THINGS I DON'T WANT TO DO

Now that Junior is VERY close to being here, I've thought about certain things that I certainly do NOT want to do with my little man. Some of them.. well.. many women do, many of my friends do and it completely doesn't bother me, at all. It's just something that I don't want to do with my son. ALL of which could change later out of sanity or survival, lol. These are just my thoughts, now.

• Once my son is born, I don't want to NOT shower everyday because I'm too busy sleeping or taking care of him. Afterall, who wants to eat off a sweaty stinky plate? NOT ME! Therefore, I hope I can at least shower, or spongebath, enough to de-stink this new Mama. I wouldn't want to eat on a dirty plate and I'm certainly not going to make him do the same.
• I don't want to be one of those moms who doesn't do something because SHE doesn't feel like it. I want my child to have many different experiences and be able to explore the world and I don't want to hold him back because I am to lazy or don't feel like doing it.
• I don't want to be one of those moms who is afriad to let their children participate in life. I want him to get dirty and be happy. If it means ONE more bath during the day, then so be it. I don't want to hold him back from what could make him happy, even if we do have to sacrifice a few skinned knees and a few hundred boxes of band-aids. It's all part of being a kid and enjoying yourself.
• I don't want to be one of those moms who doens't let their child participate in activities or sports because she's afriad that he's going to get hurt. Now.. I know. This one isn't going to be easy, letting him go and be a rough and tumble kid.. but I want him to experience all that he can.

Did you have any thoughts on what you didn't want to do that maybe didn't go as planned?

Stephanie M.
jrsmama2009@gmail.com

A BIT BEHIND: NINE MONTHS

Dear My Handsome Little Rockstar,

This month has been quite a month for you and Mommy! Things have seemed to fly by, without warning and some how I find us at 37 weeks, now, and I can't seem to put my finger on where the time has gone.

I want you to know that these last 9 months have truly been the best, EVER, for your Daddy and I. The funny thing is... I know how perfect they've been and yet I know that they'll be a trillion times better once you're finally here.

Now that we're getting into the last few weeks, it seems as if time has stopped on us. We're so excited, for your arrival, that often times we can't contain our excitement. Daddy and I often look at each other and talk about how we can't believe that you're going to be here in just under 2 weeks. I can't wait to see how handsome you are!! Daddy can't wait to hold you and finally see his son. He often talks about how he can't wait to teach you things, show you things, take you places and just enjoy having you as his son. You are our child of GOLD, already!

This month you and Mommy spent 3 days in the hospital. Mommy wasn't feeling too good so she called our doctor to get some advice. Dr. K wanted us to come in to get checked to make sure everything was okay. When we showed up, Dr. K was quite worried about Mommy, so she sent us over to the hospital to get monitored. After 3 long days, Mommy started to feel better and now we're back at home, until your arrival.

So now, here were are: trying to wait, ever so patiently, to see your face. Hold your little hands. Count your precious toes. And show you off to the world! You are loved so much more than you know. Everyone is waiting, on edge, for my call that you're making your appearance. Until then, they just about have a heart attack everytime I call because they're wondering if "this is it"?

Grammy is on edge, waiting for you. Everytime I call, I swear, she answers it before it even rings. Daddy has been doing much of the same, lately. I'm almost afriad to call anyone until after your arrival.

Well, my little man, there's not much more that I can say about how Daddy and I feel, right now. It's complete BLISS and amazingly indiscribeable. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Mommy will be waiting... waiting for her son to come and greet the world. You can come anytime, now. :)

We truly love you with everything we have AND MORE!

Love,
Your Mommy and Daddy

THE FEELING OF PROGRESS... IT'S SWEET!!!

So last week, when I went in for my appointment, I was 2cm dilated (3 if she put a TON of pressure on it, but 2 at a standstill) and was thinning out but not quite effacing yet. Junior was very high in my pelvis so she didn't qualify him as any "station".

This week, we've made progress! This week I am easily 3cm dilated (at a standstill) and am 75% effaced! Junior is also head down and at -1 station. She said that he had moved down QUITE a lot and I have to agree because it didn't feel as if she had to shove sooooo much of her arm up there to check, this time. My blood pressure has resumed it's normal healthy self and we both seem to be doing MUCH better! YAY! His heart rate was an active 174bpm even though he was quite calm but my belly is measuring a good 37cm which corresponds with my 37w gestation. She also took me off "strict bed-rest" and put me on "light duty". "Strict Bed-rest" means I am flat on my back and the only time I can get up is to use the restroom or take a QUICK shower. "Light Duty" means that I can resume most of my "normal" activities, HOWEVER, I need to take it easy and not do a few things such as she specified; NO vacuuming, NO sweeping, NO vigorous cleaning of any kind. I can do light dishes and such but otherwise, she wants me to take it easy.

You don't know how much relief this brings me. Now I'll be able to do things to keep myself busy throughout the day so it doesn't seem like my days crawl by. YAY!

She also reiterated that if he's not here by 39 weeks, (14 days from today), she'll be inducing. I am HAPPY to hear that!

All kinds of results!!

Before I was hospitalized last Wednesday, I was tested for Group B Strep, H1N1, Seasonal Flu and PIH. We all know that the results from the PIH testing were negitive, as well as my Seasonal Flu and H1N1, including the 2009 strain.

I was also recently emailed (thanks to our online patient profiles) saying I had lab results to view online. I signed in and received my results. There was no Group B Strep issolated in my swabs, therefore, the results are negitive!!! WOOT WOOT! That's one more intervention that I won't have to go through in labor.

On another note, since I've been on bedrest, I've been trying to keep myself busy. The only real thing I can do is knit. So here are a few projects I've accomplished lately:

(done before bedrest..)

(done RIGHT before I was bed-ridden...)

This one was done on bedrest.. he he.

Now my son will be warm this winter!! Woo Hoo!

I have a busy day tomorrow, so I'll updated after it's all over;

1. OB Appointment

2. Big J's Neurologist Appointment

3. H1N1 Vaccine Clinic

Not the smartest cookie.

This morning, I was asked by a good friend of mine, K, if I had my cervix checked while I was at the hospital. I answered that, in fact, I had, just before being admitted to the hospital. After thinking about it a little bit more, I realized that I'm not the smartest cookie out there.

I was explaining to her that my OB had checked it at my doctors appointment just before being admitted and that's when I realized how I horribly misunderstood what was going on. It's only been 5 days since it happened. Better late then never, right?!

When my OB was checking my cervix, she said, "let's see.... cervix is 2cm.... lets see if we can get 3. Yep! Cervix is 2-3". For some ODD reason, I took that to mean my cervix was 2-3cm long. What I didn't understand was how she got it to grow to 3cm while squishing the life out of it? That, to me, didn't seem right, but I didn't question it.

We were in the midst of talking about being admitted to the hospital and she had mentioned, just after the above statement, that my cervix was PERFECT if it came to induction at 37 weeks, if I tested positive for PIH.

I, now, realize that my cervix isn't 2-3cm long. She meant 2-3cm DIALATED! Because, in fact, your cervix can't grow when pressure is put on it.

As I said.. no one ever said I was the smartest cookie.

This is not one of my most proudest moments.

:-D

Bustin' Out

Today, I was fortunate enough to bust out of the hospital. The room that held me and my so called "H1N1" symptoms. Dr thinks that since I didn't have any runny nose, congestion, coughing, sneezing, etc.. there's a very high possibility that I'm not infected with H1N1 or any other flu. I haven't had another "episode", since the last one, last night. All my results came back negitive for PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertention: Pre-Eclampsia) and since then I've been good to go, besides this everlasting, killer headache that I've been having.

However, I also had something else happen today.

Before I was admitted on Wednesday, my OB checked my cervix in the doctors office. It was a nice 2-3cm but she said it was VERY favorable if it came to induction. When she was finished, she said to expect some bleeding/spotting because it would happen due to the sensitivity of the cervix, at this point in the pregnancy. I ended up having pink spotting right afterward (as I was getting dressed in the doctors office) but after that, it quickly turned to brown spotting and stayed that way, all through that night. The next morning, however, the spotting had stopped and I was "spot free" for the rest of the day.

I was awoke this morning around 6:30am due to the nurse needing to monitor Junior before her shift was over. I love hearing my son so I was happy to ablige. That's definitely one thing I won't complain about someone waking me up, for. After 20-25min of monitoring, she let me go back to sleep for awhile.

I was then awoken around 8:45-9:00am to the nurse coming in with my breakfast. She also mentioned that she wanted to get my vitals and my weight real wuick before breakfast. I was happy, once again, to ablige. They were requested, per doctors orders, to weigh me every day, while admitted, to make sure the swelling wasn't causing an excell in weight. It hadn't. I then returned to my breakfast and decided that since my husband had to run to work for a few hours, I was going to catch a few more minutes of sleep, if I could.

I woke around 10:00am so I could roll over to re-adjust and get comfortable, however, noticed quickly that I had a FULL bladder and had to pee or else there was no going back to sleep for this little lady. I went to the bathroom and ever since I've become pregnant, I have a habit of looking at the tissue after I wipe, just to make sure there is no spotting, funny discharge, etc. Well this time, it was covered in brown blood and mucus. Then I noticed what was to be a huge clump of mucus on the tissue. I placed it on a tissue on the counter, for the nurse to examin when I was done. I paged the nurse and explained that the spotting was gone for the whole previous day and I was concerned as to why it was back. She then explained that it was normal and called "bloody show" and it was my mucus plug that I had lost. 36 weeks and 2 days, I lost my mucus plug.

Now this doesn't mean that I'm going to go into labor anytime in the next few minutes or day, however, it does mean that my cervix is doing as it should and is preparing for the upcoming laborious task. I couldn't be happier.

However, I do hope that I go into labor sometime in the next couple days.. week at the max. That would be WONDERFUL!

When the nurse saw that I had lost my mucus plug, she had asked if I was having any cramping or contractions, at all. Honestly, I wasn't sure as I had just woken from a nap and I don't feel them while I'm sleeping. She then hooked me up to the monitor and as always, I was.

I continue to have these contractions, at little uncomfortable at times, but non-painful. I'm hoping they're doing their job and preparing my body for labor and delivery.

The time is coming soon and it's making me so anxious and excited.

I pray that things continue to go well.

Hospital Update

All lab work came back negative in response to PIH, so I don't have pre-eclampsia, however, they can't figure out why I keep having these episodes where I start sweating and burning up like crazy, then from chest up I'll turn BEAT red. During these "episodes" I feel like I can't catch my breath and feel like my head just may explode. They've decided to keep me overnight (last night) but looks as if I'll go home today. DR says that my symptoms only really match up with a few things and the most common in this case, would be the flu. She said to look for horses, not zebras. Which means, look for the most common cause of why this could be happening. She said the only other thing she can think of is like tumors on different organs of the body (like the adrenal glands) but as she said... Look for horses, not zebras, unless given other indications it may be something else. My vitals have been monitored every few hrs and I'm still doing good. I'm keeping an eye out for Jeffrey's movements to make sure he continues doing good. They're also putting me on the monitor every shift to make sure he continues to do well. He was QUITE excited after my bad episode last night.. His heart rate was up in the 170-180's and stayed there the entire time. They kept me on the monitor until he finally calmed down a bit and went back to his usual 150's heart rate. It took about an hour or so. I've been taking the tamiflu for 2 doses now and dr says is makes you super nauseas but she's been giving me ambien to help me sleep through the nausea. Otherwise, all vitals are good and I do feel much better, today. Really tired and have a headache but after the last couple days, I'm not surprised. So I'll continue to keep you all updated but it looks as though we won't deliver until 39w unless he comes early, on his own. One can only hope. Regardless, it's only a couple weeks away. I can do this. I can do this
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Admission
I just wanted to let my blog readers know that I've been admitted to the hospital for symptoms of pre-eclampsia.

I don't know much, other than I'm crazy swollen, have high blood pressure, am nauseas and overall feel like crap.

After being monitored for the last 24 hrs, we've got 3 options:

1. Have a test come back abnormal which means we'll be induced right away.

2. Have all come back fine and get discharged on STRICT bedrest till next wednesday, at which point I'll be induced.

3. Stay in the hospital till next wednesday, at which point I'll be induced.

I don't have time to go into details, now, but I'm praying for #1 or #3.

I do NOT want to go home.

Keep me in your thoughts!
Thanks a bunch!

less than thirty

In case you're not as obsessed as I am, I just thought I'd let you know that I have less than thirty days till my due date of November 18th, 2009. My husband thinks it's funny as he has set a reminder in his phone for November 18th at noon, I'm due. What a dork fish. Yes, I just said dork fish.

Sometimes I think back and realize that I've been pregnant since February 11th, 2009 and it seems like I've been pregnant forever. FOREVER, PEOPLE!! Then I realize that when you actually count the days.. I've only been pregnant for 250 days. Yes, 250 days can seem like a LONG time to some, but when you think about how many days I tried to conceive, which happens to be around 1065 days... 250 days doesn't really seem like that long. Okay, I lied. It still seems like a long time.

I am now getting to what everyone likes to call; "The End". The end is where you are miserable 100% of the time. There is no point in the day where you actually feel comfortable and it's just not fun, period. Somehow I have fallen into that hole and I can't seem to figure out how to get out. Surprisingly enough, I've been getting pretty good sleep, regardless of the fact that I still have to get up in the middle of the night (at least 2 to 3 times) to pee. The dogs are doing VERY well with letting me sleep in, unless of course one has a stomach ache and just simply cannot make it till morning. Then... I don't feel so bad. I would be a little antsy if I had a belly ache, too. One of our dogs happens to be VERY sensitive when it comes to food, so we have to be VERY careful. Anyway, I soooo just got WAY off track. Sorry.

The End is also where you can't get comfortable to save your life. I've gotten to the point, now, where my hands are swollen, my feet and ankles are swollen, my legs are just plain chunky and my joints have decided that they're going to take a vacation. NOT a good time. Every time I go to sleep, no matter what position I'm in.. I wake up an hour or so later with one of my joints out of socket. It started out with my right hip.. but has slowly moved to my left hip as well and has now moved up to my shoulders. I simply can't get comfortable when it happens. I have to jerk my arms (or legs) around until they snap back into place and quit pinching the nerve that their so kindly trying to suck the life out of.

I've also had the pleasure of experiencing high blood pressure and from what I can tell, I still have it. When I stand up, no matter how slow, I instantly get dizzy and lightheaded and it doesn't go away until I sit back down. I am out of breath 90% of the time, especially when I sleep. I can't breath through my nose, at all, laying down, or else I feel like I'm going to suffocate.

Not to mention, on top of all these side effects, I have heartburn like no other. I've been put on a medicine to help control it and I'd say it works 85% of the time. Other times, oh.. those are the worst. It's so bad that I think my throat is going to explode and I'm going to spew fire like the exorcist.

Now's the time where I could just have him and get it over with. I'm sure I'd be WAY more comfortable, no matter how much pain labor causes. It will eventually be over and I'll feel better.. right?!

I am praying that this little man comes early. There's no possible way that I'm going to make it another 30 days. THERE'S NO WAY, I TELL YOU!

My belly is so stretched that when I (or anyone/anything else) touches it... it feels like someone has burned me or I have a BAD sunburn and you happened to scrape my skin. I've had enough, I tell you.

I honestly think I'd be VERY happy if I had him at 37 weeks. Oh yes, yes I think so.

Lack of energy.. among other things.

This week's appointment went okay. It has me a little bit worried but nothing that I can't handle, at this point. There were a few issues/concerns that I had that I wanted to bring up to Dr.K and get her take on them. As well as some much needed advice. I am currently out of my bag full of tricks. Here are the issues I'm having and what her take and advice is:

Baby's Measurement: I'm terrified that Junior is going to be too large to pass through my pelvis so I have this repeating nightmare that I'm going to have to go through 4 days of labor and a full day of pushing, just to find out that his head is too large to pass through. Thus, forcing me to end up with a c-section, regardless of my efforts.

Dr K's Advice: This is something she is watching closely, already. If it gets to the point where she doesn't think he's going to be able to fit, she'll schedule an induction. But in all reality, the likelihood of it happening is slim.

Cervical Checks: I've been having this weird stretching/tearing/scratching feeling deep down in my cervix. The only way I can describe it is to say that it feels as if Junior has his hand down there and is squirming his hand around trying to shove it through my cervix. It's not a nice feeling, nor is it comfortable. I am afraid that one day I'm going to be in the bathroom or the shower to find a foot hanging out or a hand. Not a pretty picture.

Dr K's Advice: It's completely normal! That's Junior's way of pushing down on my cervix to let my cervix know that it's time to start preparing for delivery. It's actually making my cervix contract, which will help when it comes to ripening, effacement and dilation, so it's a GOOD thing. *Regardless, it still doesn't feel "good".*

H1N1 Vaccine: Big J received his shot, today and I'm still wondering when I'm going to get mine. Not that I'm impatient or anything, I just want to make sure to have it BEFORE Junior is born.

Dr K's Advice: They'll be getting their first shipment next week and they'll be administering them, then. No worries. I'll definitely have it before he gets here.

Heartburn: During my last appointment with Dr. K... she told me to start taking 75mg of Ranitidine(sp), twice per day, to ease my heartburn. She said I could take up to 150mg, twice per day, which would account for 2 tablets in the morning and 2 tablets in the evening. Now.. the problem that I'm having is that I'll take the 2 in the morning but they run out before I can take my second dose in the evening. *if I don't take 2 RIGHT before bed, I'll have heartburn very soon after going to bed.* So my question was.. would it be okay if I spaced the 4 tablets out, throughout the day? For example: Take one when I wake up (10ish), one 4 hours later (2ish), one 4 hours later (6ish), then one right before bed (10ish)?

Dr K's Advice: ABSOLUTELY! Feel free to space them out, as needed, as long as I don't go over the 4 tablet dose.

Hemorrhoids: So if you didn't notice in one of my previous "issues", Junior has been putting a LOT of pressure down in my pelvic area, causing cervical pressure and other issues that Dr K likes to call pressure in your "low pressure system". No, she's not talking about the weather report. When baby puts so much pressure down there.. you can tend to get hemorrhoids. What to do about it, is what I want to know?

Dr K's Advice: When the baby squeezes down into the pelvis (because he's quickly running out of room as well as preparing for delivery) you can get a lot of pressure down in the Vina Cava as well as your "low pressure system" which can cause blood to pool in the veins in your lower extremities as well as the bottom of your trunk. This, in turn, causes leg swelling, feet swelling, numbness and hemorrhoids, due to the fact that the baby is pinching off the vein access to get the blood back up and out of the area. Her advice is to get the baby OFF that area, as much as possible. The way to do it.. SWIM! If you can't swim, try getting your feet up and laying down with your legs elevated to try and move the baby off the vein. To minimize the symptoms of the hemorrhoid: use massive hydracortozone cream (1%), tucks pads, a squirt bottle to make sure it's clean after using the bathroom. You can also try taking a bath, because the warm water will help soothe the hemorrhoid as well as the water will help lift the baby off the vein enough to get some relief.

Now, here are some issues that I now have, that I didn't know I had.. thanks to my appointment:

High Blood Pressure: Everytime I go to the doctor, for my OB check up, the nurse routinely checks my blood pressure and everytime she always comes back with the same response, "great, as usual". Well, not this time. Her response was, "did you take the stairs when you came in?" We were in the middle of a conversation about the weight I had gained so far and how I look so tiny, so I thought it had to do with that, but I guess not. My husband was making the comment about how people can't believe I'm due in a month and look as good as I do. She commented that it was great that I hadn't gained an excessive amount of weight and how it'll be easy to loose once baby is here. She then asked if I had exercised during the pregnancy.. "um, no!" She then asked if I ate healthy and I responded with a yes.. gotta eat healthy. That's when she asked if I took the stairs when we came in. "Nope, elevator, all the way." (it's on the 4th floor). She then told me that my blood pressure was elevated and she'd make a note for the doctor. I also mentioned how I've been extremely out of breath lately and didn't know if that had anything to do with it?!

Dr Kim's Advice: We're going to monitor it closely. My urine came back completely normal so they're not alarmed, yet. She said to monitor the swelling in my hands and my headaches, which I get a few times per day. She said to watch the swelling in my hands and if it doesn't go down once I get up for the day, then to call and let her know. Same with my headaches.. if they get worse, call and let her know, asap! She also told my husband to monitor the swelling in my face. If it starts to swell at all or if I look like I've put on some weight rapidly (we have a scale at home that is the SAME as the doctors, so she said to monitor my weight, too) if it jumps or I get any swelling in my face, at all, then he has to take me in to the hospital, ASAP.

Junior's Delivery Date: She also mentioned that she didn't feel comfortable with letting me go over 40 weeks, with this pregnancy. With all the symptoms I've had and am having, she said that if I didn't go into labor, on my own, by November 18th, we'll be inducing. Honestly, I am completely happy with that. Her and I, however, are hoping he comes on his own, a week or two early. It would be easiest on all involved.

Here are the stats for the day, though:

Gestation: 35 weeks 1 day
Heart Rate: 157bpm (still a "girly" heart rate)
My Weight: 149lbs (I've gained 21 pounds, total)
Fundal Height: 36cm (36 cm = 36 weeks)

So lets all cross our fingers, rub a budah, throw a coin into a wishing well, wish upon a star, pray; do what ever it is that you like to do to make good things happen.. and lets coax this little man out a week or two early!!

Sound good to you?! Does to me!

*Please?! I'll give you cookies!*

A few maternity photos, for good measure.

This past week or two, my husband and I have been pondering the decision to have some professional maternity photos taken. After going back and forth on the idea, we finally decided against it. After all, it would be more fun and more meaningful if we took our own.

We grabbed a few props, a few outfits and the camera. My husband ended up shooting over 200 photos, all in about 2 hours. He did an awesome job, if you ask me.

Here are a few of my favorites:

So... what do you think?

The smell of fall baked goodness!

When asked what my favorite time of year is.. without a batting of an eye, I'd simply yell out, "FALL!" I don't think there's anything that I don't like about fall, really. The beauty of the changing leaves outside, the journeys to friends' and families' for holiday celebrations and the smell of fresh baked goodies filling my home, who could ask for anything more?!

The fact that my son, my first child, will be born in the fall, just seals the deal like a big huge bow around a perfectly wrapped package. I don't trick-or-treat.. but I love to hand out candy to the little cuties that run around our neighborhood. I'm sure once the little man gets big enough, we'll take him trudging along, out in the cold, trick-or-treating. Because, what more does a kid want on Halloween? Not only does October bring Halloween, it also brings 3 birthday celebrations that we must acknowledge. My mom's husband D will be turning 68 on the 27th. Jeff's oldest grand-daughter K will be turning 4 on the 27th, as well and K's little sister, O, will be turning 3 on the 28th of October. It's a busy time trying to prepare and send off all their cards and gifts as well as prepare for the arrival of this little one AND our Halloween celebration.

Then November brings even more fun and joy, along with December. We have 2 birthday's to celebrate in November; one being this little man's.. when he does decide to arrive AND my mom will be turning 43 on the 24th. On top of all that, we have to prepare for a newborn, accomplish the yearly task of Christmas pictures and sending out our holiday cards AND Thanksgiving.

Oh and you can bet that it doesn't stop in December. There are no birthday's to celebrate that month, however, there are some much deserved holiday's and memorials to celebrate and remember. Christmas, decorations, baking, eating, spending time with friends and family, more eating, remembering loved ones lost (Love you Grammy - My Grandmother) and of course, more eating.

To celebrate all the upcoming eating that we'll be doing and the celebrations that will be had, I wanted to post a super delicious recipe that my husband and I just love. It's delicious. I'll also post a varied recipe so you have a choice between the two, in case you have some picky eaters who don't enjoy some of the ingredients in the first.


Semi-Homemade Cranberry Orange Pumpkin Spice Bread

1 (16oz) package Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread Mix
1/2 cup plain ol water
1/3 cup plain Applesauce (we love Mott's!)
2 large eggs (organic & free-range, if you can)
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries, can also use fresh or frozen (we use Craisins)
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest, chopped fine

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix water, applesauce, eggs, cranberries and orange zest. Add pumpkin bread mix and mix until combined.

3. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center, comes out clean.


(Here's the variation...)

Semi-Homemade Pumpkin Spice Bread

1 (16oz) package Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread Mix
1/2 cup plain ol water
1/3 cup plain Applesauce (we use Mott's)
2 large eggs (organic and free-range, if you can)

*you can also substitute oil for the applesauce if you want a fattier bread, we like healthy, here, lol)

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Mix water, applesauce (or oil) and eggs in medium mixing bowl. Add bread mix and mix until combined.

3. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Do you have a favorite holiday recipe that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear it and add it to my repertoire.

La Stella Blu

Even before I got pregnant, I've always loved the closeness that a baby carrier could provide to both parent and child. Even then, I couldn't imagine how helpful one could be. That is.. until I got pregnant. Thinking about all the daunting tasks I'm going to have to accomplish WITH a little one at my side can have me in a bit of a panic. The helpfulness of a baby carrier is something that I truly need to have.. it's no longer a "wanted" item.. it's a necessity.

I was emailed a link to a wonderful site, La Stella Blu and they host a wide variety of baby carriers. One for each kind of parent, if you ask me. They have BabyHawk Mei Tais, Hotslings, Ergo Baby Carriers, Moby Wraps, EllaRoo Carriers, Catbird Baby Carriers, Sproutpouches and so much more. They also have Babylegs and organic items there as well.

I, personally, want one of the Moby Wraps. I am 34 weeks, today and I plan on breastfeeding. I love the closeness and ability to breastfeed and be hands free! Here are some of the statistics/advantages of using a moby wrap:

• Moby Wrap uses your entire back, as well as your shoulders, to carry the weight of your baby.
• Moby Wraps are amazingly comfortable baby carriers. No buckles, snaps, or fasteners.
• Made of soft, comfortable 100% cotton jersey - just like your favorite T-shirt.
• Stretchy fabric hugs baby close without feeling restrictive. Adjust the fit of your moby wrap by varying how tightly you wrap yourself and baby.
• Moby Wrap is perfect from preemie through 35lbs.

I just happen to love the Indigo color and it's only $39.95!! Who can beat that?! If you order yours through La Stella Blu before November 30, 2009, use the coupon code MB005 and receive 10% off your order!! (this excludes Babyhawk Mai Tais)

I cannot wait to order mine and try it out with my new little muchkin who will be here very... very soon!

A little over 6 weeks.

In a little over 6 weeks, I will be ON my due date. Whether or not my son will be here, has yet to be determined. He could come before, he could come shortly after. At this rate, with his attitude, he's going to come when he damn well pleases.

Like my little countdown ticker says, I have about 45 days till my due date. "Oh my gravy!" as Rachael Ray would say. I can't believe that after 1065ish days of trying, 1 million and 1 infertility treatments, one cycle of IVF, 500,000 injections, 3,000 proceedures, 1 surgery.....

234 days of pregnancy, 6,000 bodily changes, 1 terrifing L&D trip and just under 1 million shopping trips later..

Here we are.

So many things have changed and so many things have continued like normal. I can't seem to imagine how much my life will change in 6 weeks. How many sleepless nights I'll have or how many feedings I'll have to do in the first week. How many diapers I'll change or how many outfits I'll wash.

What I do know is, I am so excited to see what's to come. To be blessed with such a handsome little man is much more than I could ask for. So while I wait, I'll enjoy these last few weeks.