to go ahead and do this now, since we will (hopefully) be moving within the next month or so and a lot of stuff is in boxes right now anyway.

So for the first colintravisbaker.com poll, I'd like to hear from everyone out there reading this:

What do you think I should pack in my hospital bag? Leave a comment under this post, or if you don't know how to do that, e-mail me and I'll post it for you :)

29 Weeks

I know it's kitty week, but I did actually have something to talk about today, so I'm interrupting kitty week to give an update on the Bakers.

Today was a first for mommy and Colin. I was sitting on the couch about 15 minutes after eating my first breakfast (yes, I said FIRST) and Colin started bouncing around, as he usually does after I eat, and this time, I could SEE him moving around, like little waves in my tummy. So you can definitely tell the kid is getting bigger, I'm guessing he's around 3 and a half to 4 pounds by now.

We also got good news today, our contractor, David, contacted us and told us he hired an additional crew so he could get started on our place right away, instead of another 2 or 3 weeks! So this means, our new house's upstairs floor should be painted by this time next week, then we can get the carpet installed and they'll get the downstairs painted within 2 weeks from now! Exciting stuff! I was really getting nervous about being in the house before Colin decides to make his grand entrance. Now that seems more realistic.

As for me, I've had a not-so-great week health wise. I'm getting bigger, which brings more aches and pains, like my back, and my nausea came back with a vengeance this week. I'm feeling much better today though.

Last night Brad's company had their first football game and even though their "coach/quarterback" was out sick, and everyone was nervous, they went out, had a great game and won! Brad had a lot of fun and looked good on the field! A lot of his co-workers kept saying how good I looked, which was nice to hear after such a hard week.

More Cute Pictures

Pay Attention to Me!

"What? I need attention too."


"What is she reading now?"

Anything they can do to get me off that dumb computer! The computer was actually sitting in my lap when Henry decided it was his turn.

Henry's Basket

The basket on the entertainment center has become Henry's new sleeping place since I packed up the videos that were in it. Isn't he cute?

Kitties Week

Well, we are in a slow part of the pregnancy right now, no doctor's appointments this week, just Colin and I getting bigger everyday. So I thought I'd make this week about our other 2 "kids," Henry and Crazy.

For those who haven't seen Henry lately, he's gotten big, er, fat. And really soft. Remember that puppy we bought a couple months ago, and how soft I said he was? Henry is softer! Since he's been in our home, gotten healthy and lazy, he's doing much better. He's very loveable and follows us all around the house, just wanting to be where we are. He's also gotten in a habit of laying in the cutest places, evidence as follows:



(that's Brad's briefcase laying in front of the fireplace, one of Henry's favorite new places to sleep).