To a boy I used to know

Quite by chance yesterday (or maybe through a Google search, but I'm not saying), I came upon the e-mail address of my old high school flame. My first love. The boy I really and truly believed I would marry. Before I knew what I was doing, I had sent a short message hurtling through cyberspace, heading straight towards his inbox. Instantly I felt this strange sense of remorse ("What the...?! Now why the heck did I just do that?"), but I have to say that it was mingled with just the teeniest bit of intrigue, too. Will he remember me? Will he write back? OHMYGOSH...will he see my blog?! (I remembered too late that I have a link to my blog attached to my automatic e-signature.) And don't worry: it's not like this was a big secret or anything. I told Darren what I'd done right away, and he laughed at me! But what on earth made me do such a thing?

I can tell you: it's all this driving back and forth to the hospital that I've been doing lately. Amidst these crazy days, my commutes there and back are the only interludes (however brief) in which I can hear myself think...so of course I drown out my thoughts with music, blasting me right back to my past. Seriously. It's uncanny, the way that every single night there is at least one song that reminds me so intensely of that one magical summer between my junior and senior years of high school. Mr. Jones. Hey Jealousy. (And more, but those are the two that stand out most.)

And suddenly, as I'm singing along at the top of my lungs, I'm feeling my age. Wasn't I just seventeen, like, yesterday? When did this become my life? When did I become a thirty year old, married for almost ten years, mother to four? With a mortgage? And a minivan? I shouldn't be surprised, really, to find myself here; it's where I've always wanted to be. It's just that time, this distance between the me of now and the me of yesteryear, has flown by in what seems to be the blink of an eye. I'll blink again, and my babies will be halfway grown. How can that be? And in how many ways am I squandering this precious time?

I'm not really expecting him to write back. He's married now, too, or was the last I heard. I'm sure his own life has taken many unexpected turns, for better or for worse. But if he does happen to find me here, in my own little corner of cyberspace, I hope he'll smile fondly to remember the girl that I once was. To see the woman I've become. To know that I still think of him with affection. To glimpse, for a moment, the fleeting bit of time in which the world was ours for the taking.

How I would love to hear from him again.

The faces of our babies

There has been some discussion among my family and our nurses about whom little Kristen most resembles. It's always amazing to me to see the many tiny similarities that exist between each of our babies, and I thought it would be fun to post some newborn pictures of them here for comparison. So what do you think? They all definitely have their own unique characteristics, but I've always seen glimpses of each of them in every new baby we've been blessed with. Aren't they awesome? :)

Here, in order, are: Baby Dylan, Baby Caitlyn, Baby Meghan, and finally, our newest Baby Kristen:

Today

Darren and I decided this morning to take the kids out to White Sands Missile Range to witness the annual Bataan Memorial Death March. It was so humbling and awe inspiring to see the surviving Bataan veterans in attendance, and the teams of soldiers and civilians running or walking the rigorous route in their honor. We stayed only long enough to have a picnic lunch on a patch of shaded grass and to watch a few groups of participants crossing the finish line, and then it was time to head back home so I could get back up to the hospital. Darren had already spent about an hour with Kristen this morning, but I feel so guilty carrying on with "normal" activities knowing she's up there by herself.

This first picture is of the park where all the food tents were set up; it was just past the finish line. My kids loved the giant flag, and I thought it was beautiful against the clear blue sky.

When I arrived at the hospital this afternoon, I discovered that Kristen had pulled her feeding tube out earlier this morning so I seized the opportunity to take some pictures of her without it. I'm so glad I remembered to take the camera with me! I knew it would probably be replaced again later in the day (and Darren reports that she did have a new one tonight), so it was a rare treat to see her without it. I also (finally!) got some pictures of her with her eyes open. She's looking so good! And she's finally passed her birth weight: she's up to 4 lbs. 2 oz. now. Woohoo! We expect that she'll start rapidly improving in the next week or two. She's doing much better with her feedings now, taking every third feeding entirely from the bottle, and her temperature has remained wonderfully stable, as have her O2 sats. I am so eager for the day when we'll finally be able to bring her home!

Under Construction

I've decided to go ahead and just take a plunge here with my blog and try out the major redesign I've been playing around with over the past few weeks. Let's hope I actually know what I'm doing! Fingers crossed that I don't lose everything...

*Update: An hour later, I think I've got all the kinks worked out! I like it. Does it look okay to you?

Farewell

When the pregnancy status box in my sidebar made me burst into tears yesterday by proclaiming that "baby will grow 1/2 an inch this week", I knew it was finally time to take it down.

Goodbye, tickers. I'll miss you. I was really hoping to keep you around for the next several weeks.

Smiles

It was Darren's turn last night to spend a few hours up at the hospital with Kristen. He was so happy when he came home, reporting that he was able to hold her the entire time and that, in addition to all the sweet little facial expressions we've come to love so much, she kept smiling. Now, before you even say it, I know what you're probably thinking: "Babies don't smile!" Oh, but they do! Our little Kristen sure was, and he brought home proof! I absolutely love this picture. I want to have it framed:


Here's something else that had us smiling last night. Some sweet friends from church had offered to bring us dinner, and I was expecting something simple, a small casserole, perhaps. Here's what they showed up with last night...an entire meal, right down to the dessert! It was delicious.


More reasons to smile: Darren and I had feared that Caitlyn would not be able to hunt for Easter eggs on Sunday, but as it turned out, we needn't have worried. She has figured out how to scoot around the house on her bottom, and she is fast! We hid plastic eggs in our living room and cautioned Dylan not to find them all, but she was so quick that she easily found just as many as him and Meghan. Yesterday Caitlyn and Meghan wanted to have another egg hunt, and this time I remembered to get some actual full body shots of Caitlyn in her cast. (See, mom? I promised you I would!) The girls had so much fun playing with their eggs yesterday that I ended up taking a lot of pictures. Here are just a few of my favorites:






And here is the beautiful Easter arrangement that my aunt made for me last weekend while I was in the hospital. I wish I had thought to take a picture when I first came home, but I think it is still just lovely. :)

One Week

I've just been sitting here, watching the clock, seeing the minutes tick by until finally: 2:03p.m. Kristen is one week old! I cannot believe it's already been one week. I cannot believe it's only been one week. Such a paradox, my new warped concept of time.

I keep replaying in my mind the events surrounding her birth and wonder what I might have or could have done differently. I woke up that Monday morning a little later than usual, and thought I might be having very mild contractions. I took my scheduled medication, rested, drank some water, and didn't think too much about it. They were no worse than what I had been feeling in the hospital over the weekend, but two hours later, when I was still feeling somewhat crampy, I took a second dose as my midwife had instructed. By noon, I realized that despite the two doses of terbutaline, numerous glasses of water, and lots of rest, those contractions were not only not going away, but actually seemed to be getting stronger and more regular. I called my midwife around noon and she said that I could actually take 5mg of the terbutaline every 4-6 hours, and since I had already taken that much in two divided doses, I figured I'd be safe to take the full dose again at one o'clock. At 12:30 I decided a half an hour couldn't make much difference, swallowed the medication with another full glass of water, and laid down to rest on my bed. Darren, by this point, was really getting nervous, but we still thought that the stronger dose of terbutaline just might do the trick. My midwife hadn't sounded too concerned, so I rationalized that I shouldn't be, either. That is, until I got up to relieve my bladder, full from all that water I had been drinking to stay hydrated, and saw, to my horror, that I was bleeding again, much worse than I had been on Saturday.

We hastily called my dad to come watch the kids as we threw together another overnight bag. Now we were both freaking out, but I still didn't think I'd actually deliver our baby that day. Magnesium sulfate, I thought. They'll start me on mag and everything will be just fine.

Every minute that passed was agony as we anxiously waited for my dad to arrive. Finally I decided to wait in the van so I could honk the horn for Darren as soon as I saw my dad's car coming down the street. I've never seen Darren drive like he did on our way to the hospital. I was crying, as the contractions were suddenly coming so fast and furious. I was glad I had taken a minute back home to call the hospital and let the charge nurse know we were on our way. When we pulled up to the doors, Darren helped me out and we didn't even pause at admissions. I had brought my badge and took us straight up to L&D...there was no way I was going to waste even a single second! There was a brief discussion at the nurses station about what type of room to put me in (antepartum versus labor); I didn't mind asserting that I needed a labor bed! Darren went downstairs to admit me and by the time he got back to my room, I had nurses attempting to start an IV and my midwife was arriving to tell me that, as I had expected, the plan was to start magnesium sulfate and transfer me to a hospital about an hour away. But even as we were talking, I knew that there was not much chance that I'd make it out of that room undelivered...things were just too intense and I realized by then that I was about to have a baby. When she checked my cervix and found that I was already dilated to 7 centimeters (minutes before I had been only 3-4), she amended her plan and everyone quickly prepared for the delivery. A nurse from the special care nursery was called to be present, as was the pediatrician (who didn't arrive until after the birth), and as my midwife broke my water, I felt the urge to push. Terrified doesn't even come close to describing what I was feeling in that moment. Everything had happened so fast, and I was still so far from my due date. Eight weeks is an awfully long time when every day in the womb sees such vital growth and maturation. My midwife was wonderful, though, stroking my face and offering reassurances even as I cried in pain and fear.

Darren was right by my side when, at 2:03 on Monday, March 17, our little Kristen Marie came screaming into the world. Her cries were the most precious sound I had ever heard, and even Darren had to wipe tears from his eyes as he cut her cord and set her free from me. She was, and is, absolutely beautiful, rosy red and quite vigorous, crying loudly as the nurse assessed her. We were delighted to see that she weighed over four pounds: 4 lbs, 1 oz to be precise, and she was 17 inches long. Darren accompanied her to the nursery, where she transitioned extremely well, and I tried to rest in a state of overwhelmed shock, joy, and anxiety!

It's been a week now, and we just feel so blessed. Kristen is the most perfect, angelic little bundle of sweetness and love and we just cannot imagine our family without her in it! It's amazing to me how a parent's heart just swells with love to encompass each new addition to the family. We've only known Kristen for seven short days but love her so very, very much! And far from detracting from the love we feel for our big kids, it just makes us love them even more. They are all such miracles. I look at them and I am just overwhelmed by them, by the babies they used to be not so very long ago and by the amazingly awesome children they have grown to be. I cannot wait for the day when our little Kristen is big enough to come home with us! In the meantime, her bassinet stands ready and waiting beside our bed, her teensy tiny clothes are folded neatly into her dresser drawers, and we all wait in hope and anticipation of her joyous homecoming. I pray these days speed by!

Happy Easter!

Wow. This Easter was absolutely not the one I envisioned at the beginning of Lent, but, under the circumstances, was everything I could have hoped for and more. It was perfect, really, and while there were for me a few sad moments, today was actually a very joyous day. It began early for us, with Darren and I rising at 5:30 to get ready before the kids woke up. Dylan and Caitlyn, however, were both wide awake by 6:00, eager to see what goodies the Easter bunny had left in their baskets, so we woke up Meghan and proceeded to the kitchen, where they were thrilled to find such an abundance of sweets.


And, although our sweet baby Kristen is not yet home with us, she was not forgotten by the Easter bunny!


After lingering a bit with the big kids and their baskets, Darren and I finished getting ready and then headed together to the hospital, where we had the great joy of witnessing the baptism of our sweet Kristen Marie! We are ever so grateful that our favorite priest, Father Ray, took the time out of his busy Easter schedule to meet with us, to pray over Kristen and to administer such a special sacrament on such a special day.



Mass was lovely, although I did get a bit teary while talking to one of my favorite fellow parishioners about Kristen's early arrival. It just felt so strange to be there, no longer pregnant yet with no baby in my arms. I kept thinking about how much I missed her. On our way home, we stopped by the store to pick up a cake for our own little baptism celebration. We wanted our big kids to realize that even though little Kristen is still in the hospital, today was a very special day for her.


Tonight I spent a couple more hours in the nursery with Kristen, and it was so very pleasant that I never wanted to leave. She's off the oxygen now, and off the IV, and her bilirubin level is down. She's taking about half her feeds through her NG tube, and she's spending most of her time in an incubator now until she's able to keep her temps up well enough on her own. But tonight I got to hold her the entire time I was there, and I got to change her diaper and give her a bottle and it felt so good to be doing those little "normal" things that I've missed so much these past couple of days. I talked to her all about our day, and sang to her, until finally I had to put her down to come back home. Darren returns to work tomorrow and we are both dreading it. I am so glad he's been able to be home all week, but we really want to save most of his annual leave days until Kristen is actually home with us.

I realize now that this post is somewhat rambly and disjointed, but I am so very exhausted. I knew if I didn't write about today now, then I might not ever, and that would be a real shame. I want to remember this day forever.

Finally, because they're just so sweet, here are a few of my favorite pictures of the big kids from today. We spent a long while this morning just hanging out in pajamas in the girls' room, hunting plastic Easter eggs and eating jelly beans. My kids love jelly beans. And I can think of no good way to end this, so just...pictures. Such sweetness.

Home again

Hello! How surreal it feels to find myself here, blogging about the baby who just days ago I was so sure would be staying put for at least another few weeks! Needless to say, these past few days have flown by in a whirlwind of exciting happenings and emotional highs and lows, and I want to thank you all for the many kind comments you have left in response to Darren's posts. I cannot say how much they mean to us! We feel your prayers, so please keep them coming! I know our little Kristen needs them. I'm sure at some point I'll post a more detailed account of her birth (which was very scary and very quick), but for now, I have time for just a short update for those of you who are so graciously checking in with us.

After adapting so well immediately following her birth (maintaining her temperature, tolerating feedings, breathing only room air), we are disappointed to report that she is having a little more difficulty now, which we knew from her doctor and nurses to expect but which saddens us all the same. She is very jaundiced and is currently under phototherapy lights to bring her bilirubin levels down, and she was having a hard time keeping her temperature up yesterday. (Being under the lights has helped bring and keep them back up.) She was also getting increasingly sluggish with her feedings; whereas before she was drinking 20cc easily from a bottle, she was taking only about 5cc with much coaxing by yesterday afternoon. So, to give her a bit of a rest, she's now receiving only IV fluids. She's also (most dishearteningly for us) on oxygen, as she began experiencing episodes of apnea and decreased heart rate late yesterday. I'm reassured by the fact that these are, actually, all expected outcomes with a preterm infant, but I just feel so helpless and vulnerable watching her go through all of this.

Yesterday's homecoming was, for me, so bittersweet. I cried because I had missed my "big kids" so much. I cried because I was so touched by the many posters and cards they had made for me, and by the beautiful Easter centerpiece my Aunt had created as a surprise for me. I cried because I was home, and Kristen was not...and likely won't be for a long while. Basically, I'm a wreck. But Darren has been to the hospital already this morning, and says that Kristen is looking good. There is a possibility that she may come out from under the lights today. I'm going to go up and see her after lunch, and hopefully Darren or I will be able to make it up there again this evening. I've been using a breast pump every two hours to give her the added benefit of colostrum. I know and trust the nurses caring for her. I know that everything that can be done for her, is being done for her. But the watching and waiting is just so hard! I'm trying to focus on a point in the future when she will be home and healthy and happy, and just take these days one at a time. Darren and I feel so uplifted and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we've received from you and from family, and we just can't thank you all enough! I'll try to report again later on Kristen, and I know there are posts I meant to write before all of this that I may get to later...or not. In the meantime, here are two more pictures of our precious girl, under her blue lights with Daddy watching over her. She is so beautiful! God is so very, very good.

More Kristen

Darren again here. Liss will not be home until sometime tomorrow, but wanted me to go ahead and post a few more photos, so here they are. Much to everyone's surprise, she is already taking a bottle. Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments!!!

Meet Kristen Marie!!!

Yep, she's here!!! I am "guest blogging" for Melissa right now since she is still in the hospital for at least a day or two.

This morning Liss started having contractions again, then bleeding, and by noon we decided to head to the hospital. Within an hour, our 4 pound, 1 ounce bundle of joy came screaming into the world! She is 7 weeks early and tiny, but was not to be deterred. Kristen is currently in the special care nursery and will probably be in the hospital for a couple of weeks, so your prayers are certainly welcomed. Liss sends her love to everyone and her thanks for praying for her after this past weekend (though you were supposed to pray for the baby to wait!)

I want to offer my thanks as well for all of your prayers and encouragement.

Darren

Slowing down...

...by strict orders of my midwife.

We had quite a scare this weekend when, after returning home Saturday morning after working a full 12 hour (crazy busy) shift at the hospital, I began experiencing contractions and bleeding. I had no sooner walked in the door when I was walking right back out again with Darren, heading back to L&D where a bed was already awaiting me! (I had called ahead to speak with the charge nurse first.)

After being hooked up to the external fetal monitor, it was apparent that I was, indeed, experiencing regular contractions, and an exam by my midwife revealed that I was dilated to two centimeters. Suspecting at first a UTI, which in some instances can lead to preterm labor, lab work was collected but actually ruled out any type of infection. Next was the fear that I may have a placenta previa or, even worse, a placental abruption, but thankfully, both of these were ruled out with an in depth ultrasound. I was started on oral doses of terbutaline to help stop my contractions, and injections of betamethasone to improve baby's lung development in the event that I did indeed deliver at 32 weeks (in which case I would have been transported to a different hospital, one with a tertiary care nursery; our hospital has only a Level II Special Care Nursery.)

Darren was able to be with me for most of the past two days, as fortunately my dad and my best friend were available to take turns watching our big kids. I was able to come home late this afternoon, but will continue the terbutaline until I reach 36 weeks. I also received orders that I am not to return to work until after the baby is born, and I have been placed on modified bed rest...meaning that I may resume normal, light household duties, stopping to rest every 2-3 hours. I feel quite optimistic at this point that we will ultimately experience a term, healthy delivery of our baby girl, but I am still, of course, a little worried about the logistics of how these next few weeks will work. Darren is planning to take the next two days off from work, and don't worry: I have no plans for any further home organization projects! We'd already made great progress and the rest is stuff that Darren can finish...under my scrutinous supervision, of course! :)

I think my biggest worry at this point is the continuing care of our sweet little Caitlyn. While she is recovering remarkably well, and is, for the most part, in very good spirits, she still refuses to use her crutches, despite the fact that we've been practicing with her all week. I'm still not entirely convinced that they're the right size for her, and she is having such trouble coordinating her efforts. And she screams every time that it's hurting her, and finally she just refuses to try any further. Exasperating as it was last week, I'm really starting to panic now as there is no way I will be lifting her for any reason from this point on. We're going to speak with her doctor tomorrow about the possibility of a walker, with which we think she might have a little more success.

I'm off now to enjoy a quick dinner with my hubby and kiddos, who I missed soooo much while I was in the hospital, and I'm really looking forward to following it with a nice, long, HOT shower! I can't wait to enjoy a nice long rest tonight in my own comfy bed. And please, if you could continue to pray for our family, we'd really appreciate it! Thanks, friends. I'll try to update frequently!

Our weekend, and a prayer request

Friends, it was a rough weekend. Caitlyn and I became the most recent victims of the nasty stomach bug that's been making it's way through our family late Friday afternoon. (Dylan, Darren, and Meghan had all previously suffered through it in the preceding week or two.) As Caitlyn and I were both pretty much bedridden (between trips to bathroom) for most of Friday and Saturday, all previous plans were cancelled, including "Cowboy Days" at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, which we had all been really looking forward to, a birthday celebration for my Nana, and a half shift at work Saturday night.

By Sunday morning, though, we were both feeling remarkably well, so after church yesterday afternoon, we ventured out to the second day of "Cowboy Days" and had a great time. In fact, I planned to blog about it last night.

However...

We decided upon returning home that, given that extra hour of daylight, we still had plenty of time to play in the backyard and work a bit in the garden. The kids were having a blast swinging, while I sat at the picnic table resting and alternately watching them and Darren, who was working on planting at the flower bed. My gaze had just turned from Caitlyn, gleefully suspended in mid-swing, when I heard the sound of her screams. In that short instant, one of the chains of her swing had somehow slipped off of it's hook, and she was thrown to the ground below, where she sat screaming and cradling her leg. Quickly scooping her up, Darren carried her into the house where we performed a quick assessment and found, to our horror, an ominous lump on her right shin. Given the fact that she was screaming in anguish, saying she couldn't move her leg, and trembling with pain, we wasted no time in bundling her into the van for a trip to the ER. Darren accompanied her while I stayed home with Dylan and Meghan, though it was pure torture for me to wait anxiously by the phone the entire time they were gone. After several hours and a series of X-rays, it was determined that Caitlyn had, as we feared, broken her leg. (More specifically, she suffered a spiral fracture of the distal shaft of her right tibia.) The orthopedic surgeon who was consulted last night felt confident that surgery was not indicated, so a temporary cast was placed from above her right knee to the tip of her toes until he can assess her again (hopefully tomorrow).

It was after 11 when Darren and Caitlyn finally returned home last night, and we tucked her tenderly into a little "nest" I had prepared for her on the sofa in our bedroom. She woke up once in extreme pain at around 2:45 this morning, at which point we medicated her with Tylenol and codeine, and we've decided to keep her (at least for a day or two) on a three hour alternating schedule of the Tylenol with codeine and Motrin, which were prescribed for her last night. I hate, hate, hate seeing her in such pain! Darren has been calling every medical supply place in town this morning in an attempt to procure a set of pediatric crutches, but none seem to be available in quite the right size. For now it looks like the best we'll be able to do is to have set delivered from Albuquerque to a local store tomorrow. Thankfully, Darren is able to be home for the next couple of days to be with us and to help our poor sweet little Cait.

But if it's not too much trouble, do you think you could spare a quick prayer or two for the comfort and quick, uncomplicated healing of our little girl? Thank you so much!

Signs of Spring

Probably one of the best indications (at least for me) that Spring is arriving soon is the fact that I've been out and about with my camera again! How dreary our gardens were during the long, cold winter. It makes me so happy to see such beautiful signs of new life now every time I'm outside. We've seen a couple of butterflies, many buzzing bees, birds are visiting in abundance, and the air feels so invigoratingly fresh and inviting. Even the sky, it seems, is exceptionally beautiful these days!

My spirit is rejuvenated with the tantalizing breath of Spring, and in all areas of my life I am seeking to find balance, order, and harmony. This is why, in fact, I've been so intent on organizing my home over these past couple of weeks. Sweet Frances commented recently, "Don't forget to use this time to work on the virtues you'll need as a mom-to-a-newborn, too. A well-ordered soul can be as beneficial as a tidy, beautiful home, I think." And she is so right! But in my experience, my soul finds no rest in a disorganized, chaotic home. It's not so much a matter of cleanliness, really; my floors are in a near constant need of a good sweeping and mopping, the toilets could really use a good scrubbing, and the dust bunnies under the beds have, I think, established permanent residence. For me, it's more about having a place for everything, with everything in it's place. Over every winter, it seems, I grow lazy in keeping a tight reign on the clutter and mess a family of five tends to generate. Drawers are soon overflowing with needless excess, toys have multiplied and migrated to any unoccupied space, cabinets are filled to bursting with unused accessories, and closets have become sanctuary to any and all "homeless" items, large or small. I can only tolerate the mess to a very short extent! And then, just in time, comes the Spring, and I am more than ready and willing to reclaim order in my home. It's why I've been re-reading A Mother's Rule of Life, and why, after procrastinating for much too long, I've finally bought myself a copy of Sarah Ban Breathnach's Mrs. Sharp's Traditions: Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations Of Comfort & Joy. What a blessing this book has been! I saw it first highly recommended by Cheryl, and, as our personalities seem so similar, I knew it would be a book I'd greatly enjoy.


I love the simple ideas this book has to offer. My kids, especially Dylan, love the suggested "Children's Hour" we've begun to implement in the evenings. Whereas baths were usually, before, a frenzied mess of toys and splashing, with all the kids thrown into the tub together for a quick scrub, we've been following a more peaceful approach lately, with separate baths and a soothing rub of baby oil before pajamas. We've been better about story time before bed, too, which follows immediately after baths and helps settle the kids down to sleep. In anticipation of the time change next weekend, I've been getting up extra early to get my chores done before the kids wake up, so that after lunch we can all have a nice quiet nap time. This affords them extra time in the evenings to spend with us, which we'll really enjoy once we have more hours of daylight.

Mrs. Sharp also describes an idyllic children's garden (complete with walking paths, archways, benches, stone statues, and little hideaways), which I immediately shared with Darren. We're rethinking, now, the layout of our garden for this year, and while I was a little worried that we were getting started too late, I'm glad now that we still have time to include the children more in our plans. We're going to sit down with them and a whole bunch of seed catalogs to gather ideas, and are brainstorming ways in which we can make our garden into more of a retreat for our little ones, as well. It is all so very exciting! And I've had forever now a copy of The Secret Garden, which I've been intending to read aloud to the kids. Today, I think, will be the perfect day to begin!

30 weeks!

Wow. Can you believe it?! 30 weeks! With each day that passes I grow increasingly excited about meeting our new little girl. I've been in extreme nesting mode for about the last two weeks, and while we've accomplished a lot, I feel there is still so much to be done! We ordered a computer armoire for our bedroom last night to contain the ugliness of electronics (so not peaceful), and today I received a changing table, double stroller, baby swing, and TONS of the sweetest little baby girl clothes from my sister in law! I am so very, very happy right now. I cannot wait to finish getting our bedroom set up to accommodate Baby! I am currently in the process of switching out dresser drawers, rearranging our closet, and mapping the furniture layout of our bedroom to best suit all of our needs. Do I seem over eager? :) I keep telling myself to slow down, I still have ten weeks to go...but then I remember that if this baby follows the precedent set by Meghan, I may actually have only five. I hope that doesn't happen, but I'd like to be a little more prepared a little further in advance! And to that end, I'm off now to finish sorting the piles of stuff heaped on top of my dresser; there is no way I can sleep one more night in this mess!