Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Countdown Continues!

Today is Sept 29. Firstly, it is Grammie Dubbs' birthday and will always be special to me for that reason. Secondly, it is precisely 3 months from the "expected" delivery date of one Karter Kaye Rinker!

Karter's official due date has been moved to Jan 5, but I have been told that the doctor performing my repeat c- targets 39 weeks for the surgery. That takes us to Dec 29! Personally, I think it'll be sooner... But it's highly unlikely that it will be longer!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

BIG sisters need BIG girl beds!

As promised, a little more on Jordan and her big girl bed...

Saturday, Night 1 in the big girl bed:

Mima and Jordan picked out the perfect big girl bed for Jordan to transition to BEFORE Baby Karter arrives and there's a struggle around who gets to sleep in the crib. (Jordan has demanded that the crib is hers and that Baby Karter will sleep in HER own bed in HER own room).

We packed the bed and mattress into the back of the car with our other finds and headed home. Mima and Mama rearranged the room to make room for Jordan's new bed. And then we rearranged the room again. And then, we did it again. And again. And again. We finally settled on a workable layout and Aunt Brittney and Jordan joined us to assemble the bed. Jordan was a big help with tightening the screws! (Aunt Brittney was too!)

Jordan fell asleep at dinner, and I slipped her into her big girl bed when we got home for her first night's sleep not in the crib. My hope is that she would wake up in the morning and feel proud and refreshed and the transition would be over just like that! Okay, so a girl can dream. But instead, Jordan and I both woke up to a thump and her tears in the middle of the night - twice. But both times, she wanted back in the bed, so the night was still a success!

Sunday, Night 2 in the big girl bed:

Having already blocked one side with the ottoman from her glider and having protected her fall with a comforter on the other side, I was eager and optimistic that night 2 would be better. But alas, *thump*. She fell out of bed before I even got in my bed! And then again later in the night. But each time she fell out, she cried out "I need help; I want in." So the game was still on!

Monday, Night 3 in the big girl bed:

Mama and Jordan have both been tired! The last couple of nights had been hard on us both. Jordan has been waking up on the floor a couple of times each night, and I have been keeping one ear open to listen for the thump so that I could run to her rescue.

Around 8p last night, when we were starting to wind down for the night, I convinced Jared that we NEEDED bigger bed rails and it could not wait another day. Within 30 minutes, he was back with the rails, and Jordan was eager to help tighten the screws to "fix" her bed.

It worked!! Jordan and I both had a great night's sleep! I peaked in on her and snapped a quick picture of our big girl in her new big girl bed!

Thanks again to Mima and Aunt Brittney for the wonderful gift and the hard work getting things set up in the girls' room!

Monday, September 27, 2010

BIG weekend for a BIG sister!

We had such a great weekend with Steve (Mipa) , Dee Dee (Mima), and Brittney (Aunt) Rinker this weekend! When we weren't eating pizza or hanging out and chatting, the boys worked on re-wiring Jared's bike a few times and killed the transmission in Steve's new bike. They seemed to enjoy their man time working together in the garage!

The gals and I had our own big project for the weekend - finding a big girl bed for Jordan. It sounds like an easy task, and it would be - if big girl beds weren't so hard to find!! After no less than a half dozen store visits, we finally found one! This is night 3 for Jordan!! But more on that once I have a chance to snap a picture of her in it!

Before we found Jordan's big girl bed, we found a few other things! Our first purchase was the coolest bathtub ever for Baby Karter - a steal for $5.83 (afer tax) from Once Upon a Child! A few of my other favorites are below...

From Mima: Zebra print and pink! A girl's dream!! Probably the most important thing to note is that I still have those zebra print pleather pants that I use to wear with that pink halter back in college. Ut oh, do I dare?











From Mima: It's no secret that Jordan loves Minnie Mouse! What a perfect outfit for the girls to watch Disney in together!!












From Mama: These suits are too cute! The rhinestone Minnies will catch the light but could never out shine my 2 baby gals! I'm going to make them personalized shirts to wear underneath - and perhaps matching sweatbands at Aunt Brittney's request!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Countdown Begins!

Today starts week 25 of our pregnancy - we are 61% of the way there!! To help time progress, I think it's time to start counting down the weeks instead of counting those that have passed - 15 weeks to go! Yippee!!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Fun-day!!

When I asked Jordan where she wanted to go today, she said Kentucky. Since we hadn't packed for that trip, we agreed that we would instead take a trip SHOPPING! Jordan and I had a blast at Babies R Us! We kicked off our registry - and Jordan was a super big help picking out things for Baby Karter! She was a very proud big sister as we strolled the aisles for almost 2 hours!!... she definitely earned her nap today!!

This evening, Jordan, Daddy and Mommy colored and rode Jordan's bicycle through the house over and over - what a fun day!

Tomorrow = laundry and packing. Nope, still not headed to Kentucky, but Jordan and I will be going to Florida on Tuesday for an assesment with a nationally known and respected neurologist. Keep us in your thoughts - flying with a 2.5 year old has its challenges :)

Monday, September 13, 2010

Even if it's not bad, it doesn't mean it's good

Today's appointment was... interesting. I am 24 weeks into my pregnancy, and I've gained 20lbs (plus what the doc doesn't know about before my first appointment). That's pretty hefty if you're targeting 25-35 full term, which my doctor is... but it's no where near the path to 96lbs full term, which still pleases me a little. She did not tell me to diet, but she did tell me to slow down - and so it begins! I know that it's harder to lose than it is to gain, but for me, not gaining a good bit extra while pregnant seems impossible!

In other news, we'll be scheduling an appointment within the next couple of days so that we can meet the rest of the doctor crew who will be performing the surgery. I say "we", because this is one of the appointments that Jared will join me at. I am excited for him to meet my doctor and for us both to meet the others. (And I fully suspect that he'll be smitten when he sees my doc for the first time - she is very pretty, and some days, gorgeous).

My next appointment will be in 4 weeks on Oct 11 at 2:30p. Before then, I have to make it in for that horrible sweet drink test (gestational diabetes) and a follow up blood screening to make sure that things are still looking good. I don't remember pregnancy being this busy before! Then again, I didn't have a 2.5 year old last time around!

Less than two weeks ago, I flew to Texas for work. We flew to Kansas over the weekend for TJ's wedding. On Wednesday, I leave for work in Boston. Next week, Jordan and I will be flying to Florida. My back has started to hurt more, so I asked the doctor today when must the fun cease... and her answer...

- Stop driving to Strongsville everyday between 30 and 32 weeks - that's in 6-8 short weeks! (This means that I will have to work from home or go on leave - we'll see what HR thinks!)
- No more flying or making car trips >4 hours once I hit 32 weeks.
- No more traveling more than an hour from home by any method after 38 weeks. (This shouldn't be an issue; I plan to have a baby around 38 weeks, if not safely before).

Looks like we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas at our own house this year! Let us know if you'll be joining us!! The holidays are a busy time for everyone - so we'll be welcoming guests whenever you can make it, no matter the day or weather, to meet what is sure to be our next bundle of joy!

Well on my way to almost there!

Jared FINALLY got to feel Karter kick this weekend!

Before Jordan was born, Jared's presence made her kick like crazy. It wasn't uncommon for her kicks and punches to wake him up in the middle of the night if I rolled over to face him and my belly brushed up against him. (Yes, if you're bride gains 96lbs., you should expect that she will intrude on your sleeping space).

But with Karter, Jared has a completely different effect. Perhaps she is already a Daddy's girl, because no matter how much she's moving, she calms the second his hand gets near my stomach.

I am nearing the end of my second trimester with the start of Week 24. I don't care how others define it, because to me, Week 24 = 6 months pregnant and well on my way to being almost there!
I have a doctor appointment this afternoon and will hopefully have good news to share this evening!