34w1d... Labor Day Weekend and Outside Belly Pics!!

Hi everyone! Well as I promised, I have uploaded some belly pictures. Well as some of you know my husband Brian is quite the amateur photographer. This is his first set of maternity pictures. Brian still wants to do some inside pictures as soon as we have our basement back in order, so I'll put those up as soon as we take them. Here are 5 of my favorites, Brian really did a great job of making me feel beautiful in all of the pictures that he took.










As for the rest of the holiday weekend, Brian and I had a WONDERFUL weekend. On Friday, I was incredibly surprised at work that they threw me a shower. I really didn't think that they were going to since I haven't been in work since the beginning of June. I was incredibly touched by all of the people that showed up, and all of the people that put effort into it. We were given an incredibly generous Babies'R'Us gift card that helped us to buy the majority of everything we still needed for our little one to show up. Oh and Brian surprised me with a brand new point and shoot camera, so that I could take tons of quick pics of Sean.

On Sunday Brian and I went and got pedicures, which was incredibly fabulous, especially since I can no longer reach my toes. It was so nice that Brian was willing to go with me, we found a nice little place that is brand new, and I am pretty sure we will go back there soon. Right after we finished there, Bri and I headed over to Babies'R'Us, and spent $60 on nearly $400 worth of still needed gear. We had saved up all of our gift cards and coupons and used them all in one shot. Its official... with the exception of our crib which still needs to arrive... Sean can come and has what he needs.

Today, other than the picture session, Brian and I worked on putting a bunch of stuff away in the nursery, and it really looks wonderful, as soon as we get the crib in there I will make sure to take pictures of everything so that everyone can see it. Sean has diapers, wipes, clothes, etc. and everything has its place for now. I just need to wash a bunch of items, and pack my hospital bag, and then there won't be much left to do.

Tomorrow is our breastfeeding class which should be a lot of fun!

33w3d... Appointments!

So today Brian and I had a regular OB appointment, and another ultrasound to check on Sean's growth.

Well the OB appointment was just fine, my blood pressure is still great, and I finally gained a little weight. The OB said that I will have my first internal and Group B strep test at my next appointment in two weeks, that should be exciting. I am praying for progress!

Then, Bri and I headed over for our growth scan... that was eventful. Sorry no pictures this time, his head is very low in my pelvis busy stretching me out, in what the ultrasound tech called the "launch" position. I am 33.5 weeks pregnant this week, and Sean is easily measuring 35 weeks already, he is 5lbs. Oye... he is gonna be a big boy. They did say they could tell that he has a full head of hair, which some people had been guessing from his previous ultrasounds.

I'll have a longer update soon with pictures from my WONDERFUL baby shower this past weekend. It was a blast, and Brian and I recieved so many wonderful things, we just can't get over our friends generosity.

Also for all of those people asking for belly pics, even though I am hesitant to show off too much skin, Brian is going to attempt his first shot at maternity pics this weekend. Assuming all goes well, I'll have some pics to show off early next week.

31w4d.... Pictures(and Sounds) Finally!!!

Sorry for the long delay, but the basement is still torn up, and we are still down a scanner. Luckily I have a wonderful friend who was able to scan the ultrasound pic for me, THANKS DB!

Also today I had another OB appointment, where the doc checked the heartbeat, my weight and my blood pressure. Blood pressure is still great as always, I still haven't gained a pound since getting pregnant, and the heartbeat was as beautiful as ever. Just click the picture below for our ultrasound pic, as well as a recording of Sean's heartbeat from today's appointment.

As for me, well I woke up out of a percocet/ambien sleep in pain last night, but decided to try to go back to sleep since I knew I already had a scheduled doctors appointment today. I am definitely getting more and more sore and tired. I actually told the OB today that I am ready for this pregnancy to be done, she said she would prefer if he cooked for at least another month, then we could talk. She understands/sympathizes with my pain, so I know that she will do whats best for both me and Sean. Let's just say that I haven't had the easiest pregnancy, and although I am eternally grateful to be pregnant, it is getting old, and I am getting sore and tired.

Anyways, in other news we have gotten a start on the nursery, after my family painted, we put up our changing table, and we put a closet unit together so that we could actually start putting things away. We got the call yesterday that our glider had arrived at Babies'R'Us, and we are making a plan to go and pick it up. The crib should be in by the end of the month, and then all that will be left is to bring Sean home! Of course that means we have to finish a whole bunch of other little projects before we are really ready for him to be home.

Ok, more later, but for now enjoy a little picture and sound courtesy of Sean!

29w3d... It's my birthday!!!

Its my 26th birthday!!! I got a wonderful present of seeing my little boy today in an ultrasound. He is nearly 3lbs already, and has adorable chubby cheeks. I'll get everyone a picture as soon as I can but our scanner is out of commission for about a week. I promise he is a cutie though. They did take a quick look at my kidney, and the stone is still there big as ever.

Brian took me over to a tiny little bakery in Annapolis that we found a few months back for me to pick out my birthday dessert. He also took me for a sushi dinner(with doctors permission). It was heaven. I have been so good this whole pregnancy that just 2 pieces of raw tuna and 2 pieces of raw salmon were some of the best sushi I had ever had.

We were going to come home and have a quiet evening and have some birthday dessert, however, as always, plans change and we adapt. We got a call at the end of dinner that was asking to schedule a major basement repair that we need done to start tomorrow morning. Considering we REALLY need this repair completed, we were very hesitant to push it off to another time, so we came right home and we (well, Brian) worked on moving the final items in the basement for a couple hours. We will continue my birthday celebration tomorrow, and have our yummy desserts then.

So what huge basement repairs could cause such commotion, you might ask? Well due to basement flooding... through the floor, we have to get the entire french drain system replaced around all 4 walls in our basement. Its a huge and expensive repair, but it must be done. It will take three days to do the repair, and another three days for the cement to completely dry. So by the end of next week we can have the carpet replaced, and the basement will be all fixed. It will be nice to have our house back.

Another big item that has been worked on lately, is that my family has just finished painting Sean's nursery. As soon as we get a chance I'll start posting pics of the nursery progress since it will come together pretty quickly at this point.

Love to all and I promise to get a picture update ASAP.

27w 4d... Wow its been a while... LONG Update

Wow.... I am officially in the third trimester.

I guess I need to give everyone an update on whats been up with me over the past month. Well its all about getting used to a new normal.

First of all for those that don't already know, we released the name of our little boy. He is officially Sean Patrick McLaughlin. He is also really beautiful. We had another ultrasound on
July 2nd, and the little one is so incredibly gorgeous. We got several 3-D pics of him, and there was at least one that looked just like Bri, and another pic that really resembled my family, so who knows who he will look like in the end. They told us that he already weighed 2lbs at that appointment, and that was 2 weeks ago. He was also measuring 3 days ahead of his expected size. I think we have a big boy coming our way, everyone keeps guessing that he will be in the 9lb range when he is born, I don't know how I feel about all that, but as long as he is healthy then I'll take it.


Second, Brian, my sister and I took a trip to Charlotte, NC over the 4th of July to see his family for the last time before Sean arrives, and take my sister to her final college visit. It was nice to see everyone, and it was such a fun trip. The family threw me a baby shower while we were down there, and we received a bunch of cute outfits, as well as our Pack'n'Play, diaper genie, and a beautiful solar system mobile. We were so incredibly blessed to have so many people excited for us to have our own baby. One incredibly speacial memory from the trip for me was when my niece was talking to me about baby Sean, and she wanted to brush baby Sean's hair, she gave baby Sean a kiss, and put her ear up to my belly to listen to baby Sean. It was such an incredible feeling knowing that even a 2.5 year old understands that we are going to have a baby, and she is so excited about it.




Well, I guess I should get down to my health... I am doing as ok as can be expected. I am still on percocet every 5 hours, and have been for over a month now. Since being in the hospital, I have been seeing the OB every week, just so that they can keep a close eye on me, my pain and our little Sean. So far, Sean is doing wonderfully(as mentioned above), and I am going in for monthly growth scan ultrasounds to keep an eye on him to make sure that he continues to grow as expected. Every time I go into the OB, I know I am a special case... there is one doc that really understands what is going on without us explaining the whole situation, and we have been seeing her a lot, however, we have had a couple other appointments with other docs in the practice since being in the hospital, and each time we have had to explain why we are being seen so often, and whats going on with us. I know that there really isn't a ton that they can do for me, but its frustrating when they can't read my chart BEFORE they come talk to me.

I am also seeing a urologist once a month, mostly to do urine cultures, and to make a plan to remove the stone after Sean is here. It sounds like they can't do any procedures until around 2 weeks after the birth, which of course is frustrating, because it will come right in the middle of the bonding, and the first couple weeks or Sean's life will be full of doctors appointments and surgery for me. That is really hard to accept, and I am trying very hard to work through all of my emotions.

Today I saw a pain management specialist for the first time, it was such a waste of my time. I do know that my OB said that I would need a plan to get off the pain meds after the stone is out, but really I feel like he didn't do anything except take my money, and treat me like I might try to sell my pain meds on the street... it felt great. I will have to see him everytime I need a med refill now... at $40 a pop... what a frustration.

I guess my health is just a big waiting game at this point. Oh yeah, and I am not allowed to work at all. The doctor thinks that it would be too stressful for me to be working in a technical field with my incredibly slow response time. I have had a couple breakdowns over the last couple weeks wondering if I will ever be able to do my job again, or ever be able to think technically again. Its hard when I should know the answer to something off the top of my head that I just cannot recall, and its like my mind just has a huge block. Brian keeps reminding me that it is all temporary, and I will be my old self soon enough. I guess only time will tell.

Oh my, what else.... over the past month, Brian and I have been trying to make progress on several house projects, starting with repairing the leaks in the basement. Well we thought that it would be a pretty simple fix, and while it may have been pretty simple, it seems that it isn't as simple as we had thought, and we are going to have to get a serious professional out to fix the problem. This means that we are going to have to proceed with the nursery painting and such even without finishing the basement. We figure we are going to need to have a place for Sean before too long, so it is getting higher and higher on our priority list.

Oh yeah, my other sister came and stayed with Brian and I for about a week and a half, to help with our house projects. While she was here she created a number of art pieces for Sean's nursery. They are so incredibly beautiful, and so appropriate for what Brian and I do in real life. She painted a sunrise over the earth, a pair of merging galaxies, a supernovae, and the Orion nebula. They are really remarkable.





Wow that was a lot of information for one post.