Five Months Later - I'm Back!

Whew, what a crazy 5 months it's been...insane!

1) This summer was out of control with days upon days of 100+ degree weather! We had a small reprise with a 5-day vacay in Southern California visiting our good friends.

Libby's First Trip to the Beach! She loved it! San Clemente - August 6, 2011

2) I am pregnant! We're expecting a son on January 17, 2012...just six days before Libby's second birthday. I found out just after I posted my last post on Mother's Day. Apparently we got pregnant on Easter. Guess an EXTRA special egg was delivered!

Our Baby Boy on the Way! EDD 01.17.12

3) We bought a house! We made the offer on July 1 and moved in over Labor Day Weekend. It's 2,000 sq. feet (so nearly double the size of the rental we've been in for the past three years), 2-story and has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths with a two car garage.

View of our new home's interior from the entry way

So yeah, that's why I've been away. Plus work was wacky all summer too with two positions downsized (I am now a department of 1.5...don't ask!), travel for a seminar we hosted, many meetings and special projects.

Fall is finally here and at 25 weeks pregnant I am looking to slow down a bit now that we're all moved into our new place.

More to come!

16-Hour Day

Today was long! We headed down to our tour and meeting on the campus of California University of Pennsylvania this morning. Thankfully, we took advantage of the business center at the Hampton Inn and printed out Mapquest directions. We also got some for the drive back to the airport so I could make it to my flight on time!

The school was lovely and perfect for our seminar this summer. I hope our attendees feel the same! We had a delicious lunch that included local veggies and herbs that the chef grows in campus! Nice.

Thankfully, Mapquest came through and I was at the airport in about 40-minutes. I was super early, but that was fine by me. I was headed home to see my loves! After 5 days away last month, I knew if I could be gone only two days and one night this time, that's what I was gonna do. Plus, this way, I get ALL of Friday off and can be home with Libby rather than using it to travel home. But that means putting in a 16-hour day. By the time I get home it'll be midnight (yay for free WiFi at the airport)!

This is the first time since the TSA restrictions post-9/11, that I've flown with just a carry-on. I found a mini-sized hair mousse that did the job. Otherwise, I would have had to check a bag, which seems silly for just one night away. But, my hair really looks awful without mousse taming it's curliness. I got to the airport and changed out of my work clothes and into jeans and a sweater. I also pumped and dumped. This will be the last time I ever pump. I stopped pumping during the work day after I got back from Chicago last month. It's been great to not have to deal with it (pumping AND scalding milk) and I've been able to work though lunch (rather than coming home at lunchtime to nurse Libby) and get out of the office around 2:30 p.m. each day, which is great! I brought the pump on this trip just to keep up my supply and relieve pressure. I pumped once last night and once today. That's it! And dumping my milk was sort of weird. And now, once I am home, I will clean it all up and store it away until we're ready to use it for baby #2. Who's is just an idea, at this point!

Since I got to the airport so early, I've had a leisurely time in the AirMall and got this adorable stuffed owl to bring home to Libby. It's the Olio Owl from Mary Meyer's Print Pizzazz line of plush toys. She says "Awwwooooollll" and "whooo whooo" all the time, so I think she'll love this little guy! It's so hard to be away from her...even for just 24 hours...cannot wait to be home and in my own bed!

Going to California...Pennsylvania, that is...

Yep, there is a California, PA and I am headed to it tomorrow. Supposedly it's 20-minutes from where I am tonight...the Hampton Inn in Belle Vernon, PA. It took us two hours to get here from the Pittsburgh Airport which is about one hour and 15-minutes longer than it should have taken us. Two of my colleagues and I are here to visit the site where our summer seminar is being held this July. We've rented a car and a GPS system. That apparently sucks. Because it said "reaching your destination, on right" when we were smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness my colleague had her iPhone and Google App. It got us to our final destination tonight...the Hampton Inn.

This place is a trip...it's positioned strategically at the parking lot of a Walmart and down the street from a Kmart. There's a Big Lots and Payless Shoes within sight. We're in BARGAIN central, apparently. We had a late dinner at Sonny's Grille, which looks like a converted Long John Silvers. (ETA: It WAS a LJS..at least according to Yelp! LOL!) But the food was tasty, actually. I had blackened tuna and baked baby potatoes and a nice salad. I also had the caramel apple pie. Delish! We normally stay at Hiltons or Renaissance Hotels when we travel for work, but this Hampton Inn was the best hotel in the area (which is why we're staying here and not in California, I guess). It's fine and honestly, what I like about this level of hotel is FREE WiFi access and free breakfast! You have to pay $19.99 for both at a Hilton!

I have to say this is my first trip to Pennsylvania and it's pretty. But it also looks sort of shabby. Maybe that's just according to my Western eyes since being from the West Coast and now, living in the midWest, we don't have towns as old as the ones here. Let's just say that many of the buildings look worse for the wear. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what California, PA looks like. We're headed to California University of Pennsylvania bright and early tomorrow. And then sprint back to the airport so I can fly home to Tulsa. My colleagues have elected to stay an extra night in Pittsburgh, but I intend to be in my own bed by midnight!

Missing My Family

I've been away for three days and two nights...half way there. When I am busy with the conference, it's not too bad. But the down time is killer. That's when the loneliness creeps in. I miss my husband's hugs and kisses. I miss my baby's snuggles. Today, I talked to her on speaker phone and sang Itsy Bitsy Spider to her. Then she said, "mama, mama, mama..." and as she repeated it her voice changed from happy to sad. Almost desperately so. And it made me choke up. I cannot even imagine what her 13-month-old self must be thinking about my being gone. I know when she's older she won't remember that I was gone for 5 days when she was just one year old. But right now, I really wonder what is going through her head when she looks for me and I'm not there.

My mom assured me that Libby's eating and sleeping just fine, so that's a comfort. Especially since I just found out I'll have to be away again next month for a working trip. I've opted to take the late flight home after my meeting so I will only need to be away one night (two whole days). As someone who's always loved to travel...even for business...it's weird to feel this way now. But life has changed. I want to be home with my family. I want to sleep in my bed. Two years ago I would have been so stokked to be in Chicago for 5 days. But now, I'm just hoping the days pass quickly so I can pack up and get back to the airport on my way home.

Tonight, I was lucky to meet one of the women that I chat with in an online forum...we chat online daily, are Facebook friends, but we've never met in life until tonight. She lives about 40 minutes from Chicago and wanted to do dinner. So we met at a great tapas bar, had a lovely meal and great conversation. She is a music teacher who has a son who's about 6 months younger than Libby and she and her hubby were married in Hawaii, so we have much in common. I really appreciated her taking the time to come out, on a school night, and meet me for dinner. I've met some really fantastic women online and we're all friends who have genuinely supported each other through wedding planning, being newlyweds, trying to conceive, pregnancy and now, motherhood.

Planning for this trip, I turned to them for advice on how to maintain my milk supply. So far, I am pumping 5 times each day and eating oatmeal. I brought fenugeek tea, but haven't used it yet. When I pump I am getting 5-6 oz. per 10 minute session, so I feel confident that my milk supply will no suffer from this trip. I've rented a mini-fridge for my room so I can store the milk. My plan is to bring it home for the mama who I have been donating my milk to for her baby. As if pumping while away on business weren't challenging enough...with my excess lipase issue I had to bring a hot pot so I could scald the milk. I essentially came with an extra suitcase because I couldn't fit all of this paraphernalia into one suitcase along with my clothing, shoes and toiletries. But I figure if I'm going to express 100 ounces or so of "liquid gold" the least I could do is try to bring it back home! I'm armed with my TSA print-outs too, since the agents are notoriously ignorant of their own policies for women traveling with breastmilk, especially those who are not accompanying a baby on the trip. So wish me luck that I get a good agent who knows the deal and doesn't hassle me about my carry-on, soft-sided cooler filled with milk.

Leaving My Baby

Libby has fully recovered from her mild case of the chicken pox. The blessing of her getting it last week was that it allowed me to be home with her, which was extra special since I'll be leaving her for 5 days and 4 nights this coming week. I have a conference in Chicago to attend for work and we've decided that rather than have her and mom come with me, like we did in October when I had to go to Seattle for work, we'd just have her stay home with J and my mom and I'd go alone. I am nervous and anxious about it. Not so much about Libby...she'll probably do just fine with daddy and grandma!

I've never been away from Libby for longer than 18 hours! And we're still nursing so I am worried about how she'll do without her "mama milk" and how my supply will fare. I've only ever pumped once a day and never relied on pumping alone to maintain my supply. So I plan to pump at least 5 times each day that I am away (Tues-Sat). I've arranged for a mini-fridge in my hotel room so I can store the milk. Since Libby won't do previously frozen milk, my hope is to bring it back and give it to the adoptive mom to whom I've been donating my extra milk. I want to bring it back refrigerated, not frozen, so the mom can either use it right away or freeze it and use it when she needs it. If I try to freeze it at the hotel I am worried it will defrost by the time my flight home lands and then she'll have to ALL of it within 48 hours or toss it. We shall see.

For now, my plan is to pump, scald using an electric hot pot (I did this in Seattle) and then cool the milk in the fridge. Once it's cool I'll transfer it to a Lanisoh Milk Storage Bag. I'll collect all of those bags into one or two gallon Ziploc bags and place in my soft-sided cooler bag to bring home on the plane. When I check out of the hotel, I'll get a bag of ice to keep things cool until I get to the airport. Then, I'll toss that and once I clear TSA with the milk, get some more ice from a vendor on the other side. I hope this works! I've been scouring the Internet for tips from other pumping-and-traveling mamas and this is what they do (except for the scalding thing...which only mamas with excess lipase have to do). I know it seems like a lot to manage and it would be so much easier to pump-and-dump, but that's a lot of precious breastmilk to waste when it could feed a baby! I am guessing I'll have 100+ ounces to bring back...hopefully TSA will be cool about it. I've downloaded their latest guidelines for nursing mothers traveling with milk but without their baby and plan to have a copy on me if I am given any hassles about it. I pray that I don't end up in a scenario like this nursing mother! Sadly, this went down in November 2010, so I am hoping the TSA in Chicago know better than these morons in Phoenix.

Libby has never taken much expressed breastmilk in my absence. She definitely prefers her mama's milk straight from the source. Typically, she'll take 1-2 oz. by cup in the mornings, before breakfast, while I am at work. I usually come home at lunchtime and she nurses. Then she'll hold out until 4 p.m when I get home and nurse some more. Between 4-7 p.m. she typically nurses 2-3 times and has dinner. These nursing sessions include the one before bed. And she'll wake 1-2 times before 5 a.m. and nurse. Since we're doing Baby Led Weaning and still actively nursing she gets the bulk of her nutrition (probably close to 75%) from my milk still.

So I am really anxious to know how she'll handle me being gone for 5 days. I hope deciding not to take her is the right choice. She refuses to take any previously frozen milk and doesn't like cow's milk. So, I've been pumping like a mad woman since Tuesday to store as much "fresh milk" for her as possible. I've got about 30 oz. in there now and think I'll be able to add 15-20 more to the stash before I depart on Tuesday morning. So that'll give her about 10 oz. milk/day. The rest? I've told my mom and J to get as much food in  her as possible, especially higher-fat foods like full-fat yogurt and cottage cheese (which she likes to eat) and offer her cow's milk at regular intervals. If she refuses the cow's milk then offer her water. Luckily, she's in the 90th percentile for weight so even if she drops a little weight while I am gone it won't be detrimental. I am hoping she'll take the cow's milk if she's really wanting milk and has had all of mine for the day. If it's gets desperate and she's hardly eating anything, they can give her a little fruit and vanilla ice cream milkshake. I've also asked my mom and J not to share too many details about how much she has or hasn't eaten or how much milk she's taken because it'll just make me insane to be a thousand miles away and unable to do anything about it.

Wish me luck. I hope it goes well for her. And me. And J and my mom. Right now I just have a pit in my stomach even thinking about it.

Time Flies!

I am a bad blogger! Ever since this summer, I've really not kept up with it. I've resolved that 2011 I'd get back to posting more regularly. So here goes...

Time has certainly flown! I can hardly believe me baby girl is going to be one year old in less than a week. Holy moly! She's nearly walking and has been talking up a storm for the past few weeks.

Here's where we left off with the blog....I'll catch you up with photos!

August 2010:


First Plane Ride...to CA to see friends and family









September 2010:

First Labor Day

Meltdown in Three Clicks

October 2010:

Trip to Seattle...I had to work so my mom came along so I could have Libby with me



Living in a hotel for 10 days is rough!

Nine Month Photoshoot with Malisa Morgan Waldrop in Woodward Park:

First Halloween - Our Little Busy Bee

We had an awesome first Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with her paternal grandparents:

First time with her paternal grandfather and stepgrandmother

Libby's first Christmas was so fun! There's so much magic to the season viewed from a little's eyes!

Here are some favorite photos from December 2010:

First look at Christmas lights

Small Christmas Tree for her room

Newest ornament



first carousel ride



Holiday Portraits

They were a hit on our holiday cards this year!

First visit with Santa Claus

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning with new toys from Santa Claus

Christmas night with new ball pit from uncle and auntie

Whew! What a whirlwind the past six months have been! So much has happened. Libby's gone from crawling to standing to cruising to walking with a push toy. It's only a matter of time before she ditches the push toy and takes off on her own!

She's still LOVING her books and has quite the vocabulary these days. We love when she says, "bumble, bumble" (bumblebee), "purple," and "hippopapa" (hippopatamus)...she also says: mama, dada, gah (grandma), puppy, kitty cat, blue, shoe, clap, cup, book, all done, night-night, car, and hi.



Our little being will be ONE on January 25th...her first birthday party is this Saturday!

I've done a lot of DIY for her party and will post pics on Sunday!

Where does the time go?

It's been six weeks since my last post.  A what a jam-packed six weeks it has been.  Sadly, I don't have time to write about all that has gone on right now. Why?  Because I am leaving for 10 days tomorrow.  Me, my mom and Libby will be headed to Seattle for 10 days.  I have a work an annual work assignment at our international convention and this year we decided it would be best for all involved if Libby came with me.  So my mom signed up to watch after her the 10-12 hours a day I'll be working.  But it'll be worth it to see her in the evenings and snuggle and nurse all night long.  Daddy will stay home with all four dogs and the cat and pretend he's a bachelor again!  Well, not really.  He actually has to study for midterms.  But he'll surely enjoy some pizza and beer, no doubt.

So...I promise more of an update on all that's happened in the past six weeks and really, this summer, once I am home.  For now...here's a quick rundown...job woes, degree options, sprinting crawls, sharp teeth, and hundreds pumpkins.  Yep.  That about sums it up.  More details coming soon!

Home is where the heart is...

I've been a bad blogger. This summer has been so crazy and so many unexpected things have come to pass that I cannot keep up...

On Sunday we returned from a week long vacation in California. It started with a cousin's wedding in Beverly Hills, two nights at my-best-friend-since-the-third-grade's house in Alta Loma followed by a six hour drive north on Highway 5 to my twin brother's house in Tracy. While we were all at the wedding his plumbing backed up and flooded his house! What a nightmare. His babysitter (who was watching four kids at the time) managed to clean up the worst of it, but he and my sister-in-law returned home on Monday and did the rest of the dirty work. When we arrived on Tuesday evening, there was a wrecking crew there taking out floors and drywall and installing huge, industrial fans and dehumidifiers. We stayed one night and decided to move on to our BFFs place in Modesto. They just welcomed their second son in July and have a two year old. We stayed in their cozy guest room for three nights and then returned to my brother's for one last night before heading to the airport at 4 a.m. We landed in Tulsa at 6 p.m. and by then had sore throats. Not good.

Monday I went into work for 5 hours and then came home early so J could go to class (since my mom is still on vacation, visiting her sisters in Oregon). I got home and spiked a fever and had chills as well as achy joints. Libby had a runny nose and was feverish too. We climbed into bed and napped and nursed off and on from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. J has a scratchy throat too and was feeling run down as well. We turned in at 9 p.m. but were up all night with Libby. I finally conceded to sleeping with her in the rocker/recliner in her nursery. At 8 a.m. I fell into bed while J got her ready to see the pedi. Turns out she has a virus that needs to run its course. I assume J and I have the same. I stayed home from work today to rest and hopefully kick this bug! It sucks that the price for a week away from home is coming back sick. Libby is 7 months and 6 days old and this is the first time she's every been ill. So sad. Hopefully it'll pass quickly.

Our week in California was a whirlwind. We crammed in as many visits as possible and Libby met a ton of people...she loved every moment! She's SO social. She slept like a rock each night from all of the activity which impressed upon us that we need to do more with her, here at home.  Speaking of home, Sunday, when we arrived in Tulsa and made our drive into midtown to our neighborhood I actually felt like we were on our way home.  Weird.  It's taken two years for me to feel that way.  Before, I felt like going to California was going home and although being there feels SO familiar and comfortable, it didn't exactly feel like home anymore.  I do not miss the crazy traffic and hectic pace there at all.  And the smoggy air either.  I do miss the people though.  My brothers and best friends.  I will I could get them all to move here!  Thankfully, my mom is here...if she weren't I know I'd be more homesick.  So...for now, Tulsa is home. It's our daughter's birthplace.  And where we'll be for some time.  That said, I cannot wait until our next trip to California.  Maybe for Libby's first birthday?  We shall see.

New Stuff

I have totally been slacking on updating the blog.  Work has been insanely busy and we had about a week of Libby not wanting to sleep.  I think due to teething (again) and developmental strides.  Thankfully, the last few nights she's settled back into a routine of going down for the night without a problem.  I swear, I thought we might kill the blow dryer and break the rocking chair last week!

Libby's high chair arrived last week and it was a snap to put together.  It's a Keekaroo Height Right Chair.  We got it with the tray and cushion set:

The only thing "wrong" with it is that the warning label and logo were upside down on the parts.  Perhaps that's why I got such a deal on it from Overstock.com.  We paid less than $200 for it...similarly designed Svans and Tripp Trapps go for much more than that, so I am glad we found this deal.  We definitely needed to get something that she won't outgrow since she is tending to be WAY off the charts in height and weight for her age.  We just moved her into size 18-24 month clothing this week and she'll only be 6 months old come Sunday.

She loves sitting in her chair and started joining us for meal times.  She's tasted a few things but has yet to really eat any food.  That's okay with us and definitely part of baby-led solids anyway.  Thankfully she's still nursing like a champ and my milk supply is as strong as ever (despite taking a hit last month due to stress).

We also got rid of her adorably cute but oh so impractical Bebe Lace Green rug.  I love the design of it but it's impossible to keep clean even though we are shoe-free household and I vacuum it religiously. It seems to just attract dust like a magnet!  After three months of use it was looking really shabby and not in a chic way. It wasn't cheap either and I am frustrated that a rug specifically designed and sold for children's rooms is so difficult.  So, it's off to the cleaners to see if they can do anything for it and in its place are these awesome foam tiled squares.  We got them in pink and white (one set of each color) for $49 from GetRung.com.  They shipped quickly and were so easy to lay out and snap together.  I put them in a checkerboard pattern (trying to echo the patchwork quilt on the daybed) and although they're not as "shabby chic" as my adorable yet filthy area rug, they are super cute and better still, super functional.  Libby loved them immediately...she felt the texture of them for a good 20 minutes.  And when she topples over she doesn't cry because they absorb the fall (unlike said chi-chi area rug, even with a pad)!

We are also preparing to take our first plane ride with Miss Libby and have decided to lug our Graco32 and Snap 'n' Go along for the trip.  I wasn't comfortable renting a car seat and bringing our own seems to be the best solution.  That said, she HATES being in it on the Snap 'n' Go because she'd rather sit up when she's strolling (we usually take her for walks in a second-hand Schwinn Jog Stroller that I got for $30), but we're bringing it anyway to navigate the airports on our travel days.  We also got a J.L. Childress Ultimate Carseat Travel Bag to protect the car seat since they can get pretty beat up even when they are gate checked. 

And I finally got an Ergo!  We went with the Ergo Sport in black since it's supposedly a better fit for larger/taller parents and cooler fabric for the baby.  I tried it the other day and the jury is still out on whether or not I like it.  Libby seems sort of squished in it, at least when she is in front.  I have yet to try a back carry with it.  I have 30 days to return it and well, I am just not sure about it.  I think I prefer wraps.  I really, really want a Storchenwiege (Anna) or Vatanai (Koira) but they are pricey, especially because I want to get the longest size.  So, maybe in the Fall I will have the funds to get a woven wrap.  Libby seems to like being wrapped as well and I love that there are so many versatile carries that can be done with a wrap.  Wovens are supposed to be very supportive which is essential since she's over 20 lbs. now.  I wish there were a babywearing group or MeetUp here in Tulsa so I could meet other parents who wear their babies and also see/try out different wraps and carriers.  I might just have to start one up...I see moms from time to time out and about with their little ones in ring slings or mei teis, so I know I am not the only one in town!

What's on your list?

Found this list at JanineB's blog and wanted to play along too. 

The things I've done are bolded:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondla
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been inside an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90 Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Eaten lunch on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
101. Lit candles at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
102. Been stopped by the cops for making out in my car
103. Been threatened with arrest
104. Had surgery
105. Played on the beach at Malibu
106. Been a bridesmaid
107. Caught the bouquet
108. Been engaged
109. Broken off engagement
110. Acted in a play
111. Directed a play
112. Been to Las Vegas
113. Been to Euro Disney
114. Been to Disney World
115. Been to Capri
116. Seen a snow capped mountain only from afar
117. Been to the Atlantis in the Bahamas
118. been given a kiss that makes you weak in the knees
119. participated in an international student exchange
120. kept a juicy secret for a good friend no one else knows
121. shared a juicy secret with a good friend you haven't shared with anyone else

How many can you check off? What would you add?

I’m adding:

122. Been to Greece
123. Sung at on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera
124. Picked wild blueberries in Alaska
125. Owned a convertible car.
126. Been on television
127. Got a tattoo
128. Divorced
129. Remarried
130. Visited Fiji
131. Camped in Yosemite
132. Hiked to a waterfall
133. Met royalty
134. Ridden in a hot air balloon
135. Stomped grapes into wine
136. Won prize money

Overdue Update

My last post was right before I headed to Nashville for 10 days for work. It was our 63rd Annual Convention and Competition and we had well over 7,000 attendees from all around the world. We even established a new world record for the largest singing lesson ever! The week was jam packed and unfortunately, lots of sickness was swirling around! Of the 22 staff members who went, two came back with H1N1, three with Bronchitis, one with Tonsillitis and one more with a sprained shoulder after falling on-site. EEK!

I managed to scrape by with the same stuff nose and chest congestion I had before I went. Turns out it's my raging fall allergies! I am allergic to the leaves that fall off the trees and decompose this time of year. As much as I love fall in all it's crispy, colorful glory, I do not like my nasal reactions to it all. Thankfully, Zyrtec is helping it all and I have managed to be able to breathe through my nose now with it and faithful use of my SinuCleanse neti pot. I did have to travel home from Nashville with my stuffy nose and that led to the most painfully blocked Eustachian tube ever! I was desperate for relief, which finally came 12 hours later with a trip to the pharmacy at 2 a.m. for some real-behind-the-counter-so-meth-cooker-cannot-get-it Sudafed, more time wrestling with my neti pot and a hot shower. Oy! I can totally see why babies cry on airplanes! It hurt so bad, I cannot even tell you.

I took last Monday and Tuesday off to recover from the breakneck schedule in Detroit and on Monday I saw our OB/GYN. We got another peek a lil' miss Libby...who's measuring at around 2.5 lbs. at 26 weeks gestation:

She's very active now and I feel her kicks and jabs nearly every hour or so. Some are even visible on the outside. From here forward, I see my OB/GYN every two weeks instead of every four. Next time, November 9, I get the Glucose Screening to test for Gestational Diabetes. I was in such a panic about it that I've had my mom test me with her blood sugar kit just to be sure. So far, there's nothing to worry about...thank goodness! Hopefully, I'll pass the one-hour glucose screening so I won't be subjecting to the more trying three-hour test. It also means we'll get to "see" miss Libby again. Yay! I love to see her and hear her heartbeat.

As Libby has begun to grow, so have I! I have only gained 3 lbs. this entire pregnancy (which is okay since I was very "fluffy" to start), but my waistline is ever-expanding:

I am feeling pretty good considering I am now in the third trimester. I do have some achy joints and such and sleeping soundly through the night has become a novelty. It's a rare occasion that I am getting a full night's sleep that is uninterrupted. But I figure that's my body's way of preparing me to take care of a little infant. We start our Bradley Classes next week and J has been reading up on Husband Coached Childbirth and taking copious notes.

The stuff we need for Libby is slowly coming together too...we just got the SpaBaby (aka Tummy) Tub. It mimics more closely the baby's feeling of being in utero...the videos on YouTube of calm little babies enjoying their baths convinced me that I wanted to try it rather than go with the traditional, reclined infant tubs.

We have yet to get a crib or car seat, so they are next on the list. I am not as concerned about getting the crib before Libby arrives because we do have an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper than we plan to use for the first several months anyway. But every baby is different and it would be nice to have a crib if she's the type of baby that prefers not to room-in with mommy and daddy as well as to have a place for her to nap safely during the day. Thank goodness for my mother... she has been instrumental in us getting all of our baby gear together. Yay for grandma!

Well that's all for now. J and I have a photo shoot on Saturday morning at Woodward Park with the puggies. It's a maternity/family portrait session. I am so excited! The weather has been gorgeous and is forecasted to remain through Saturday. It's a beautiful time of year in the park with all of the leaves changing. I'll post proofs as soon as I can.

Pregnancy Update - 24 Weeks

Here I am at 24 weeks. Officially V-Day or viability day! Strictly speaking, most doctors define the age of viability as being about 24 weeks of gestation. In many hospitals, 24 weeks is the cutoff point for when doctors will use intensive medical intervention to attempt to save the life of a baby born prematurely. A baby born at 24 weeks would generally require a lot of intervention, potentially including mechanical ventilation and other invasive treatments followed by a lengthy stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

That said, I plan to have Miss Libby cooking in here for at least 14 or more weeks, please! She's getting bigger (I think) or at least, I am. Not so much around, but definitely my bump is firmer and growing out more. She's really active too and J felt her kick for the first time over the weekend. In fact, I was reading a book and rested it on my belly and she actually kicked it. Too funny! I think Luigi feels her too when he rests his head on my belly. She really gets active whenever I eat...I wonder if my full stomach makes less room for her or if she really likes yummy food?!

I am preparing for my last trip of the year and the last one of this pregnancy (my next one is planned for July 2010, when the baby will be 5 months or so). Off to Nashville for a 10 day International Convention. Normally, I'd be assigned to work 16 hour days, but I got a doctor's note that is restricting me to 10. That said, it will probably be closer to 12, but at least I can take breaks when I need to and also rest if I must. It's a rigorous event with only 26 staffers (from our company...tons of staff from the convention center and hotels) to about 6,000 delegates! I will be exhausted, no doubt. But it's a fun time and everyone is happy to be there, which makes for a nice working environment.

I have also been fighting some sort of wet cough for the past 5 days. I think it might be related to allergies that I sometimes get in the Fall, especially if it's been rainy (which it has been). I am basically allergic to decomposing leaves. Lovely. I have no fever or aches like a flu, but do have post-nasal drip at night (which my heartburn surely doesn't help) and that leaves me to wake up with a rattling chest cough. I finally broke down and got some Robitussin DM yesterday (it's on my doc's "safe list") so I could sleep through the night without hacking and hopefully, thin some of the phlegm. The last thing I want is that Mucinex dude and his family settling into my lungs for the winter. Ew.

Oh and my size 7 wedding ring is officially too small to leave on now. I mean, it fits, but it's snug to take off and I am worried that if I leave it on much longer I won't have any wiggle room to get it off! Luckily, my mom has let me wear her size 8 yellow diamond three stone ring until mine fits again. I am glad that my hand doesn't have to go unadorned for four more months of pregnancy and who knows how long afterward (I am assuming my finger will shrink back to its pre-preg size)!

Other than that, not much is going on. My next appointment is after I get back from Nashville. I have started a list of questions I want to address with my OB/GYN about the birthing process. I also plan to visit our hospital's labor and delivery ward on November 9th. We have our maternity photos scheduled for November 7th and our birthing classes start on November 14th. I am happy to have this one last working trip here so that I can get through it and onto being home and getting prepared for baby. My nesting instinct tends to kick in this time of year, around the holidays, and this year, it's even stronger!