Baby Items to Love and Hate

I've been meaning to do this post for awhile to help expecting moms out there who may read my blog.

What baby items can I not live without,

and what was a huge waste of money...

I realize a lot of people may have differing opinions, as we all have our own systems we've developed and each baby is different. But this is just my list. Maybe it will help you out. Here it goes.

Definitely do NOT need:

• Ottoman to the glider. This makes me laugh. When I bought my glider and ottomon, the lady at the store convinced me that this is where I would be spending hours with my baby. I thought, well, it better be the most comfortable, best one. And I have to have the matching ottomon that rocks too so I can put my feet up while I'm nursing or rocking the baby to sleep. First of all, I spend maybe 5 minutes per day in this chair. Because our bedroom is right next door to the nursery, it's easier and so much more comfy to feed him in bed. Brett goes and gets him and brings him right to me. {I do realize however, that if your master bedroom was down and the nursery was upstairs, you might just stay in there and nurse, but I didn't.} So that is why I didn't need to buy the best glider. But the ottomon is the worst purchase ever--I feel like it just gets in the way of the room, and if you are going to rock in the chair, you kinda need your feet on the ground to build the momentum to rock. Does that make sense? Anyways, I could have saved myself $450 and not gotten the ottomon. I only sit in the chair with Preston in the evenings to read him his goodnight story and rock him for about 2 minutes. Any rocking chair will do. And you do not need an ottomon. {just my opinion}.
• "Incredible Crib Sheet" or Sheet Savers. I was convinced I would need 3-4 of these. I was told that when the baby wets the crib in the middle of the night, it is easier to just change the sheet saver rather than to remove and replace the actual crib sheet. That made sense to me. Who wants to change a bed sheet in the middle of the night? Problem is that Preston has never once leaked onto his bed sheet. My question for these people is, "What kind of diapers are you using?" We use Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive, and rarely do they leak. Just get yourself one spare crib sheet and in the event that your little one wets the bed, put the spare on.
• Plastic Bibs--What the heck? How did I think these were better than cloth bibs?? Maybe I just don't know yet because so far Preston only eats rice cereal and oatmeal, but I tried one of my 30 plastic bibs that I have, and the food leaked all down the bib, straight into Preston's lap. Even the ones with the pouches at the bottom were messy. Maybe these will be better just for snacks that aren't so liquid-y? Can someone please explain to me the purpose of a plastic bib? And don't say they are easier to clean, because I do laundry everyday so its just as easy to toss the cloth ones in the washer. Plus I like that you can easily take the bottom of the bib and wipe their mouth with it.
• Gowns--I feel like I'm the minority here because so many people tell me they love putting their babies in gowns, especially as newborns, but I just never liked them. He would awake in the middle of the night and the gown would be wrapped around his waist, and then I just thought his legs were probably cold. I prefer the footed onesies.
• Bottle Brush--Being a breastfeeding mom, I am able to clean the bottles just by swishing the inside with water a few times. Then into the dishwasher. There hasn't been a time yet that I've needed to use a bottle brush. But formula may be different. Not sure.

Can't Live Without:

• Changing pad sheets--Same idea as the sheet savers I mentioned earlier, except these go over the changing pad cover. I actually do use these- a lot. My grandmother brought a whole bunch over to me the week before I had Preston, and I am so glad. Here the idea of a "sheet saver" makes sense because you can see why the changing pad may get dirty. It's easy to just throw it into the wash and put a new one on the changing pad. {Of course I still wash the actual changing pad about once a week because I'm a germ freak.}
• Halo Sleep Sacks- Preston sleeps in one every night. {When he was a newborn we used the ones with the built-in swaddle, but now he just wears the sleeveless vest looking one.} It might be in my head, but the one or two nights we didn't put him in it, he didn't sleep as well. Maybe he got cold. It's just an extra layer of warmth and I don't have to worry about a blanket suffocating him. But a question for other moms--When can you start putting a loose blanket in the crib? Am I there yet?
• Plenty of washcloths, bibs, and binkies--I am constantly wetting a washcloth to wipe his face and hands. You need at least 10 washcloths. Same for bibs. I just went out and bought a 10-pack of plain white bibs. Once your baby is in the drooling phase (about 4-5 months) you will go through about 6/day! As for binkies, there is a binky-fairy out there just like the sock-fairy. It comes through your house and myseteriously takes them all. Seriously, where do all the binkys go? I will buy 10 and have a hard time finding just ONE. About to make another trip to stock up AGAIN!
• Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump--Oh the relationship I have with my breastpump. I'm ready for it to be over, but I'm not ready for breastfeeding to be over, so that means the pump sticks around awhile longer. This is a great one though and I've had no complaints.
• Safefit Baby in Sight Mega Mirror--It goes in the backseat so you can see your baby while you are driving. I can't imagine not having it. I am always checking to see what he's doing back there {while still safely keeping my eyes on the road, don't worry}.
• Blankets-you can't have too many blankets. I think having about 10 is normal. I have about 5 thick ones that I use to put on the floor for playtime/tummytime {I love Swaddle Designs for this}. And beware, as soon as you throw one down for tummy time, baby will spit up while he's on his tummy and it will be time to replace. Or the dog comes in and decides to roll around on the blanket...NEXT. Yes, this contributes to doing a lot of laundry.Then I have about 5 lightweight ones to grab for a stroller or carseat ride {I love Aden + Anais for these}. In the beginning, both of these brands make great swaddler blankets too. But like I said earlier, the best swaddler that he couldn't get out of was the Halo Sleep Sacks with the built in swaddler.

I saved the best for last...

• Bugaboo Chameleon Stroller--I was not sure if I just wanted this just because it was cute, or if I was actually going to love it for its functionality. The latter has proved true. I LOVE this stroller. {Remember, I bought it used off craigslist. I would never pay the retail price of $900. But it's pretty awesome.} If you are looking for a stroller that does everything, check out Craigslist for a used Bugaboo Chameleon. {Warning: Craigslist is creepy, but in this case its ok}. I do not have a jogger stroller, an umbrella stroller, and so on. I just have one great stroller that does everything. My favorite parts about it are that it has three different positions, plus a bassinet attachment which is so adorable, and the seat can face both ways so depending on where the sun is, you can move your child around so the sun is not in his eyes. The sun canopy is fantastic-ly designed. Say the sun is beaming to the left, but you still want your child to be able to see his surroundings on the right. Just pull the canopy over his left side. It's so well thought out. All of these are things you will not understand until you are a mom, but just trust me that you will love it. The colored accessories are just an added bonus, but the stroller would still be cool even if it wasn't so gosh darn cute. **Preston loves his stroller so much that he takes 3 naps a day in it!!**

A note about bottles--Don't antagonize over which is the best bottle. I did. You read all the reviews and they all have people saying that they all leak. Who are these people? I use the Avent bottles and never once have they leaked or have I had any problem with them. I feel like a bottle is a bottle. Just get some. {But I have only used Avent, so maybe that means Avent is the way to go.}

Last but not least, I really like my Diaper Dekor, and I'm indifferent on my wipe warmer and bottle warmer. They are kinda nice to have, I guess, but definitely you don't need them. My mom uses the bottle warmer daily when I'm at work, and I keep telling her she can just hold the bottle under warm water, but I guess the bottle warmer is nice. She likes it. And for the wipe warmer--it doesn't make Preston only want warm wipes. He is not a picky baby and will take a wipe warm or cold, if he has to. So I feel like it's a nice touch when we are at home.

Well..hope this helped someone out there :)

Preston's Birth Story

Finally getting some free time again! Preston is such a great napper during the day, so I am finally getting caught up on housework, sleep, and blogging!

Here is the story of October 5th. We showed up at the hospital at 5:45 am, after only sleeping a total of 3 hours the night before. (I was way too nervous/excited to sleep, but if I had known that was going to be my last night of uninterupted sleep, I would have tried a little harder, ha!) We got into our room immediately and I changed into my gown. Yes, I ordered my own hospital gown to bring with me. I felt a little silly but I think it made for cuter pictures. Order Here

They immediately came in to check my vitals and put in my IV. This was something I was really worried about, but it was so great because I just thought she was taking my blood, and didn't even know it was happening. (I never watch). So that part really didn't hurt at all. I was so relieved.

We tried to get some sleep while waiting for them to come check me. Around 7 am, they declared I was 2 cm. dilated, -3 station, and 60% effaced. They also did an ultrasound to confirm that Preston was indeed head down, which he was. Good boy!

At 9 am, they started me on Pitocin. Everything was really easy, and I was super bored and SUPER hungry...already! I made Brett eat his McDonald's sausage biscuit in the hall because I was too jealous to watch him eat it in front of me.

Around 11 am, my parents and sister arrived. I was so happy to see them! Still no pain and super bored, so after visiting for awhile they decided to go out to lunch, seeing that I was doing just fine.

Around 2 pm, the resident came in and declared me 3 cm and 75% effaced. At this point, I am still thinking Wow, this is really a piece of cake..no pain and just hanging out--still calling and texting friends. They told me it was time to break my water, and when they did so, I got very emotional. I have heard that this part does not hurt, but I thought it did. I think the resident that did this was not very gentile. It was also emotional to me to feel the gush of fluid because I knew that it was really happening--the baby would really be here TODAY! So I cried a little for about 15 minutes. My family came back from lunch and again, so happy to see them!

Around 3 pm, the pain set in. WOW! Now I know what people are talking about. It got so intense, so quickly, that I felt like I better go ahead and ask for the epidural. There were very little breaks in my contractions, and it was just one after the other. I was so happy to have not only Brett holding my hand, but my Mom, Dad and Sister there to support me as well. You never know how you are going to deal with intense pain, but I quickly found out. I couldn't make eye contact with anyone (nurses or family) and couldn't speak. I didn't ever scream or anything, I was just super quiet with a terrible look on my face. I would just shake my head "no" when someone tried to talk to me. In my head, I just kept repeating over and over "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It helped to focus on that.

The anesthesiologist arrived after just about 15 minutes and they asked Brett (and my family) to leave the room while they administered it to me. I always thought this was going to be the scariest part, but I was just so excited to have pain relief that I really wasn't even scared. I curled up into the position and held the nurses hand, and it was over in 2 minutes. No big deal, really. And the best part, instant relief. BEST. FEELING. EVER.

Right after the epidural, I was 4 cm. I was hoping I'd be at least a 5 or a 6 by now, so I felt like I was progressing really slow. I was super annoyed to hear I was just a 4 still. At this pace, we started thinking that maybe Preston would not arrive before midnight. Brett's parents arrived just after the epidural, and again, I was so happy they were there!

I had about an hour and a half of pain-free contractions. awesome feeling. Up until now, I believe the Pitocin drip was being administered at about 12 miliunits, but after the epidural, they pumped it up to about 20 miliunits to get things speeding up. This is when I started feeling pain in the right side of my uterus again. Yikes. Was my worst fear coming true? Was the epidural only working on half of my body?! We paged the anesthesiologist again (I insisted) and he came back and gave me what's called a bollis shot into the epidural, and made me lay on my right side so the medicine would work its way down. Not pleasant, at all. Fifteen minutes later and still no relief, so we paged him again and he gave me a second bollis. I finally started to feel some relief and felt great again...for about an hour.

Then it happened again, this time in my back. I could feel everything and was in so much pain. They suspected Preston was laying on my spine and that was causing the back labor pain. We paged the anesthesiologist again. (If you have ever noticed, I feel like all male anesthesiologists are super hot, and Brett was joking that I just wanted the hot anesthesiologist to come back in the room. ha.) Every time he came back in the room, I was like "I'm so sorry." I really wasn't sure if I was just being a wimp or if this was legitimate reason to keep paging. Anyways, this was the third bollis injection. Again, immediate relief...for about an hour.

Around 9:15, I began to get really nauseous and also had the shakes really bad. It was at this time that my parents returned from dinner and were really worried to see me like this. The pain snook back up on me, so once again, we paged that cute anesthesiologist. I felt like I was being so annoying, as this was now our 4th bollis injection. The nurses also had to give me anti-nausea medicine at this time, and had an interesting effect on me. It completely knocked me out, so I was in a dream like state. I was talking, but I knew I wasn't making any sense. I kept telling my family and Brett that I was dying and couldn't wake myself up. I also still had the shakes, and told them I felt like I was having a seizure...and dying. Needless to say, everyone was very worried.

They came in to check me again, and this time, we got a pleasant surprise. I was 9.5 cm, 100% effaced, and a +1 station! Everyone was cheering and so excited! This was the best news of the day...except for the fact that I was completely knocked out and there was no way I was going to be able to have energy to push a baby out! I started getting really worried about the fact that I couldn't wake up! This went on for about an hour as they waited for me to wake up a bit.

At 10:15, I was checked again and this time I was 10 cm. dilated, 100% effaced, and a +2 position! Dr. Dryden wanted me to sit up straight for 30 minutes before I began pushing, to let gravity force Preston down the birth canal a bit more before pushing. This was the most painful part of the whole day. The back pain was so intense. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life as I watched the clock the whole time!

Finally, Dr. Dryden came in and I was so happy to finally see her! All I wanted to do was push this baby out! She asked how I was doing, and Brett said that I told her, "I feel like I didn't even get an epidural. I'm so scared." She compassionately said "Well, let's get you another bollis." That's right, my 5th one! I finally felt relief again, and it was now time to start pushing! It was 10:58 pm. At this time everyone left the room except for Brett and my sister, Lindsay. I wanted her to be a part of the birth, and she took all of the amazing pictures for us during the birth. It was really special.

After my first push, he was crowning, and a few pushes later (just 6 minutes later) Preston Davis was born! The pushing was the easiest part of the whole day! I can't believe I was so worried about that part. Thankfully, I didn't feel a thing.

All the family and friends were called back as soon as we were done, and my mom said it was like night and day seeing me before and then when she came back in the room. She left me in the worst condition of my life, and when she came back in 30 minutes later, I was beaming and so happy! Everyone took turns passing Baby Preston around and giving plenty of kisses and hugs. It was such a special moment that I will never forget!

All in all, the day has so many ups and downs as far as pain relief goes. I thought I would just get the epidural and not ever feel a thing, but I guess they don't call it labor for nothing. At the end of the day, it was all worth it. Meeting my son was the best moment of my life, and I would do it all over again.

But I don't even want to see the bill from the anesthesiolosigts. Ugh.

Baby Update

We had our last doctor's appointment this morning, and all is well! I am still just 1 cm. dilated, but am about 75% effaced now. We have decided (after much thoughtful consideration and discussion with my doctor) to go ahead and schedule an induction for this Tuesday, October 5th.

To be honest, I have my doubts about being induced. I know that it doubles your risk for having a c-section, and I really want to avoid a c-section at all costs. I also know that it can put unnecessary stress on the baby, which I hate. To make matters more complicated, I really am not even that uncomfortable yet and have no problem letting Preston stay put inside me a week longer where he is safe and sound. However, if we let nature take its course, Preston is just going to get bigger and bigger and I could end up needing a c-section anyways. We ultimately chose Tuesday, but I can always call and cancel if I chicken out and decide to wait it out a few more days. What would YOU do?

My due date is Monday, so of course I could still go into labor on my own before Tuesday, and that is definitely the scenario we are praying for. So this weekend I will be doing lots of walking, eating lots of spicy foods, all the works. Dr. Dryden said it could definitely happen that way.

You hear such positive and negative stories about all birth scenarios, so I am hoping that I will be like my friends who were induced and had no issues whatsoever. Keep us in your prayers for a safe and pleasant (well, not terrible) birth experience! I've never been in the hospital and never even had a broken bone, so this is scary for me, to say the least. I'm a bit of a "chicken" and my biggest source of anxiety is just getting an IV put into me! And of course having the epidural administered. Eeeek!! But I know the end result will be so worth it!

I love you guys and thanks for reading! If you have any POSITIVE induction stories, feel free to share :).

Quick Doctor Appointment Update

As of today, I am still just 1 cm. dilated and 60% effaced. Dr. Dryden doesn't think Preston will come this next week. Wow, it looks like I will make it all the way to my due date {10.4.10} or beyond?! Although I am dying to meet Preston, I also am glad to know I have {possibly} one more week of nesting and resting before we embark on parenthood!

I really am not that uncomfortable, so I'm ok hanging in there a little bit longer. I am also still working--which really has been good for me or else I would just be sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting. My stomach is measuring HUGE--43 cm! (It is usually equivalent to how many weeks pregnant you are--so because I am almost 39 weeks, 43 cm. is rather large.) I feel like I look like octomom from the side!

Until he arrives, I am just going to enjoy my final stage of pregnancy--and continue eating all the cookies and ice cream that I want before I have to embark on the diet of a lifetime. {Ugh.} I really am so thankful for an easy and healthy pregnancy!

32 Weeks & Maternity Pictures

This week I am 32 weeks along, which means I only have 8 weeks left until my due date! Seriously, where has the time gone?! I feel a mix of so many emotions. Obviously, I am so excited the closer it gets! I just can't wait to meet this little son of mine! However, I also think it's kind of sad whenever one chapter of your life comes to a close. Never again will it just be Brett and I as newlyweds.

I had the same feeling when I left high school, and then when I left college, and then when I left my single days behind to get married. Change is always sad to me, but you know what--each stage has just gotten better and better, so I know the best is yet to come! It's exciting!

So at this point I am feeling great! I still have some pretty bad numbness in my right leg due to Preston sitting on a nerve, but I have found a pregnancy support belt really helps it. I am also feeling some pretty severe kicks these days--unlike the sweet little flutters of before. It is so cool though to feel his limbs moving all around in there. I am extremely tired all the time. All you coffee drinkers out there... You know when you wake up in the morning and haven't had your cup of coffee yet so you're kind of a zombie?--that's how I feel all day long. And the shortness of breath makes me feel like a seriously obese person--but I know that's just because my uterus is pushing up on my lungs and making it harder for me to catch my breath. Heck, even talking makes me out of breath!

Some of you know how the crib I ordered from Restoraion Hardware Baby and Child keeps getting backordered. (I ordered it at the beginning of May.) It was supposed to arrive mid-July, then mid-August, and seeing that it was next week and I was so excited, and they just notified me that it has been pushed back again (3rd time) until the first week in September. I had a nervous breakdown yesterday. I know, I know--worst case scenario he can sleep in a bassinet for awhile, but it's just that I wanted the room to be all complete because I am excited to see how it is all going to look! I'm a first time mom, what can I say?!

Well, I called Restoration Hardware furious. I rarely ever complain, but I let them have it! You can't just keep pushing back a date when it clearly states on the website one date. They assured me it would definitely be in early September (I'm first on the list), and they gave me a $150 gift card to Restoration Hardware to make up for the inconvenience. I mean, it's too late now to order another crib. All cribs take about 4-6 weeks to come in anyways, so at this point, I better just keep waiting on the one I want. I had all of the furniture in the room painted to match this exact crib, and the dustruffle is being made for the length of this crib. So I'm going to keep waiting. But I wouldn't advise anyone to ever order anything from RH if it is not in stock. This has been terrible!

Last weekend my sister snapped some maternity pictures of me just for fun. Here are some of them:

The very next day after we took the pictures I think my face and arms got significantly larger, along with some not-so-pretty swelling in my ankles, so I'm glad we took these when we did! ha!

No Gestational Diabetes Here!

That's right--I got the great news today that I passed my gestational diabetes screening test! When she told me that, my first thought was, "Are you sure you are looking at my results?" I was so sure that I was going to have it, for these two reasons:

1. First off, because I was a 10-pounder at birth (10 lbs., 1 oz.), my doctor has always kinda thought that maybe my mom had it and just didn't know about it. With a family history of big babies (My great-grandfather weighed 12 pounds AT BIRTH!!), I thought maybe I had a family history of gestational diabetes too.
2. I have been feening for sugar non-stop since day one of pregnancy.

But it looks as if I am in the clear. What can I say--We just have big babies in this family! I am so relieved. And I celebrated with a big 'ole slice of carrot cake at lunch today. Mmm!

Just 10 more weeks until Baby Preston arrives! I can hardly wait!

What I look like this week

A lot of you have been asking me to post a preggo picture, so here it is.

28 weeks pregnant (starting my 3rd trimester)

All the pregnant ladies!

L to R: Johanna, Lindsey, me, Katie, Jennie, Julie, Ashley, Caroline

Check out this recent picture we took at bunco last week. Yes, that's right. 9 out of 12 of us are pregnant! Here we are in order of our due dates. Johanna, the first, delivered her lil boy Watson this week! We are missing Jean in this picture (She goes between Lindsey and me), but with Jean's twins arriving in the next few weeks, that makes 10 new bunco babies in 2010. 7/8 of us in this picture are having boys, we are just waiting to see what Caroline will have!

I am so grateful for the new friendships that I have formed in this group. I love these girls! I am praying for healthy pregnancies and babies for all these expecting moms.

And for any expecting mothers in Houston that may be reading this, you must treat yourself to a prenatal massage from Luz at the new Lifetime Fitness City Centre. My sweet husband got me a giftcard for a prenatal massage there, and it was heaven! Luz is amazing--I have been to her before for a deep tissue, and the only bad thing about the massages is that I find myself worrying that it is almost over. They are fantastic! I believe we paid $90 + tip. Totally worth it at some point in your pregnancy!

Pregnancy lately

I am 23 weeks along now. Preston is kicking up a storm. He is most active when I am laying down and resting. (Let's hope this doesn't continue after he is born--although I'm sure it will) But what a cool feeling it is! It makes me feel so blessed to know that there is life growing inside of me.

My sugar addiction is only getting worse. I honestly feel like I am addicted to a drug. Last week, I was in the car having a complete low blood sugar moment, about to scream, so I pulled into Dessert Gallery for a treat. I just had to have one of the above: an iced cookie, or a white-on-white cupcake. I walked in and there were no iced cookies, so I opted for the cupcake. I tell the guy what I want and he is very slowly and neatly wrapping the cupcake in the brown paper bag. Just give me the darn cupcake! is what I am about to scream. Heck, I can't even wait til I get back in the car to eat it, I start devouring it on my walk to the car. What is wrong with me? I look down and see that I am covered in a mass of crumbs. I felt so much better after I had the cupcake though. Mmm!

PDK is still measuring big, as of my appointment last Tuesday. This makes me very nervous, but it still not a big enough incentive for me to cut down on eating sugar. It sure should be. I sure am going to regret my choices come October when I deliver a 10 lb. baby.

I am thouroughly enjoying sporting my maternity pants. I am not sure that I am going to want to get out of these after PDK is born. Jeans with a built in stretchy top--yes please!! I think every woman should get the luxury of wearing maternity pants every day. Or maybe if you are just going to have mexican food...pass the maternity pants!

This past Wednesday, Texas Children's hosted an event at Tootsie's to celebrate and benefit the opening of the new Maternity Center, opening in 2011. They asked me if I would be a "pregnant model" to model the clothes of Tootsie's and jewelry of designer Mindy Lam. You don't have to twist my arm to get me to dress up in pretty clothes and couture jewelry. Here's a picture of me and the other 4 preggos from TCH...

I also had the honor of modeling the clothes/jewelry on Fox's morning news segment  to promote the event. Here is a link to the clip from that segment. I'll be signing autographs later :) j/k

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/morning_news/100602-new-line-of-maternity-clothing-from-tootsies

Consequences of Sugar Cravings--Follow up

Today I went to the dentist. The dental hygenist complements me on my teeth and the fact that I have no fillings. I say "Yep, I've never had a cavity." I have always been so proud of this fact and here I am bragging to the dental hygenist about it...

Well, after the cleaning the dentist comes in to check my teeth, and low and behold...I have my VERY FIRST CAVITY...EVER!! Ugh...

Payback for all the sugary treats I've been eating since I've been pregnant. This is like a wake up call that eating sugary stuff every day DOES indeed have consequences. I guess it's time to cut back.

Going back tomorrow at lunch to have it filled. Is this going to hurt??

Cravings {Sugar!!}

I am pretty sure I am going to have gestational diabetes. I know that's nothing to joke about, but I can't help it. I want SUGAR all the time! This is so weird, because if you know me, you know that normally (pre-pregnancy) I would have WAY rather had seconds on my meal over dessert. I would also have chosen popcorn with spray butter and salt as my ideal "watching tv" snack. Queso as my favorite food. Not anymore.

I just finished making sugar cookies with vanilla icing and sprinkles. I made about 2 dozen. Brett (the cookie monster) came downstairs as soon as he could smell them, and as he reached for a cookie, I said "I didn't make any for you." Ha ha--joke of course, but not really. I just ate 4 of them and am probably going to linger downstairs in a minute for another. I had been craving these sugar cookies for 2 days, and finally gave in. I guess I am now the Cookie Monster.

Other cravings I have had:

• Sour belts (YUM! These are the best thing I have ever put in my mouth!) I haven't had these since I was little, but I have fallen in love. I even drive to Dylan's candy bar at the Galleria just to get them.
• Lemonade--my mouth just waters for Lemonade. Every time I pass a Starbucks I have to drive through to get one. Must be the sugar...
• Popsicles--Mmmm....
• Smoothie's--No doubt the healthier of my cravings, but not when it is just a snack and not a meal.

Oh Lord, please help me to stop my sugar addiction before I gain 100 lbs. with this pregnancy.

On another note, Brett and I were watching Saturday Night Live today on DVR from last night, and Gabourney Siboudy was the host. Brett and I had this conversation:

Brett: Who is she?
Me: The girl from the movie Precious.
Brett: What is Precious?
Me: A movie...that just won tons of awards. It was like one of the most talked about movies of last year....you know...the one Monique won the Oscar for.
Brett: Who's Monique?
Me: Have you been living under a rock? Seriously. How have you not heard of Precious? Based on the novel Push by Sapphire. (I was really impressed that this just flowed out of my mouth and I haven't even seen the movie) It was even just referenced in The Office on Thursday.

For such a movie buff, we got a kick out of the fact that he had never heard of Precious. I guess we should put it on our netflix. Anyone seen it?

And baby makes three... {Four counting Winston}

I am long overdue for a blog post... Yes, Brett and I are expecting! Our little one is due October 4th and we could not be more excited. We have been going to check-ups every Monday so we have been fortunate to get to take a peek each week via ultrasound to see the little peanut grow. It's been truly amazing to see him/her get bigger and bigger each week.

We found out the great news in January, so I will be 12 weeks on Monday. At first, time was crawling by, but now it seems to be flying by! I can't believe I am about to enter the second trimester. Thank goodness, because first trimester was no fun at all, thanks to food aversions (Nothing sounded good and I literally found myself starving before I could get up the courage to eat anything), nausea, sleepiness (adjusting to life without coffee) and moodiness. But thankfully, I am finally starting to feel like my old self again!

I have several ultrasound pictures to post, but I need to scan them in before I can post them.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and well-wishes! It truly means the world to us to be surrounded by such great friends. I am excited to share more as the pregnancy progresses.