Playing in her Highchair

Elanor is sitting well enough now to play in her highchair for brief periods of time. I'm amazed at how rapidly her eye-hand coordination is developing. Such joy! :-)

34-Week Baby Belly Eve

Wow, tomorrow I'm 34 weeks along! So here's a picture to see how much I've grown. Notice the ever-present item I'm missing--my rings. It feels strange not to wear them, and I miss my beautiful engagement ruby that Damon spent 3 months selecting. But I can enjoy them again in a couple months. ;-)

My hands and feet have gotten a bit swollen, and I now enjoy a laundry list of common pregnancy symptoms that thankfully are not all constant: cold-natured me is now burning up while Damon freezes with AC running, aches, congestion, reflux, nausea, need to eat frequently, easily exhausted and out of breath, baby kicking ribs and stomach, etc. However, this is all worth while as I feel Elanor moving around. I think I might miss her acrobatics.

The baby responds to Damon!
Sometimes when she is especially actively kicking and elbowing me, he will come talk to her and rub the appendages sticking out. She consistently calms down. Beautiful!

Recent cravings: Milk, Silk (soy milk), cottage cheese with fruit on a bed of spinach.

It's hard to believe she's due in 6 weeks. Only 4-8 weeks remaining...

Sweet dreams to all!

My Rings Don't Fit At 33 Weeks :-(

I'm sad to say that the slight swelling and tightness in hands and feet that I only noticed some evenings at 30 weeks along is now the norm 24-7. Today after church I squeaked my rings off after a bit of effort. So, for safety sake I'll have to wait a couple months before I get to wear them again.

Spicy Kick!

This week Damon taste tested several artisan cheeses at Costco and decided he just had to buy the jalapeno and cayenne cheese. Now, I know that spicy foods will catch up with me, so I had only a tiny stick of the cheese. Delicious!

About half an hour after sampling the cheesy delicacy, Elanor started moving, kicking, and making my belly dance. She stayed active the entire evening! However, during TV ads when Damon talked to her and held my belly, she calmed down noticeably. Amazing!

Nursery Painting Nearly Complete!

Hooray! Monday, May 10th my mother-in-law finished painting all except the nursery border. (It will be off-white and decorated with A, B, C's--but first the other paint has to dry.) I only helped over the weekend for a few hours by taping off the room for the vertical stripes. She said she would finish painting the stripes before I got home Monday. However, I didn't expect her to have set up the crib, etc. already! I was so happy and surprised at the extra work she did that I think my eyes leaked with happiness!

32-Week Baby Belly

We had our 32-week checkup today. Due in 8 weeks, there's only 6-10 weeks until we meet her! Baby Elanor continues to be healthy. Mommy had a 31" belly measurement, and has gained a total of 23... so far. I miss the flat belly and sleeping on my back and tummy, but baby girl's strong and busy movements are a joy. Wow! Time sure flies!

I'm constantly eating and drinking (water, milk & Silk primarily) to keep up my energy. This is the last week of tutoring at school for the year. Yay! I'll take a week off and then start summer classes which end 2 weeks before my due date. We are working to get ready for her arrival. I still have a lot to do--I hope to complete most of that this first week after work ends.

P.S. Two hours after my bedtime snack I awoke feeling hot, achy--and hungry again. After turning on the fan and stretching, I realized the food I'm craving is cottage cheese! I rarely eat cottage cheese more than once or twice a year. So, in order to avoid a 1:00am trip to Kroger, I made do with milk and salty green olives. Tomorrow I'm going shopping so I can make cottage cheese and pears on a bed of spinach. That sounds ridiculously good right now! (Elanor must think so too, because she is very busy at 1:20am!) Now to attempt sleep...

29-Week Baby Photos

Sleepy

So, some of you may wonder as to the medical purpose of sonograms this far along. In a nutshell, we needed to be sure the placenta was high enough for me to safely give birth. It is! The fun side effect of the sonogram,  is now you can enjoy pictures! 

Almost Smiling

26 Week Baby Belly!

Okay, technically these photos are from one day shy of 27 weeks (this most recent Tuesday), so take it either way. :-) With a due date of July 21st, she's officially 13 weeks away (11-15 weeks in all probability). Time flies when you're having fun! Damon & I are savoring our last weeks of sleeping in and mostly functioning on our own schedule. Natural changes, however, serve as a gentle way to break me in to being wide awake in the middle of the night, and having to pause whatever I'm doing to feed (myself) again.

Elanor is a very busy little girl. She is now active enough to sometimes wake me at night. Just today I could feel her little feet at the top of my belly during lunch. I'm starting to be able to distinguish the difference between her head and feet sometimes! Today one of her feet seemed to reach my ribs as I was lounging around. I find that a good, tall posture typically increases overall comfort... although sometimes she can make good posture quite uncomfortable! In those cases my belly sticks out a bit more, like the first pic.

A baby moving and growing inside is perhaps the most awe-inspiring journey I have yet experienced.

Wal-Mart Deals - Baby Registry

So, after carefully considering my registry options I chose Wal-Mart (affordable), amazon.com (accessible), and Babies R' Us (adorable) Below is my Wal-Mart wish list. See Babies R' Us and amazon.com for my other registries under Rachel Miltner, TN:

Wal-Mart's Best Deals:
ITEM                                  COST   QTY
hangers;                                10/$1    x2
outlet covers:                         50/$4    x1
brush & comb set           1/$3    x1
nail clippers                            1/$2    x1
no-scratch gloves                    2p/$    x1
nasal aspirator                         1/$    x1
canvas bin                              1/7.50    x3
lansinoh lanolin topical cream    $10      x1
Lansinoh ultra soft nursing pads            x1
 Pooh, bee huny (yellow & green):
*hood towel/washclth              1/$?     x2
*keepsake pillow                     1/$    x1           [DOB, wt, length, etc]


For baby comfort, I prefer 100% cotton clothes, and please remember she will mostly sleep the first 3 months. Oh, yes, and, gently used clothing is awesome! Try Nashville's craisglist for clothes and other gently used items: http://nashville.craigslist.org/bab/

Nursery In Progress!

The nursery is progressing from office to baby room. This weekend we will finish combining the office and guest room into the largest room of the two. Then we can finally start painting the baby room a pale yellow that will brighten it beautifully. In addition, I happened across a perfect baby-room theme I can enjoy for girls and boys--ABC's! Melody (aka Grandma-to-be) showed me the fabric as a backing to a blanket she's planning to make, and I immediately knew that's the theme I want. So we bought some extra cloth to make window dressings and other accents. :-) At about $14, that fabric will pay for itself easily ten times over rather than purchasing nursery accents at ridiculously high prices. Hurray! Besides, this has a more personal touch than store-bought! Goody, goody!

Baby Kicked my Laptop!

23 Weeks Already! And this weekend Elanor kicked my belly enough to make my laptop visibly move. How FUN! I've also noticed that she particularly enjoys snuggling down on whichever side I lay, left or right, and will move to the other side when I turn over. Her movements are now noticeably big enough that I rarely fall asleep before she gets comfortable.

At 23 weeks baby weighs around 1 1/2 pounds and will continue gaining at about 6 ounces per week (16 oz/lb= ~1 lb/3 weeks). She can also hear now, and can start to recognize Damon and my voices. What a beautiful miracle.

We are all well. Hormones have make the last month a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me, and I feel tired much of the time. However, there are many joys in pregnancy and my hubby works particularly hard to be extra thoughtful and helpful.

Baby Registry Conundrum - Part 1

Baby Registries... they have always puzzled me a bit. At 22 weeks along, more and more people are asking about nursery themes and other such details. So here's what has always puzzled me about baby registries: What if the parents want specific items that are found at several different stores or online sources? Why the unspoken rule that everything has to be brand new--never used? Having grown up as the second of 7 children, I was rather proud of growing into my big sister's hand-me-downs. On the other side of the coin, I gained a heightened appreciation for new and like-new items since they were not as common. At the same time, I feel rather presumptuous to list my preferences... but the reality is that if I don't communicate what we want or need I do a dis-service to all the generous people who want a list and will gift us regardless of whether I provide relevant information. So, here goes!

With the exception of diapers, cribs and car seats, there are few differences between gently used and brand new items except that the later (hopefully) has a valuable little receipt with it that allows parents to exchange multiple copies of one type of thing for something they still need. However, if I provide an accurate list of what we anticipate needing and wanting... and the general styles... then second hand is a great option. Or just send a card and a couple dollars and indicate which of the following you want me to dedicate it to. :-P

I found the perfect theme today yesterday while shopping with Melody (grandma-to-be). Alphabet ABC's! I will take a picture of the cloth we bought as well as the paint chip for the nursery to post later. We plan to make a valance/curtains, and matching crib sheet. The baby blanket will have this cloth for backing, and I bought a bit extra so we can add other accessories as desired. The yellow, green, pink, and blue squares are a bit darker and deeper than I typically think of for pastels, which is perfect! We will accent with letters, numbers, etc in these colors. I especially like that I can enjoy these regardless of whether our newest addition is a girl or boy. I get sentimental and it is hard to give away things I no longer need... so maybe I'll get to wear these out before then. :-)


Baby Wish List
1. Diapers: So all babies wear them, and at first the diapers are extra messy. So I'm prepared with a couple boxes of the smaller disposable diapers. However, I do want to transition to cloth diapers. The catch is, that typical cloth diapers are great burp rags, but they take a bit of skill to correctly fold and secure on a wriggling baby--and I DO want my husband's help. Enter the new cloth diaper. One particular brand sells fitted cloth diapers that work as easily as disposables, and have adjustable elastic which allows them to fit about size 7-35 pounds. They also have inserts to increase absorbency as needed. While I choke at the price, (sorry, I'm frugal) the fact is that after doing the math, cloth diapers actually do save money in the LONG run. Plus, I won't need to feel badly knowing that conservative estimates say disposables will take well over 100 years to decompose in the landfills. Here's the link to the style I want to get: http://www.fuzzibunzonline.com/One-Size-Diapers_c_19.html and go here to keep an eye out for occasional special discounts.

2. Cribs: I never knew so many types and pitfalls existed. The two styles I'm most interested in are: Graco Sarah and Graco Lauren. Both have high safety ratings with simple, all-wood construction at a reasonable price.

3. *Maya Wrap-Medium, no padding: This is a baby sling which many new mothers rate very highly. It allows the mother to move around relatively hands-free and spare the aching arms a little bit. The official website sometimes has gently used returns on sale at http://www.mayawrap.com/sitemap.asp or look on amazon.com
*The Moby Wrap, its cousin, sounds like it would be even better during the cooler months of the year, but too warm to use during the hot, humid Tennessee summers: look on amazon.com


Baby Clothes 
...I will hopefully discuss later. In a nutshell, I'm looking for 100% preshrunk cotton, buttons/snaps/etc that open to the front-and preferably down both legs. PLEASE consider making at least half of any baby clothing gifts neutral (no words or pictures that specifically suggest boy/girl, no pink... But red rocks, & blue is ok.)

0-3 Months (~7-15 lbs, Aug-Oct): various styles of T-Shirts, onesies, sleepwear, caps, socks and blankets are most practically what baby will likely wear... so if you've just got to buy that darling outfit, please choose sizing for the 3-18 month range--I want Elanor to get to wear it!

3-6 Months (Oct-Dec): A combo of warm and cool clothes will be useful, especially if baby decides to grow into these sizes a little early.

6-12 Months (Cold): Think warm clothes and the ever useful onesies.

12-18 Months: Many mothers tell me that by the end of 12 months their baby was in "18 month" clothes. So if you see something adorable, baby may wear that size 18 well before the label suggests.

Well, I finally feel sleepy enough to get some zzzzz's. It's almost 5am - this is ridiculous! My nap today wasn't THAT long!!! Apparently letting my mind plan the nursery can be dangerous later in the evening. G'nite!

21-Week Baby Belly

I'll try to upload the 21 week pics in the next couple of days. :-)

...better late than never:

First Braxton Hicks at 21 Weeks

Ok, this may sound like a strange malady to the uninformed, but it is actually a fancy way of saying my uterus decided to have a brief warm-up contraction to start training for the big birth day marathon. :-) It's very natural and healthy--even this early.

I had just dismissed the 6th grade tutorees at the end of a long day. Just before I reached the door of the classroom I felt an unexpected twinge in my belly. I simply stopped, relaxed my belly until the slight tightness ended, and continued on my way. The only real discomfort was that first brief second before I relaxed. Later that night I felt another milder one.

...Good thing I like reading and researching. By being well-informed I knew that as long as I didn't experience more than 3-4 of those in an hour all was well. Another benefit included knowing to stop and relax, and that this is normal! I don't believe one can be too well informed. My trick is to focus on the practical information that will likely equip me with knowledge or skills and mostly ignore the horror stories except to note any potential risk or twist in plans that I should be aware is humanly possible. :-P 

My goal is to enter labor with Plan A and a contingency plan (B-Y). I want a low-key, relaxed atmosphere as much as possible--yet I'm also aware I should expect the unexpected (Z). ...Hurray for a body that is preparing too! (Yes, I'll probably eat those words by the end of this pregnancy.)

It's a GIRL!

Wow, the last 4 1/2 months (20 of about 40 weeks) have sped by. On Friday, March 5th, our ultrasound showed we have a healthy baby girl, Elanor! She currently weighs about 12 ounces, or 3/4 of a pound. My hubby Damon, my mother-in-law Melody, and I got to watch her on the monitor.

My favorite part of the ultrasound occurred every time we saw Elanor move...because I felt her movements at the same time! Words fail to express my awe and joy. Here are a few pics to enjoy!!!

Felt Baby Kick Against My Fingers for the First Time!

Ever since 14 weeks I've felt baby in my belly. (Early, I know! I could hardly believe it for the first couple weeks, but it is a distinctive sensation!) Just last night I felt Baby Miltner doing backflips into my hand too! I'm now 19 weeks along. Assuming baby doesn't hide the good news, we get to find out boy or girl a week from today, Friday. :-)

The more pregnant I become, the better I understand my dear mother! I'm sure motherhood will make that even more true. :-)

Damon and I attended our first consignment sale last week. There is definitely potential there. However, I think if I want to have a chance at the very select few things I want to buy, I will need to volunteer to get into the earliest shopping group possible. That should be fun...

In just the last couple of days, I've started to feel night time leg cramps, and today one calf has stayed semi-cramped despite exercising this morning...and averaging about 1 banana daily. On the bright side, these cramps are increasing the length and frequency of my exercising. :-) That is a healthy side effect. LOL

Damon and I are healthy and blessed. Please pray for a healthy, happy baby. Blessings to all!

Sooo Sleepy!

Who ever would have guessed? I've heard of ladies being extra sleep prone during the first trimester, so I thought I had perhaps slipped past that experience. Well, I'm in my 2nd trimester. It can't be my cold causing me extra drowsiness, because that annoyance has pretty much disappeared. (I'm quite thankful, too!) Apparently, I need closer to 10-12 hours per night to feel rested. LOL After almost 7 hours of sleep last night I feel like the aftermath of a High School age all-nighter lock-in. I haven't needed this much sleep in years. How impractical!

17 Weeks = 4 Months Already!

Wow, where does the time fly? 17 weeks along doesn't sound notable until I do the math and realize that I'm 4 months along--and nearly half done already with the ~9 months of pregnancy. Yikes! So, in the hopes of remembering some of my pregnancy details here's another update:

How I've been feeling: Thank God, nausea (falsely dubbed morning sickness) has decreased to manageable levels...as long as I eat frequently, eat protein before bed, use extreme caution when brushing my teeth, and don't get too exhausted. I had headaches for a couple weeks early on, but adequate rest and water seems to have mostly fixed that. This last week I've also experienced dizziness; hopefully the slow release iron I've just started taking will remedy most of that. :)
Back pain? Not as long as I stretch, do pregnancy pilates, and/or generally stay active. Working at a school keeps me actively on my feet for a good percent of the day--a great thing so far.
My moods have been great so far! Unlike the 2-weeks neutral and 2-weeks rollercoaster of normal life, pregnancy has been a very pleasant, consistent, mostly peaceful sensation--amazingly so despite experiencing upset tummies. :-)

Funny cravings and stuff I can't stand: Most of my cravings seem to last 2-4 weeks before tapering off. Before realizing I was pregnant, fresh sweet peas were the number 1 food I craved, pomegranates too have been a favorite. I never before liked ginger anything, much less ginger salad dressing. I now have a notable appreciation for it. Damon's favorite food in the world, pizza, is now on the small quantity, low frequency list: 1 piece every week or so is all I can enjoy. Who would have imagined? Spicy foods and onions too are no longer palatable--how sad! Damon is especially sad because he has to season his food after I finish cooking. Poor guy! I suddenly have an appreciation for the sometimes bland food we grew up eating: every other year with these aversions would certainly be enough for me to settle with simple, healthy fare as the norm. Most of the foods I crave I ate as a child at one time or another, like sharp cheddar cheese dipped in aromatic honey. Yumm!!! The funniest craving I have is bananas. I normally can't stand more than one bananna every couple months, and I've been eating them almost daily for a month now!

17 week prenatal checkup: Friday we went to the 17-week prenatal visit and got to listen to the baby's heartbeat going swish-swish at 140 beats/minute. All our tests for baby's probable and actual health have resulted in good news. Baby is a very low risk for Down's syndrome and other life shortening/threatening trisomies compared to my age group. My blood type is positive, so there is no risk of developing antibodies to baby's blood. Also, cystic fibrosis is not a recessive gene so no need for Damon to give blood to get checked. Why find out about all these tests? Well, since we are quite deliberate in our decision processes, we decided it would be better to mentally prepare for and research a high-need situation if it were likely to arise. So, HURRAY! So far baby appears to be healthy, as is mommy. The only little hiccup is borderline low iron anemia... which I kind of anticipated and am taking iron to resolve.

Mommy had a cold: Well, I still am recovering. However, I feel like the cold is on the losing end. Yet another reason that sleep is so, so good! No, I didn't take the approved cold medicines. I decided that unless it tried getting into my bronchials I would tough it out. I thank God for a healthy pregnancy so far.

When will we know boy or girl?: Assuming baby doesn't decide to hide the good news, we will find out Friday, almost three weeks from now--19 more days!

14 Week Baby Belly

For all you dear friends and family asking if and how much I'm showing. Here's a little treat. Two photos say it all (so far): 8 weeks along as taken December 10th, and 14 weeks as seen on January 23rd... I had to graduate to slightly more forgiving lounge-wear in the second photo. :)

For those who care about other silly pregnancy details... I have gained 2 pounds so far since pre-pregnancy weight.





Most interesting and fun to me: my belly has grown most noticeably in the last two weeks.
Best change: Nausea has lessened over the last week, although today wasn't quite as nice
What's making this easiest: A sweet and thoughtful hubby who makes extra grocery trips to feed my ever-changing tastes, to name just one blessing.

Christmas Joy!

Hurray! I am 11 weeks pregnant! Tuesday, December 29th, we got to see the baby on sonogram. WOW!
We saw the little heart beating at 167 beats/minute. As if that weren't enough, we also got to watch the baby moving and see his/her tiny hand waving. : ) ...Before you ask, we won't know the gender for another 5-9 weeks. LOL I'm so excited! Damon is looking forward to being a daddy and was really impressed to see baby in such detail. I'm due July 21st. That is just 2 weeks after our 3rd Anniversary! Time sure flies.

May you all have a joyous new year!