Introducing...

Elizabeth Angel Brooks. Due Date: 11/02/2010. Born 11/01/2010 @ 16:24. 7#4oz, 20.5" long (same size as me). Head 14", chest 13.5". Will post pictures when we have our heads on straight and remember our USB cables from home. Mild cramps began at 3 AM. We got up, showered and planned to go to work until @ 6 we realized it wasn't a false alarm. Printed out our birth plan and went to the hospital @ 8:30 with contractions 5 min apart and >1min. Started pushing @ shift change (15:30) She's beautiful and all ours. Happy Birthday Elizabeth.

40 Weeks

I don't really look that big...so why do I feel like it?! :) It's like sleeping with a watermelon under your shirt and trying to bend, twist, and flip without crushing it. After today, Baby, you're welcome to come out anytime.

Baby Can Wave

Actually it's a flopping over of the bottom 1/2 since BB1 is upside down, but you get the point. THe big sweep happens at 17 seconds.

38 Week Baby Bump

37 Weeks - Full Term!

Congratulations! You've got what is officially considered a full-term baby, even with three weeks to go. That doesn't mean he's finished growing — in fact, he's still packing on about a half pound a week (at this age, the average fetus weighs about 6.5 pounds). That makes it a little crowded in your uterus, so he’s probably not kicking as much, though he’s probably stretching, rolling a bit, and wiggling. Right now, your little superstar is busy rehearsing for his big debut, inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid (to get the lungs ready for that first breath), sucking his thumb, blinking, and turning from side to side.
Had my dr appt today: measuring 37 cm (good!). I still haven't gained weight in the last month, but BB1 has so that's all that matters. Still movin' & groovin' as best we can and having no (real) complaints to speak of.

Baby Shower @ Work

The Girls at work threw me a surprise baby shower today. We ordered pizza, Susie made Jello poke cake (yum!), opened presents, and took pictures. They were so generous, and crazy :) . We took a (normal) group picture, then a funny one with each girl having a ball "baby bump". Susie's daughters were also there (unpictured) and her 2 granddaughters. Pictured are Beth, Sue, Me, Cathy, & Laurie. Thanks girls. You sure know how to throw a party!

Brooks Baby Shower

Baby Shower! Last Saturday 9/25 my family threw me a beautiful baby shower at the VFW. It was absolutely breath-taking. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people who showed up and overwhelmed by their generosity. (And I even got my thank yous done in under a week!) Thanks everyone!

Anything Like Me - Brad Paisley

I didn't know David before he was a teenager. He tells me that as a child he was a ... busybody, to say the least. A good kid, just that he was always on the go, driving his parents nuts, breaking just about everything in the house. This is his way of warning me about this little one on the way, if its anything like him. (Not that David likes country music, but I do & thanks to pregnancy hormones, I cried the first time I heard it.)

Anything Like Me :
I remember saying I don't care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy I'm OK
Then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said "Ya see that thing right there well ya know what that means"

And I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he's anything like me
He'll probably climb a tree to tall and ride his bike to fast
End up every summer wearing something in a cast
Hes gonna throw a ball and break some glass in a window down the street
Hes gonna get in trouble oh he's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It safe to say that I'm gonna get my pay back if hes anything like me

I can see him right now knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass trying to melt the Tonka truck
Wont he be a sight with his football helmet on
That'll be his first love til his first love comes along
He'll get his heart broke by the time he's in his teens
And heaven help him if hes anything like me

He'll probably stay out to late and drive his car too fast
Get a speeding ticket he'll pay for mowing grass
He's gonna get caught skipping class and be ground for a week
He's gonna get in trouble we're gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my pay back if he's anything like me

He's gonna love me and hate me along the way
Years are gonna fly by I already dread the day
He's gonna hug his momma he's gonna shake my hand
He's gonna act like he can't wait to leave
But as he drives out he'll cry hes eyes out
If he's anything like me (can't understand)
Aw he'll be alright if he's anything like me

Isn't that a cute song?! Ah, I'm tearing up again.

How Did I Miss the 8 mo. Mark?

People ask me how far along I am in my pregnancy and while I know how many weeks, I didn't know the months. Apparently I missed acknowledging crossing over to 8 months pregnant at 32weeks, so now I can say that I am 8 months pregnant (34wks). Good, now people will quit saying I look "big" for 7 months. (And by the way, please don't tell a hormonal, emotionally unstable pregnant woman she looks "big". Tell her she looks cute and petite. Because I often get both sets of comments in the same day from different people. No woman likes being acknowledged for being 20# heavier than she was a few months back, pregnant or not. :)) Above pic: It was 80-some degrees outside & I was filling water bottles, so David saw this as a photo op & snapped a belly picture.
Wk 34: Rapid growth continues. 34wks pregnant. (fetal age 32wks)
•Your baby now is approximately 18" long and weighs about 5.25 pounds.
•Your child has now an excellent chance of survival outside the womb.
•Fat accumulations plumps up the arms and legs this week.
•Eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping.
•The fingernails are now completely formed.

Ultrasound #4

Ultrasound #4: At Thursday's appt, Dr said I'm measuring small (29 cm @ 32 weeks) so he ordered another ultrasound. There's a lot of reasons why I could be measuring small, some serious, some not so serious, but he just wanted to be sure. According to the ultrasound tech, everything looked good. The baby is measuring good in size; about 4# 7 oz, give or take 11 oz (kind of a stretch, huh?). But she figures BB1 is on average, right at 32 wk, 5days. And we saw "sparkles", a halo of shiny, flashing twinkling around baby's head: hair, the tech told us ... pretty cool. We're still waiting for the report back from the radiologist and physician saying everything is ok, but the baby, amniotic fluid, and placenta all looked good per the tech. PTL. Keeping up the daily prayers.

My Little Pancake Flipped

Week 32 of Pregnancy: We had our 32 wk appt this week. Yeah! Baby flipped and the little "bowling ball head" is now head-down, hence the kicks to the rib cage. It can always switch back, but I'm hoping if it found it's way upside down once, it can do it again. Internet Info: Baby is practicing survival skills like sucking and breathing, while your uterus is practicing some Braxton Hicks contractions. What's up with your baby? Tipping the scales at four pounds and topping out at just about 19 inches.
So is it a boy or a girl? Is she carrying high or low? Is she craving salt or sweets? What about the gold ring or Drano tests? What's the heart rate? I'm glad we're not finding out the gender. It's more fun hearing people's guesses. We'll find out in 8 weeks!

My 1st Booby-Do Picture

27 weeks pregnant. (6 mo. 3 weeks) Last week my uterus measured 24cm. Right on for growth. (Your uterus should measure in cm close to the # of weeks you are pg.) I bought myself a stethoscope at Walmart last week. It's really cool to listen to baby. So what are baby’s stats this week (which, coincidentally, is the end of the second trimester)? Fifteen inches — more than a foot long — and triple what it was in week 12. Baby's weight is creeping up the charts as well, coming in at just over two pounds. Just 10 weeks to go until your baby reaches full term! From now until about week 30, Baby goes through a very active phase.

6 Month (24 Week) Ultrasound

3D image of Baby Brooks. Last time the little bugger wouldn't wake up. This time, it wouldn't hold still! Luckily the tech got this picture before (s)he started martial arts in my tummy again. A few more 3D foot pics and then the regular ultrasound pictures. So far, so good, except BB1 is breech right now. 16 weeks left to flip. The other night, the head was poking up and the feet stretching on the other side. I could actually cup the head in the palm of my hand.

22 weeks

Pregnancy @ 22 weeks

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and even developing tiny tooth buds beneath the gums. The eyes have formed, but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers the body and the deep wrinkles on the skin, which (s)he'll sport until (s)he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside the belly, the pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

How your life's changing:
At this point, you may find your belly becoming a hand magnet. It's perfectly okay to tell folks who touch your tummy that you'd rather they didn't. And if people are telling you that you look smaller or bigger than you should at this point, remember that each woman grows — and shows — at her own rate.
Yea, why is this that people think they can just reach out and touch your belly? I have never touched a pregnant woman's belly. I've been getting the "Oh, you're starting to show a little"-pat-pat. I just can't fathom why anyone would think it's ok to just reach out and touch someone's stomach. Friends and family are acceptable, but I also hug family and friends too. I don't hug out of my comfort zone and I don't feel comfortable with the "pat pat" of a stranger's hand on my belly.

First Kicks

Last Tuesday 06/15 was our 20-week ultrasound of Baby Brooks. The tech said the reason I hadn't yet felt BB kick is b/c the placenta is on the anterior wall, making it harder for me to feel movement. I felt baby for the first time then on Friday. I stopped what I was doing, frozen in time. Was that it? ... Ooo, how about that? But last night I have no doubt. David was on the phone w/ his parents and I was reading in bed. I felt the thump, then again. I lifted my silken pajama top and watched my belly bounce. Not wanting to get up and disturb or shift Baby, I call for Dave. He comes in, phone to ear, and looks at me suspiciously. (I never holler for him, so it must be important right?) He follows my line of sight and stares at my belly, seeing it move. His warm hand reaches out to caress the thumping and tells Candy that the baby just kicked him. Later, BB gets me on the other side. I get a fit of the giggles. What a weird and miraculous feeling. Oooo, there (s)he goes again!

Funny

Did you know that a pregnant woman can demolish a whole watermelon in 2 days? I didn't until I looked down with about 10 pieces left, peered across the room at my adoring Hubby and said, "Sorry Hon, did you want any?"
BTW: Baby Brooks is 19 weeks along. 6" head to rump, 1/2#, and likes watermelon.

My 16 Week Avocado

We had our 16 week check up on Tuesday. Short, but sweet and we got to hear Baby's heartbeat again. That is so cool. I could listen to it all day. Baby kept moving so you'd hear the lub-dub lub-dub and then a whoosh when the Dr was trying to get a good reading. Pretty cool. Pretty darn cool!

Hand-Me Downs

My Sister-in-Law Kim calls and lets us know that she has extra baby "stuff" from her 3 kids and nephew that we can take to use for BB1. We were on the way back from spending the day cleaning the Keewatin house (another story) and figured we'd stop by her house on the way home. 13 large Tupperware tubs, jumpers, strollers, a swing, play pen, toys, sit & spin, sled, and a crib from Gary & Candy's home later we're on our way home to unload the van. Yeah, I'd say that's a good start! Thanks guys. Enjoy the extra space in your garages!

Baby Greetings

Dear Diary, I never knew they even made cards of celebration for "parents to be" or "happy Mother's day to the mommy to be," but I've received them out of the thoughtfulness of family and friends. I also received a spider plant from my Mother-in-Law, also called an airplane plant. I had been looking for the past few months for one because they naturally clean the air like ivys and lilies. I also received a bouquet of pink & blue carnations from my Mom & Earl at work the other day with cute "baby" ribbons on it. Thank you all for your kindness. It truly is so sweet and makes me feel so special!

Blog Update

On the bottom of my blog, I've added a "baby ticker" from http://lilypie.com. It's pretty cool. You get to see the little cartoon "Christi" with a growing belly and a little update as to how BB1 is developing. Check it out above our wedding pic. 14 Weeks is welcoming me into the 2nd trimester!