Weeks 26-28

Firstly I want to tell everyone that we decided on a name for this baby girl! Her name is Bailey Grace Shackelford. I am sure some of you caught on to my "thankful" status the other day. I put it in there to see if anyone would notice, a few people did. I want to I am also very excited for this weekend! My sisters are throwing me a baby shower! I sure hope people come and have a nice time. This week I have my glucose test. Not really looking forward to it. Drinking yucky stuff then being pricked and hoping for good results! So we will see how it goes. Things have been good the past few weeks, been having some contractions. Went to the dr because I was a little worried thats what it may be. I was right, so the doctor tested me to make sure i was not in pre term labor. The test was negative :) Thankfully!! I was kinna freaking out. He told me if the test was positive I had a 95% change of having the baby in the next two weeks. Not what I wanted to hear. So I am very thankful the test came back negative. I have felt better today, all except the pain in my ribs. Oh my gosh it is so painful and I wish there was something I could do about it. It is not bad in the morning, it starts hurting after I have been sitting for a little while, then around 6 in the evening I just want to lay down it hurts so bad. If this is the worst thing I have to deal with I can deal! I just hope everything else continues to go smoothly!

Week 20-25

So I realised today I am 25 weeks along this week...time is flying by! I have began growing like crazy, my belly is still stretching and hurting alot. I went to the Dr today for a typical checkup, I have been real dizzy and faint feeling the past month or so. The Dr said I was dehydrated, I thought I have been doing good drinking water, he said I just needed a little something more, like Gatorade or Poweraid. I also have been having this sharp pain on the right side of my ribs, he said I could have pulled something or she could have actually kicked me and bruised my ribs! And I feel the pain when she moves over to that area. Because its not there all the time, just every now and then. I have been having cramping in my calfs too, I was told it is a charlie horse. Wow they hurt so bad, they only happen when I am sleeping and stretching. I wanted to cry the other night it hurt so bad. The baby has been moving a lot too. I have tried to get Jacob to feel her but every time he comes and feels she decides to stop moving. We put together her crib, and I like it a lot, I am ready to get the bedding and have everything together. We have not decided on a name yet, we have a few names in mind but nothing set in stone. I had to put my kitty to sleep a few weeks ago, It was the best thing for her. She was sick and not getting any better, the vet said it would cost me about $150.00 a month to make her feel better but it wouldn't fix her. That was one of the hardest things I have had to do...ever. Not much else has changed...until next time!

18-20 Weeks

So not much has happened in the past few weeks. Other than we found out we are having a little GIRL! I was very surprised and excited, I just knew we were going to have a boy! I looked at bedding and strollers for both and thought I had some good ideas. Now that I know that we are having a girl there is so much out there its hard to decide what I want to get her. I have been having some pains, mostly stretching but still uncomfortable and one of the most dreaded things....my feet are swelling. My feet and ankles hurt all the time, Saturday I decided to look at them and they were swollen :( It was 90 degrees outside and I was on my feet outside all day in flip flops, so maybe that had something to do with it. I need comfy shoes. I was so looking forward to fall break. Well it consisted of no school on Friday the 8th and Monday the 11th! And first I found out Monday is parent teacher conferences...so we need office staff to direct people and then they said we needed to work friday as well. So I did not get a fall break...at all! Don't they know we need a break too?! But on a happy note, my friend Erica had her baby boy last wednesday. He is a healthy happy baby and I can not wait to see him again! So happy I got to see him, he is such a doll! I am thinking about registering for baby girl soon, also been thinking alot about names. Naming her is harder than i thought it would be. This is an important decision to make! Hopefully I will get some pics up soon of my baby belly. Its coming on along!

12-17 Weeks

Wow I just realized tomorrow I will be 17 weeks pregnant, and I have not kept up with my post very well! The time has gone quicker than I though it would. 3 weeks and I will be 20 weeks, half way there (kinna scary), and we will find out the gender of our bebe!! I am so excited about finding out what we are having. Everyone says its going to be a boy. We had a parent volunteer at school and she told me she could read people and tell what they are having. She told me I was having a girl, the crazy thing is our assistant principal was sitting next to me and she looked at her and asked why her baby boy was acting up( she just found out she is having a boy and he has been causing her lots of pain in her tummy). Kinna crazy but she does have a 50/50 chance! So we will see! Not much has been going on, I have been to the dr a few times. My last appointment was monday, they did the normal stuff, check my weight, blood pressure and listen for the heart beat. Well they could not find the heart beat, and I had been having bad pains in my tummy. So they decided to do an ultrasound (scary but I was excited to see baby), they found baby real quick, baby was hiding behind my pelvic bone. Had a good heart beat and measurements look good. They said the baby looked normal and great size. The said the pains are my muscles stretching. So that made me feel better that nothing was wrong. I have felt better in the second trimester, I have more energy and I am not as hungry all the time! I will post a pic of my tummy. I think its still small and everyone at work said there is no way I am 4 months pregnant. I asked the dr if it was common to look small and he said yes, it should pop out in a few more weeks.

Little Things

I have been thinking about what to post lately, life, baby, annoyances, etc. So let me start by saying things have been driving me crazy!

1. My leg-My left leg falls asleep all the time (mostly at night when I sit down to relax on the couch or when I lay down in bed for he night), the Dr said it a sciatic nerve, my uterus is tilted and it is sitting in it from time to time causing it to fall asleep. I have to prop my leg up and move around to make it stop feeling funny.

2. Gracie...what can I say? Right now she is staring and barking at me. She wants to play ball but will not give me the ball back after I throw it.

3.Acne- Seriously I thought I was so over this, but i have heard having skin problems while pregnant could mean there is a little girl in my tummy!

4. People driving- This has never bothered me before now, but people in memphis really can not drive.

5. People telling me what to do- I have had more people tell me " Oh Don't do that, Don't eat that, You can't move that" PEOPLE I AM FINE, I am not incapable of doing things because I am pregnant. I know my limits and I have talked to my doctor about what I can and cant do, I thank you for your willingness to worry about me but i am OK! Don't get me wrong, I like when people give there advise but I feel like I get nagged on all the time.

OK thats enough about things that annoy me! I had a wonderful day today, my dear friend Erica had a baby shower today. She got some goodies for her baby boy! He will be here in October, can't wait to meet baby Knox. I got to see my sweet friends that I worked with at VF. I was very surprised to see Audrey and Suzanne! Suzanne lives in New Mexico so clearly I don't get to see her often. It was real nice to be able to sit around and catch up with everyone! I got there about 12:30 and I left at 8:30 this evening! I have been super exhausted again and I have had headaches. Not sure what to do about the headaches, I am trying not to take anything until it gets unbearable. Been super busy at work the past few weeks! Also I went to the Dr last monday, she said everything looks good. They listened to the heart beat, which is so crazy to me! Knowing there is another heart beating inside me is crazy! I love hearing it though, it just reminds me that there will be a little person here in a 6 months! Wow thats sounds crazy too! 6 months...am I ready for this? Ready or not we are on a roll!

9-11 Weeks

Well I have made it to 11 weeks...well i will be 11 weeks this thursday! Things have started looking up for me! I am feeling better and not as tired as I was feeling at first. A few weekends ago I went with my family to Gatlinburg. We had a fun time, we walked a lot and shopped! I bought two onesies that could be boy or girl, I thought they were cute and I didnt want to pass them up. I will post pictures. Also I posted a picture of my baby belly, yes it is little but it is there! I have been asking jacob for weeks "Can you see it?? Can you see it?? " He just laughs and said not yet! But today he said yes I see it, (Maybe he is sick of me asking if he can see it and finally said yes!) and I did have a dress on verses a loose fitting shirt. I have felt funny wearing tight clothes because I don't feel like I look pregnant, I feel like i just look fat :( But today I kinna see it more than I have. I have had some mood swings, nothing crazy but things do irritate me easily! Like people driving, what is wrong with them?? They cut you off and switch lanes at the last second, and they don't get out of the way! I started back to work last week, back at Chimneyrock! So far things seem to be going well, new administration and new people to meet and get to know. It is exciting, saw some of the students from last year and happy to see them!!

Baby Bump 11 weeks

6-8 weeks of being pregnant

I am going to start from the beginning and write all the things that have happened, good and bad, so I can look back one day and see all that I have endured and enjoyed!

I took a test and thought it was negative, I was so unsure because the 2nd line was so faint. So I called the Dr. They said wait 2 days and take another one, so i did and it was positive! I was so nervous and scared and i didn't know what to do or say! SO I told Jacob and he didn't believe me, he said I will believe it when i hear it from the Dr. I scheduled a conformation appointment and they said I was pregnant, probably about 6 weeks! That Wednesday we decided to tell my parents and his parents. It was his dads birthday so jacob wrote him a card and told him he had a hunting buddy on the way! They were thrilled, then we went to tell my parents, I baked cupcakes and put small pacifiers tied to a string in them. I told everyone that there was a surprise in them and they had to pull the ribbon at the same time. They did and it was silence...my mom just started eating the cupcake, chan just looked at it and ellen looked at me and her eyes got big and she said no way...a baby?! I looked at Jacob and he was smiling from ear to ear and so was my dad and shane! Then my mom realised what it was, she freaked out, so did everyone else! Lots of screaming, hugs and tears! So fun! So people started asking me " How do you feel"? I felt great so I told everyone i felt great then it hit me. It was almost 5 days later and i felt like a train hit me! I was so sick to my stomach but I couldn't throw up, It just hurt and I didnt want to eat, things started to smell bad and nothing tasted good. I thought i was going to die. I kept saying if this last all nine months i am not going to make it :( Thankfully the Dr said I could take Dramamine and it works wonders! It made me feel so much better. The only downfall was it made me sleepy. Super Sleepy on top of being exhausted all ready! I took it for a few days and then stopped and I have felt pretty good since then. Each day has gotten better, slowly but surely! I went to my first Dr appt last Thursday, I got an ultrasound and I heard the heartbeat, also talked to the Dr and he said things looked good and we are on our way! Next Dr appt 4 weeks! More updates to come...

Baby News

Well we announced on Thursday that we will be adding to our family, or maybe starting our family, which ever is correct! We are very excited about this, Jacob is more excited than I thought he would be!! I am due on February 27th which is my moms birthday! ( I am not sure why people say WE are due considering I am the one having this child! I know he is the father but I have to go through some rough stuff!) My mom said "Oh no this cant be, that is MY birthday!" She was joking, she said i had to have it early or later than the due date! I am wondering if next year is a leap year?? I have to research this...That would be bad to have my baby born on that one day that only comes every four years!! So we slowly started telling people when I felt more comfortable about it. Of course I was worried (and I still am) that anything could happen. So I thought about 8 weeks and after my first dr appt would work. There is a lot to know about being pregnant, all the test and changes in your body and things to not eat, its kinna crazy! I think I have done well so far, only one Coke a day and I have been eating more fruit and veggies. I am so so so tired everyday, I just want to sleep all day then go to be around 8 at night, and I feel sick all the time, last week was bad, thought i was dying. This week has been better, the Dr said I could take Dramamine and that helps but makes me a little more tired :( Everyone keeps saying it will go away as soon as I get out of the first trimester, I am praying for this and I sure hope its true! I just feel frumpy right now, my pants are a little tight and I am not exactly ready to move on to maternity clothes yet... I am open to any advise anyone has also I am thankful I have friends that just had a baby or are pregnant now. They feel my pain!! Thanks everyone in advance I am sure I am going to need you!!!

Crazy Puppy

There are so many stories I can write about.... Here is one that I was thinking about this morning. For some reason my Gracie loves paper, any kind of paper, toilet paper, receipts, mail, etc. One day I came home from work and found toilet paper everywhere! It was coming from the bathroom to the hall and into our bedroom. I about had a fit, the whole roll was unrolled and there was a little fluffy puppy just sitting there looking at me! Looking at her I had to laugh, how can you be mad at something so stinking cute!

This past weekend we went out of town, my sister kept Gracie for me. On Saturday morning I get a text message saying "OMG you have the worst dog in the world". I knew this could not be good. She proceeded to tell me what happened. My sister Taylor was watering the garden and the dogs were with her. Gracie found the one spot in the fence that she could escape. She ran through the mud and across the yard to the neighbors house! The neighbors house is not close at all and they have 2 huge huskies. What was she thinking?! Finally she came back and Taylor got onto her. She told me "I spanked her and locked her up on the deck" Poor Taylor, poor Gracie, maybe one day she will learn to listen! She listens to her dad and will stop in her tracks when he gets onto her, but me yeah right she runs all over me! Hopefully our children wont be the same way! She is a nut but I wouldn't change a thing about her, she is so sweet and has the best personality a dog can have!!

In the beginning

Well this is how it all started... I was constantly asking my husband for a puppy! "I just want a puppy that will follow me around and I can take to my moms house"! Thats all I wanted! Someone to love me and to call my own! Growing up my parents never wanted a dog, my mom didn't like the smell of dogs and she is a clean freak! Until my persistent sister( who was 17 at the time, I was 20) had to have a dog and just brought her home, well they couldn't say no then, and now we love that dog! She is a pug and she is so funny! She is the apple of my fathers eye! My mom loved Pugga so much that she wanted another one! Reminder, this is the same woman that NEVER wanted a dog! Now they have 2 pugs! Pugga is a fawn dog and Bella is a black dog! So I never had a dog growing up. I finally got my own puppy, thanks to my wonderful husband! He decided he was going to surprise me on my birthday in 2009! He brought home this little, white, fluffy ball of joy! He told me there were many to pick from. The first one he picked up was calm and quiet and just sitting there to herself-like me. He decided she may be to calm, so he picked up the next one, which was running around, barking and terrorizing all the other puppies-like him! The breeder said Oh she is my favorite, lots of attitude and personality, he said I will take her! When he told me that I knew I was in for a crazy ride! She is the funniest dog ever! She has so much energy all the time, its amazing! I love her with all my heart even though she can be a terror sometimes :)